188-600: Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1996–2007) Ministries Elections [REDACTED] The Howard government refers to the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal – National Coalition , which won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard government commenced following victory over
376-400: A barrister as a likely career. Howard attended Earlwood Primary School and Canterbury Boys' High School . He won a citizenship prize in his final year at Earlwood (presented by local politician Eric Willis ), and subsequently represented his secondary school at debating as well as cricket and rugby union . Cricket remained a lifelong hobby. In his final year at school he took part in
564-413: A snap election for October 1998, three months sooner than required. The Coalition actually lost the national two-party preferred vote to Labor, suffering a 14-seat swing. However, the uneven nature of the swing allowed Howard to win a second term in government, with a considerably reduced majority (from 45 seats to 12). Howard himself finished just short of a majority on the first count in his own seat, and
752-584: A GST would "never ever" be part of the Liberal Party's policy. Howard, when making the promise, referred to the GST as being a losing policy for Hewson's election campaign in 1993. By the time the writs were issued for the 1996 election , the Coalition had been well ahead of Labor in opinion polls for over a year. The consensus of most opinion polls was that Howard would be the next prime minister. With
940-484: A Jobs, Education and Training Program (JET) for sole parents was launched, comprising a package of measures aimed at liberalising income tests measures, ensuring access to child care, and upgrading the skills of single parents. This reform (which haws introduced with the intention of combating high levels of poverty amongst single parents) helped to enable many single parents to take on part-time work and increase their earnings. Between 1986 and 1996, according to one estimate,
1128-585: A Liberal if elected. Howard repudiated Hanson's views seven months after her maiden speech. Following the Wik Decision of the High Court in 1996, the Howard government moved swiftly to legislate limitations on its possible implications through the so-called Ten-Point Plan . From 1997, Howard spearheaded the Coalition push to introduce a Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the subsequent election; this
1316-409: A bid to become prime minister himself—the " Joh for Canberra " campaign. Keating campaigned against Howard's proposed tax changes forcing Howard to admit a double-counting in the proposal, and emphasising to the electorate that the package would mean at that stage undisclosed cuts to government services. Howard was not helped when the federal Nationals broke off the Coalition agreement in support of
1504-404: A boy. In 1955, when Howard was aged 16, his father died, leaving his mother to take care of him. Howard suffered a hearing impairment in his youth, leaving him with a slight speech impediment , and he continues to wear a hearing aid. It also influenced him in subtle ways, limiting his early academic performance; encouraging a reliance on an excellent memory; and in his mind ruling out becoming
1692-760: A broadly based indirect tax, and the rejection of counter-cyclical fiscal policy. Following the defeat of the Fraser government and Fraser's subsequent resignation from parliament, Howard contested the Liberal leadership against Andrew Peacock , losing 36–20 . However, he was re-elected as deputy leader. The Liberal Party were again defeated by Labor at the early 1984 election . In 1985, as Labor's position in opinion polls improved, Peacock's popularity sank and Howard's profile rose. Leadership speculation persisted, and Peacock said he would no longer accept Howard as deputy unless he offered assurances that he would not challenge for
1880-586: A deep recession in the early 1990s, Labor had increased its lead over the Coalition at the 1993 election , which had seen the Liberals under Hewson offer an ambitious program of economic reform called Fightback! , which proposed a Goods and Services Tax as its centrepiece. As opposition leader, Howard delivered a series of "headland speeches", which dealt broadly with the philosophy of government. In contrast to Keating, he used these addresses to speak in favour of traditional Australian institutions and symbols like
2068-634: A difficult sell during the election campaign which was considered a "referendum on the GST". Alexander Downer assumed the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs in the first term of the Howard government and remained in the post until 2007. Howard and Downer sought to shift the emphasis of the Keating government 's narrative on Australian foreign policy. In his 2010 biography Lazarus Rising , Howard wrote that he saw Keating's narrative as implying Australia had in some way to "show an overt preference for links with Asia over our ties with traditional allies such as
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#17327765487832256-580: A family like the Browns would receive $ 93.10 in family payment and up to $ 40 a week in rent assistance. You put this in perspective; such a family would have received assistance worth about 4 per cent of average weekly ordinary time earnings in November 1982, but 20 per cent of such earnings in early 1996. We are thus talking about very major changes in the amount of assistance available to low-income working families with children. The Hawke government carried out
2444-545: A government loss. A 4.6 percent swing away from the government translated into a two-party preferred vote of 49.02 per cent for the government to Labor's 50.98 per cent. Despite One Nation winning almost 1 million votes and its 8.4 percent first preference vote being larger than the National Party's, Pauline Hanson did not win her run for the House of Representatives seat of Blair. On election night, John Howard claimed
2632-634: A key issue canvassed by John Howard in the 1996 election campaign. On 1 January 1997, the majority of the provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 came into effect. The Act substantially amended the Industrial Relations Act 1988 and, under the legislation, the jurisdiction of the Industrial Relations Court of Australia , established by the Keating government in 1994, was transferred to
2820-431: A large lead over Latham as preferred prime minister. In the lead up to the election, Howard again did not commit to serving a full term. Howard attacked Latham's economic record as Mayor of Liverpool City Council and attacked Labor's economic history. The election resulted in a five-seat swing to the Coalition, netting it a majority almost as large as in 1996. It also resulted the first, albeit slim, government majority in
3008-579: A majority in their own right with 75 seats, the most that the party had ever won. It was only the third time (the others being 1975 and 1977) that the main non-Labor party has been even theoretically able to govern alone since the Coalition's formation. Nevertheless, Howard kept the Nationals in his government. Howard entered office with a 45-seat majority—the second-biggest majority in Australian history, only behind Fraser's 55-seat majority in 1975. At
3196-576: A man of steel, he's showed the world he's a man of heart." In April 2002, Howard was the first Australian prime minister to attend a royal funeral, that of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother . In October Howard responded to the 2002 Bali bombing with calls for solidarity. Howard re-dedicated his government to the " War on Terror ". In March 2003, Australia joined the US-led " Multinational force in Iraq " in sending 2,000 troops and naval units to support in
3384-495: A number of election commitments, which Howard defended as "non-core promises". At the first Coalition government budget, the public service was "downsized", the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) was privatised, and cuts were made to all departments with the exception of defence. $ 8 billion in spending cuts were made over the government's first two budgets. Industrial relations reform had been
3572-668: A number of government decisions. He has also received criticism for his 'confrontationalist style' in siding with the airlines in the 1989 Australian pilots' strike . The Hawke government did, however, significantly increase the social wage as part of its Accord with the trade unions, a social democratic policy continued by the Keating government. Improvements to the social wage included improved affordability of and access to key services such as health and child-care and health, together with large increases to payments for low-wage and jobless families with children. Indexation of child payments
3760-739: A per-student basis, the increase in Commonwealth funding amounted to 136% for government schools and 71% for non-government schools. A Participation and Equity Program was also established which provided around $ 250 million mainly to schools with low retention to the end of secondary education from 1983 to 1987. Student numbers in training and vocational education (mainly in TAFE colleges) rose by over 25% under Hawke. University enrolments rose by almost 57%, from 357,000 in 1984 to 559,000 in 1992. The percentage of students in secondary education rose substantially, from 35% in 1982 to 77% in 1992, partly as
3948-572: A radio show hosted by Jack Davey , Give It a Go , broadcast on the commercial radio station, 2GB . After gaining his Leaving Certificate , he studied law at the University of Sydney , graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1962. Howard began working for the firm of Stephen Jaques and Stephen as a junior solicitor. In 1964, he took a trip around the world, visiting Britain, Europe, Israel, India, and Singapore. After returning to Sydney in 1965, he began working for Clayton Utz , but "lacked
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#17327765487834136-412: A referendum be held, Habibie made a snap decision to hold a vote on independence. This referendum on the territory's independence triggered a Howard and Downer orchestrated shift in Australian policy. In September 1999, Howard organised an Australian-led international peace-keeping force to East Timor ( INTERFET ), after pro-Indonesia militia launched a violent "scorched-earth" campaign in retaliation to
4324-524: A repeat of mistakes made at the 1993 election, Howard revised his earlier statements against Medicare and Asian immigration, describing Australia as "a unique intersection between Europe, North America and Asia". This allowed Howard to campaign on a "small-target" strategy. He focused on the economy and memory of the early 1990s recession, and on the longevity of the Labor government, which in 1996 had been in power for 13 years. In May 1995, Howard promised that
4512-492: A republic. Howard outlined his support for retaining the status quo on the basis that it had provided a long period of stability and whilst he said there was no question that Australia was a fully independent nation, he believed that the "separation of the ceremonial and executive functions of government" and the presence of a neutral "defender of constitutional integrity" was an advantage in government and that no republican model would be as effective in providing such an outcome as
4700-721: A result of greater financial assistance to students from low-income backgrounds. In 1989, the Hawke Labor government gradually re-introducing fees for university study. It set up the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS), which was first proposed by Professor Murray Wells and subsequently developed by economist and lecturer at the Australian National University , Bruce Chapman and championed by Education Minister John Dawkins (see Dawkins Revolution ). Under
4888-538: A result, the Hawke government was handily reelected, winning the most seats that Labor had ever won in an election. In his social agenda, Howard promoted the traditional family and was antipathetic to the promotion of multiculturalism at the expense of a shared Australian identity. The controversial immigration policy, One Australia , outlined a vision of "one nation and one future" and opposed multiculturalism. Howard publicly suggested that to support "social cohesion"
5076-523: A series of other measures during its time in office. Upon taking office in 1983, a Community Employment Program was set up, providing a large number of work experience opportunities in the public and non-profit sectors. Together with smaller programs such as the Community Youth Support scheme (CYSS), this played a major role in both alleviating and reversing the effects of the 1982 economic recession. A Home and Community Care Program (HACC)
5264-554: A strong recovery through the 1980s. Economic factors at play during the Hawke government were globalisation , micro-economic reform and industrial relations reform, as well as the opening of Australian finance and industry to international competition and adjustments to the role of trade unions. Hawke concluded his tenure during the worst downturn in Australia since the Great Depression . Major economic reforms included
5452-555: A symbolic issue to decrease trade union influence. Initially, new workplace legislation was introduced in December 1996—following a deal with Democrats Leader Cheryl Kernot —to include a no-disadvantage test, increase employer's power to deal directly with workers, limit strike action, ban secondary boycotts, ban compulsory unionism, and introduce Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). Large fines were imposed on unions involved in illegal strike activity. An "Interventionist Strategy"
5640-523: A third straight victory at the 1987 Election and increased its majority from 16 to 24 seats. Hawke fought his final election in 1990 , with Labor winning a nine-seat majority. Hawke retired from Parliament in February 1992, following the December 1991 leadership spill which saw him replaced as leader by Paul Keating . The inaugural days of the Hawke government were distinctly different from those of
5828-676: A treaty, such as financial compensation , and no such treaty was ever concluded. In 1984, Hawke appointed Charles Perkins as Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, making him the first Indigenous Australian to head a Commonwealth department. In 1989 the Hawke government replaced the Department of Aboriginal Affairs with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission as the main administrative and funding agency for Indigenous Australians . The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission began work in March 1990. In 1985,
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6016-495: A voting process, the Convention proposed that a Bi-partisan appointment republican model to be put to a referendum of the Australian nation in 1999. The Convention recommended that state parliaments also examine the issue of the republic, as each State has separate and individual constitutional links to the monarchy. Certain recommendations were made for a new Constitutional preamble which included introductory language along
6204-541: Is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parliament (MP) for the New South Wales division of Bennelong from 1974 to 2007. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the second-longest in Australian history , behind only Sir Robert Menzies . Howard has also been
6392-469: Is wrong, racist, immoral or anything, for a country to say 'we will decide what the cultural identity and the cultural destiny of this country will be and nobody else." Howard is opposed to abortion and voted against the RU-486 abortion drug being legalised. As the country's economic position worsened in 1989, public opinion moved away from Labor, however there was no firm opinion poll lead for Howard or
6580-534: The 1990 election , which again returned Labor. The Liberals turned to two further leaders (John Hewson and Alexander Downer) before restoring Howard to the office to lead the Coalition against the Keating Labor government . Long-serving Labor Treasurer Paul Keating had successfully challenged Bob Hawke for the leadership of the Labor Party and the prime ministership in 1991. Despite Australia suffering
6768-475: The 2004 federal election . In his final term in office, his government introduced industrial relations reforms known as WorkChoices , which proved controversial and unpopular with the public. The Howard government was defeated at the 2007 federal election , with the Labor Party's Kevin Rudd succeeding him as prime minister. Howard also lost his own seat of Bennelong at the election to Maxine McKew , becoming only
6956-507: The Australian Labor Party rallying demonstrators from a podium. The initially peaceful protest deteriorated into the 1996 Parliament House riot which saw a breakaway group of protesters attack the entrance to Parliament. The Howard government made waterfront reform a key feature of the 'first wave' of its industrial relations agenda. Their goal was to lift exports and hence improve the economy, but also sought to use it as
7144-504: The Australian Republican Movement and Australians for Constitutional Monarchy . At the convention, Liberal-National delegates were permitted to advocate freely whether for or against change. Prime Minister Howard and Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer spoke in favour of the status quo in relation to the republic, while Treasurer Peter Costello supported change. The Labor opposition also advocated for change to
7332-405: The Australian constitutional monarchy . Despite opinion polls suggesting Australians favoured a republic, a 1999 referendum rejected the model chosen by the convention. The new President of Indonesia , B.J. Habibie , had some months earlier agreed to grant special autonomy to Indonesian-occupied East Timor . However, following the receipt of a letter sent by Howard to Habibie suggesting that
7520-537: The Australian constitutional monarchy . Tim Fischer said that the Australian Constitution had delivered one of the "oldest continuous federated democracies in the world" and that changing it would be a complex operation: "The case for changing our mighty Constitution which has helped modernise Australia remains distant, divided and ill-defined. I say: stay with a system that works and works well". Peter Costello also rejected any suggestion that Australia
7708-416: The Australian flag and ANZAC legacy . By the time of the 1996 Election, unemployment was high, but at a lower rate than at the previous 1993 Election, and interest rates were lower than they had been in 1990, but foreign debt had been growing. The Keating government was projecting a small budget surplus. Following the election, an $ 8 billion deficit was confirmed. Delivering his Policy Launch Speech at
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7896-633: The Cabinet or by the appropriate Minister . For the first three terms of government, and part of the fourth term, the Howard government did not have control of the Senate . Legislation needed the support of the Opposition or minor parties for that legislation to be passed and become law. In the 2004 election, the Coalition won control of the Senate for all but the first nine months of its fourth term, and
8084-484: The Federal Court of Australia . Elements of the reforms were opposed by the Labor Party and Union movement. The Australian Council of Trade Unions called the "cavalcade to Canberra" rally to protest against the industrial relations reform agenda. The protest began with senior Australian Trade Union officials including ACTU President Jennie George and Assistant Secretary Greg Combet , as well as senior members of
8272-561: The International Monetary Fund to other nations in the region – notably Thailand, Korea and Indonesia – and lobbied The IMF and USA to ease demands placed on Indonesia. Through much of its first term, opinion polling had been disappointing for the government; at times many in the government feared being a "one-term wonder". The popularity of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party and the new restrictions on gun ownership drew many traditionally Coalition voters away from
8460-724: The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Canberra's New Parliament House was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in a grand ceremony in May 1988 and Australian Bicentenary was marked by huge pomp and ceremony across Australia to mark anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney in 1788. The government refused to fund the tall ship First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage which
8648-406: The Keating government at the 1996 federal election . It concluded with its defeat at the 2007 federal election by the Australian Labor Party , whose leader Kevin Rudd then formed the first Rudd government . It was the second-longest government under a single prime minister, with the longest having been the second Menzies government (1949–1966). Two senior ministers served in single roles for
8836-458: The Keating government in relation to the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The government adopted most of the recommendations of the report, though pointedly did not agree that a national "apology" from the Parliament would be an appropriate response. A Constitutional Convention was called by the Howard government in February 1998 to consider
9024-555: The Liberal Party 's 33 and the National Party 17. He went on to become Australia's longest serving Labor prime minister and remains the third longest serving Australian prime minister after Robert Menzies and John Howard . Hawke again led the party to the 1984 Election and was returned with a reduced majority, in an expanded House of Representatives: with Labor taking 82 seats to the Coalition's 66. Labor went on to
9212-477: The OECD average in 1980 to 140% in 1994, and it is argued that the social and economic policies delivered under the government-trade union Accord had some substantial success in reducing family poverty, as characterised by reductions in child poverty from the early Eighties onwards. According to the OECD , the percentage of Australians living in poverty fell during the Hawke government's time in office, from 11.6% of
9400-554: The Port Arthur massacre , and controversially implemented a nationwide value-added tax , breaking a pre-election promise. The Howard government called a snap election for October 1998 , which they won, albeit with a greatly reduced majority. Going into the 2001 election , the Coalition trailed behind Labor in opinion polling . However, in a campaign dominated by national security, Howard introduced changes to Australia's immigration system to deter asylum seekers from entering
9588-569: The Ryde Civic Centre in Sydney on 18 February 1996, Howard emphasised that Labor had been in office a long time, and cited high inflation , a poor current account deficit and high national debt as evidence of bad economic management. He called for industrial relations reform to increase flexibility and improve productivity and offered tax relief for families. He proposed increased spending on environmental challenges, to be in part funded by
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#17327765487839776-704: The War in Afghanistan despite widespread opposition. Howard developed a strong personal relationship with the President, and they shared often similar ideological positions – including on the role of the United States in world affairs and their approach to the " War on Terror ". In May 2003, Howard made an overnight stay at Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch in Texas, after which Bush said that Howard "...is not only
9964-453: The invasion of Iraq . In response to the Australian participation in the invasion, there were large protests in Australian cities during March 2003, and Prime Minister Howard was heckled from the public gallery of Parliament House. While opinion polls showed that opposition to the war without UN backing was between 48 and 92 per cent, Howard remained preferred prime-minister over the Leader of
10152-429: The "Joh for Canberra" push, which led to a large number of three-cornered contests. Bjelke-Petersen abandoned his bid for prime minister a month before the election, however, the damage had already been done. Additionally, a number of swing voters outside Queensland were alarmed at the prospect of Bjelke-Petersen holding the balance of power, and voted for Labor to ensure that the Liberals and Nationals would be defeated. As
10340-516: The "War on Terror"; the intervention in Northern Territory Indigenous communities ; and an economy that experienced sustained growth throughout the government's term of office. John Howard became Leader of the Opposition on 30 January 1995, replacing Alexander Downer , who resigned in his favour. Downer took the position of Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Peter Costello retained his position as Deputy Leader of
10528-551: The "most blemished chapter" in Australia's history; offered "deep and sincere regret " for past injustices. Following his 2007 loss of the prime ministership, Howard was the only living former prime minister who declined to attend the February 2008 apology made by Kevin Rudd with bi-partisan support. Howard did not commit to serving a full term if he won the next election; on his 61st birthday in July 2000 he said he would consider
10716-411: The "unloseable" 1993 election to Paul Keating , Howard unsuccessfully challenged Hewson for the leadership. In 1994, he was again passed over for the leadership, which went to Alexander Downer . Hewson had pledged to resign if defeated in 1993 but did not resign to block Howard from succeeding him. In January 1995, leaked internal Liberal Party polling showed that with gaffe-prone Downer as leader,
10904-537: The 20-year Labor incumbent, Les Haylen . In mid-1964, Howard travelled to London to work and travel for a period. He volunteered for the Conservative Party in the electorate of Holborn and St Pancras South at the 1964 UK general election . In 1967, with the support of party power brokers John Carrick and Eric Willis , Howard was endorsed as candidate for the marginal suburban state seat of Drummoyne , held by Labor's Reg Coady . Howard's mother sold
11092-646: The ALP to victory against Fraser at the 1983 Election. Labor had been out of office since the divisive Dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975. Hawke led the Australian Labor Party to a landslide victory against Malcolm Fraser 's Liberal-National Coalition government at the 1983 Australian Federal Election , with Labor seizing 75 seats in the Australian House of Representatives against
11280-490: The Asian Financial Crisis, in which regional economies had fallen into recession, while Australia stood out as the economic "strong man of Asia": Labor left us, despite all the protestations of Mr Beazley and Mr Keating, a deficit of $ 10.5 billion and we turned that into a surplus a year ahead of schedule. Howard credited his government with having reduced debt and unemployment and outlined his case for
11468-501: The Australian economy and Keating began to position himself for a challenge. The government promised economic recovery for 1991 and launched a series of asset sales to increase revenue. GDP sank, unemployment rose, revenue collapsed and welfare payments surged. The Opposition turned to economist John Hewson as its new leader. Hewson argued that the nation was in economic crisis. He said the Hawke-Keating government had increased
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#173277654878311656-464: The Australian economy would weather the storm because the Hawke government had already balanced its Budget and brought down inflation. The government postponed policy adjustments, planning a mini-Budget for May. Hawke wrote to US President Reagan calling on the US to reduce its Budget deficit. The Business Council called for wage reductions, decreased government expenditure, a lower dollar and deregulation of
11844-486: The Campbell report, but adopted an incremental approach with Cabinet, as there was wide opposition to deregulation within the government and the treasury. The process of reform began before the committee reported 2 1 ⁄ 2 years later, with the introduction of the tender system for the sale of Treasury notes in 1979, and Treasury bonds in 1982. Ian Macfarlane described these reforms as "second only in importance to
12032-435: The Coalition had slim chance of holding its marginal seats in the next election, let alone of winning government. Media speculation of a leadership spill ended when, on 26 January 1995, Downer resigned as Liberal Leader and Howard was elected unopposed to replace him. The Coalition subsequently opened a large lead over Labor in most opinion polls, and Howard overtook Paul Keating as preferred prime minister. Hoping to avoid
12220-424: The Coalition. In February, Liberal Party president and prominent businessman, John Elliott , said confidentially to Andrew Peacock that he would support him in a leadership challenge against Howard, and in May a surprise leadership coup was launched, ousting Howard as Liberal leader. When asked that day whether he could become Liberal leader again, Howard likened it to "Lazarus with a triple bypass" . The loss of
12408-587: The Commonwealth Public Service was introduced. In 1986, a Disability Services Act was passed to expand opportunities for the participation of disabled persons in local communities. A major cash benefit for low-income working households, known as the Family Allowance Supplement, was introduced which reduced poverty and provided a better-graduated system of family income support. This new benefit significantly boosted
12596-510: The Dole was first proposed by the Liberal Party of Australia in 1987, and was enacted on a trial basis a year after it gained power at the 1996 federal election in their traditional coalition . Despite mixed feelings among younger people, at whom the program was aimed, there was little mainstream opposition when it was launched. On 1 July 1998, all job seekers aged 18–24 that had been claiming benefits for six months or more were required to join
12784-443: The Dole was expanded to include those aged 35–39. Additionally, those aged 40–49 could volunteer themselves for the scheme for the first time. A broad-based goods and services tax (GST) had previously been proposed by both the Labor Party and the Coalition as a means of reducing the reliance of the Commonwealth on income tax, by increasing the tax on consumption. The existing wholesale sales tax only applied to certain products, while
12972-519: The Government would lose office in the election later that year. The government announced a series of policy reversals and softenings which boosted the government's fortunes, as did news that the economy had avoided recession. The government's position on "border protection", in particular the Tampa affair where Howard refused the landing of asylum seekers rescued by a Norwegian freighter, consolidated
13160-481: The Hawke government officially returned ownership of Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock), with Governor General Sir Ninian Stephen presiding over the ceremony handing the title deeds to the local Pitjantjatjara people. The transfer was done on the basis that a lease-back to the National Parks and Wildlife Service and joint management by members of the local Mutijulu community would be settled upon. In
13348-685: The Hawke government produced the National Agenda for a Multicultural Australia, which had bipartisan political support. After Keating became prime minister in 1991, the OMA was wound down, and was abolished in 1996 by the Howard government. In education, the Hawke government sought to significantly widen educational opportunities for all Australians. Increased funds were made available for most schools, while both TAFE and higher education were expanded. Measures were taken to improve educational opportunities for Aboriginal Australians, as demonstrated by
13536-530: The High Court decision determined that Native Title could co-exist with pastoral leases, which caused farmers to fear they would lose their land. The government announced a "Ten Point Plan" to deal with the uncertainty that had the effect of weakening the Native Title Act. The legislation termed the " Native Title Amendment Act 1998 " was introduced into Parliament in September 1997, but was opposed by
13724-551: The House of Representatives. Howard announced his proposed ministry team on 8 March 1996, with the Governor-General swearing them into office on 11 March. The size of the Coalition victory gave John Howard great power within the Liberal party and he said he came to the office "with very clear views on where I wanted to take the country". In the first week of the new government, Howard sacked six department heads and chose new department heads himself and changes were made across
13912-545: The Howard government. Also controversial had been the large spending cuts, the waterfront dispute and industrial changes, and the government's commitment to a GST. On 20 September 1998, at the Riverside Theatre in Parramatta, Howard delivered a conspicuously "no frills" policy launch in which he said that "economic competence" should be the major issue of the election, at a time of economic uncertainty following
14100-408: The Howard government. Also unpopular with voters were large spending cuts aimed at eliminating the budget deficit (and Howard's distinction between "core" and "non-core" election promises when cutting spending commitments), industrial changes and the 1998 waterfront dispute , the partial sale of government telecommunications company Telstra , and the Government's commitment to a GST. Howard called
14288-475: The Labor party in the Senate. A deal announced on 3 July 1998 between Independent Senator Brian Harradine and the prime minister saw the legislation pass the Senate. The legislation meant that 120 agreements and permits in doubt due to the "Wik decision" were now valid. On 26 May 1997, John Howard tabled the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's Bringing Them Home Report , a report commissioned by
14476-507: The Liberal Party and Shadow Treasurer. Howard had had a long Parliamentary career, having entered Parliament in 1974 and serving as Treasurer in the Fraser government from 1977 to 1983. He replaced Andrew Peacock as leader of the Opposition in 1985 and challenged the Hawke government at the 1987 election , which saw Labor returned. Peacock successfully challenged and replaced Howard prior to
14664-409: The Liberal Party leadership to Peacock deeply affected Howard, who admitted he would occasionally drink too much. Declining Peacock's offer of Shadow Education, Howard went to the backbench and a new period of party disunity ensued which was highlighted by a Four Corners episode detailing the coup against Howard. Following the Coalition's 1990 election loss, Howard considered challenging Peacock for
14852-437: The Liberal Party. In December 1977, aged 38, Howard was appointed Treasurer , in place of Phillip Lynch . He was the youngest Treasurer since Chris Watson in 1904. Fraser said in his memoirs that he appointed him despite his limited experience because "he was bright and he got across a brief well, and he was a good manager". During his five years in the position, Howard became an adherent of free-market economics , which
15040-521: The MUA. The MUA and Patricks reached a new workplace and productivity agreement, which was adopted in June 1998, that included halving the permanent workforce, casualisation and contracting, the MUA retaining the right to represent maritime workers, and changing work practices to what the company originally sought. The government did not have a majority in the Senate , and thus had to negotiate legislation through
15228-688: The Mahatir and Howard governments, when Howard criticised Mahatir's treatment of Mahatir's former Deputy Anwar Ibrahim and when Mahatir became a trenchant critic of Australian military operations in East Timor and later Iraq. Howard selected Indonesia and Japan for his first foreign visits and went to China in early 1997 at the invitation of President Jiang Zemin . Howard then visited the United States to meet with US President Bill Clinton and on to Britain to meet with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in July of that year. Australia-Indonesia relations were on
15416-506: The Opposition . He led the Liberal–National coalition to the 1987 federal election , but lost to Bob Hawke 's Labor government, and was removed from the leadership in 1989. Remaining a key figure in the party, Howard was re-elected leader in 1995, replacing Alexander Downer , and subsequently led the Coalition to a landslide victory at the 1996 federal election . In his first term, Howard introduced reformed gun laws in response to
15604-436: The Opposition, Simon Crean , although his approval ratings were lower compared to before the war. Throughout 2002 and 2003 Howard had increased his opinion poll lead over Labor Party leader, Simon Crean . In December 2003, Crean resigned after losing party support and Mark Latham was elected leader. Howard called an election for 9 October 2004 . While the government was behind Labor in the opinion polls, Howard himself had
15792-428: The Opposition. Defunct Defunct Howard was in effect the Liberal party's first pro-market leader in the conservative Coalition and spent the next two years working to revise Liberal policy away from that of Fraser's. In his own words he was an "economic radical" and a social conservative . Referring to the pro-market liberalism of the 1980s, Howard said in July 1986 that "The times will suit me". That year
15980-418: The Senate since 1981. For the second time since becoming prime minister, Howard came up short of a majority in the first count for his own seat. He was assured of reelection on the third count, ultimately winning 53.3 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. On 21 December 2004, Howard overtook Bob Hawke to become the second longest-serving Australian prime minister after Sir Robert Menzies . In 2006, with
16168-630: The Senate with either the Australian Democrats or the independents. The Senate modified government legislation, including the partial privatisation of the government-owned telecommunications company, Telstra ; increases in university fees; large funding cuts in the 1996 and 1997 budgets; a 30% private health insurance rebate; and the Wik 10 Point Plan , giving extinguishment of native title on pastoral leases . During this first term, only two pieces of legislation were rejected outright by
16356-596: The Senate, being the Workplace Relationships Amendment Bill 1997 and the Telstra (Transition to Full Private Ownership) Bill 1998. A " work for the dole " system was introduced that required able-bodied social security recipients to participate in activities aimed at improving their social and work skills. The coalition campaigned on a policy of "clean government" as a contrast to the previous government. A "Code of Ministerial Conduct"
16544-449: The United States and Britain, especially the latter", whereas in Howard's view, Australia "did not have to choose between her history and her geography". Howard summarised this policy emphasis as "Asia first, not Asia only". Soon after taking office, Howard met with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir , to smooth relations in the aftermath of former Prime Minister Keating's falling out with Mahatir. Relations subsequently deteriorated between
16732-474: The Whitlam era. Rather than immediately initiating extensive reform programmes, Hawke announced that Fraser's pre-election concealment of the budget deficit meant that many of Labor's election commitments would have to be deferred. Hawke convinced the Labor caucus to divide the ministry into two tiers, with only the most important Ministers attending regular cabinet meetings. This was to avoid what Hawke viewed as
16920-488: The action as "a fightback by the people of Australia against the inefficiency of the wharves." Over the following months, a bitter and sometimes violent dispute took place at port locations. The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) took the case to the Federal Court and after an appeals process, and an interim injunction instructing the company to reinstate the 1,400 workers, the High Court ultimately found in favour of
17108-487: The age of 56, he was sworn in as prime minister on 11 March 1996, ending a record 13 years of Coalition opposition. Howard departed from tradition and made his primary residence Kirribilli House in Sydney rather than The Lodge in Canberra. Early in the term Howard had championed significant new restrictions on gun ownership following the Port Arthur massacre in which 35 people had been shot dead. Achieving agreement in
17296-611: The conservatives. Exploiting these divisions, Hawke led the Labor Party to comfortable election victories in 1984 and 1987 . In its first months in office the government stopped the construction of the Franklin Dam , on the Franklin River in Tasmania , responding to protest about the issue. The Hawke government came to power in 1983 amidst an economic downturn, but pursued a number of economic reforms that assisted in
17484-587: The country, and pledged military assistance to the United States following the September 11 attacks . Due to this, Howard won widespread support, and his government would be narrowly re-elected. In Howard's third term in office, Australia contributed troops to the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War , and led the International Force for East Timor . The Coalition would be re-elected once more at
17672-489: The country—resulted in stagflation ; unemployment touched double-digits and inflation peaked at 12.5% (official interest rates peaked at 21%). The Fraser government with Howard as Treasurer lost the 1983 election to the Labor Party led by Bob Hawke . Over the course of the 1980s, the Liberal Party came to accept the free-market policies that Fraser had resisted and Howard had espoused. Policies included low protection, decentralisation of wage fixation, financial deregulation,
17860-517: The cusp of a volatile period, with the approaching collapse of the Suharto government and independence for East Timor. During the course of the Howard government, trade with China was to grow exponentially, and Howard was to cultivate close working relationships with Clinton's replacement, George W. Bush of the United States and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. The emergence of the 1997 Asian financial crisis shifted regional dynamics, and contributed to
18048-474: The demise of the Suharto administration and Indonesia's transition to democracy, through which the Howard government negotiated bilateral relations. In one of the Howard government's most significant foreign policy initiatives, Australia contributed assistance to the region as part of an international bail-out. The Australian economy avoided the downturn and, along with Japan, offered supplementary help to that of
18236-515: The disclosure that he was a shopping centre landlord whilst he was responsible for commercial tenancy provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 . John Sharp , David Jull and Peter McGauran resigned in September 1997 over irregularities in the use of ministerial travel allowances in what became known in the media as the "Travel Rorts Affair". John Moore and Warwick Parer survived revelations about his shareholdings. Parer however
18424-452: The downturn was a necessary correction by opening a press conference in November as follows: The first thing to say is, the accounts do show that Australia is in a recession. The most important thing about that is that this is a recession that Australia had to have – Treasurer Paul Keating , November 1990 . The popularity of Hawke's prime ministership, along with the health of the Hawke-Keating political partnership deteriorated along with
18612-457: The duration of the government; Peter Costello as Treasurer and Alexander Downer as Minister for Foreign Affairs . The leader of the National Party served as Deputy Prime Minister . Three men served in this capacity during the Howard government: Tim Fischer until July 1999, followed by John Anderson until July 2005 and then Mark Vaile . Decisions of the Executive were made either by
18800-477: The economic reforms carried out during the Eighties in both Australia and New Zealand, "some modest case can be mounted for Labor in Australia as refurbisher of the welfare state". From 1983 to 1996, improved service provision, higher government transfer payments, and changes to the taxation system "either entirely offset, or at the very least substantially moderated, the increase in inequality of market incomes over
18988-508: The economy was seen to be in crisis with a 40% devaluation of the Australian dollar, a marked increase in the current account deficit and the loss of the Federal Government's triple A rating. In response to the economic circumstances, Howard persistently attacked the Labor government and offered his free-market reform agenda. Support for the Labor Party and Hawke strengthened in 1985 and 1986 and Howard's approval ratings dropped in
19176-418: The environment., such a Landcare program, which was established to promote environmental conservation. In addition, spending on housing, education, and health was increased, while an anti-poverty trap package was introduced in the 1985 budget. That same year, rent assistance was extended to include unemployed and low-income working families. The 1985 Tax Summit led to a reduction of loopholes and distortions in
19364-647: The face of immense opposition from within the Coalition and some State governments, was credited with significantly elevating Howard's stature as prime minister despite a backlash from core Coalition rural constituents. Howard's initial silence on the views of Pauline Hanson —a disendorsed Liberal Party candidate and later independent MP from the Brisbane area—was criticised in the press as an endorsement of her views. When Hanson had made derogatory statements about minorities, Howard not only cancelled her Liberal endorsement, but declared she would not be allowed to sit as
19552-480: The face of infighting between Howard and Peacock supporters, a "public manifestation of disunity" over policy positions, and questions over Howard's leadership. Hawke called the 1987 federal election six months early. In addition to the Howard–Peacock rivalry, Queensland National Party criticism of the federal Liberal and National leadership culminated in longtime Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen making
19740-526: The family home in Earlwood and rented a house with him at Five Dock , a suburb within the electorate. At the election in February 1968 , in which the incumbent state Liberal government was returned to office, Howard narrowly lost to Coady, despite campaigning vigorously. At the 1974 federal election , Howard successfully contested the Division of Bennelong , located in suburban Sydney. The election saw
19928-644: The final year of Hawke's prime ministership, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody released its final report, having investigated some 99 deaths between 1980 and 1989. In 1986, the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs (AIMA), established in 1979 by the previous government, was dismantled by the Hawke government. In 1987 the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA)
20116-514: The float of the Australian dollar in 1983." In 1981, Howard proposed a broad-based indirect tax with compensatory cuts in personal rates; however, cabinet rejected it citing both inflationary and political reasons. After the free-marketeers or "drys" of the Liberals challenged the protectionist policies of Minister for Industry and Commerce Phillip Lynch , they shifted their loyalties to Howard. Following an unsuccessful leadership challenge by Andrew Peacock to unseat Fraser as prime minister, Howard
20304-597: The floating of the Australian dollar, deregulation of financial markets, dismantling of the tariff system, privatised state sector industries , ended subsidisation of loss-making industries, and the sale of the state-owned Commonwealth Bank , Telstra , Qantas and CSL . Hawke's Prime Ministership saw friction between himself and the grassroots of the Labor Party, who were unhappy at what they viewed as Hawke's iconoclasm and willingness to co-operate with business interests. The Socialist Left faction, as well as prominent Labor figure Barry Jones , offered severe criticism of
20492-542: The following 12 months. The Coalition Tax Reform Package was launched on 13 August 1998 and included a 10 percent GST with the proceeds to be distributed to the states. Income tax would be lowered and the wholesale sales tax abolished, along with certain taxes on financial transactions. Over that fortnight, the proposal received a generally positive response and on 30 August the Prime Minister announced an early election for 3 October 1998. The GST, however, proved to be
20680-405: The general public. Howard is the fourth son of Mona ( née Kell) and Lyall Howard , who married in 1925. Howard was also known as "Jack" in his youth. His older brothers were Walter (1926–2019), Stanley (1930–2014) and Robert (b. 1936). Lyall Howard was an admirer of Winston Churchill . Howard's ancestors were English, Scottish, and Irish. He is descended from convict William Tooley, who
20868-399: The government now controlling both houses of parliament for the first time since the Fraser era, industrial relations changes were enacted. Named " WorkChoices " and championed by Howard, they were intended to fundamentally change the employer-employee relationship. Opposed by a broad trade union campaign and antipathy within the electorate, WorkChoices was subsequently seen as a major factor in
21056-444: The government providing funding of almost $ 100 million from 1984 to 1992 for parental education, student support and tutorial assistance through its Aboriginal Education Direct Assistance Program. In addition, an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Capital Grants Program was established to construct and renovate school buildings in remote area communalities. Government expenditure on education under Hawke also rose significantly. On
21244-499: The government's 2007 election loss. Hawke government Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1983–1991) Ministries Elections The Hawke government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1983 to 1991. The government followed the Liberal-National Coalition Fraser government and
21432-584: The improving polls for the government, as did the 11 September 2001 attacks . Howard led the government to victory in the 2001 federal election with an increased majority. Howard had first met US President George W. Bush in the days before the 11 September terrorist attacks and was in Washington the morning of the attacks. In response to the attacks, Howard invoked the ANZUS Treaty . In October 2001, he committed Australian military personnel to
21620-483: The introduction of a Goods and Services Tax, describing the existing taxation system as "broken", and saying that the Coalition's tax reform proposals would introduce a new economy wide tax to be dedicated to the funding of the States, while at the same time reducing or eliminating a range of inefficient existing taxes: And it is only through having a goods and services tax as part of our plan that we can actually guarantee
21808-401: The issue as instrumental in Howard subsequently losing the leadership in 1989. In a 1995 newspaper article (and in 2002 as prime minister), Howard recanted his 1988 remarks on curbing Asian immigration. In line with "One Australia's" rejection of Aboriginal land rights, Howard said the idea of an Aboriginal treaty was "repugnant to the ideals of One Australia" and commented "I don't think it
21996-498: The labour market. Seven months into the crisis, Hawke told the State Premiers that the "savings of Australia must be freed" to go into business investment for export expansion, and funding to the States was cut. A phase out of tariff protections was continued and company tax was cut by 10% to 39%. In the May mini-Budget, payment to the states was cut by $ 870 million and tax cuts deferred. The government declared cost cutting
22184-452: The lead up to the 1996 election that a GST would "never ever" be Coalition policy, which was repeated in August 1996 once in government. In May 1997, the Prime Minister shocked his party and created headlines when he unilaterally indicated a GST might be proposed as part of broader changes to the tax system. In August of that year, the Prime Minister announced that the government would contest
22372-463: The leadership, but didn't have enough support for a bid. Ultimately, Peacock resigned and was replaced with Howard's former staffer John Hewson who defeated Peter Reith ; Peacock supported Hewson as a symbol of generational change . Howard was a supporter of Hewson's economic program, with a Goods and Services Tax (GST) as its centrepiece. Howard was Shadow Minister for Industrial relations and oversaw Jobsback section of Fightback. After Hewson lost
22560-452: The leadership. Following Howard's refusal to offer such an assurance, Peacock sought, in September 1985, to replace him with John Moore as deputy leader. The party room re-elected Howard as deputy on 5 September 38 votes to 31, which Peacock treated as a vote of no confidence in his leadership. He subsequently called a leadership ballot , which he chose not to contest. Howard defeated Jim Carlton by 57 votes to six, thus becoming Leader of
22748-408: The level of income support for families principally dependent on social welfare benefits. The supplement was also made fully payable, tax-free, to low-income families who were principally reliant on wages, albeit for those who earned below a certain amount. Above that amount, the payment rate fell by 50 cents for every additional dollar of other income until it vanished entirely from families approaching
22936-401: The levels of government services and the levels of welfare support that all decent minded Australians believe should be available in a modern, civilised and compassionate Australian community. The Kim Beazley -led Labor opposition opposed the GST outright. On 3 October 1998, the Howard government won a second term with its March 1996 majority of 45 seats reduced to 12. Exit polls had predicted
23124-481: The lines of "we the Australian people", and referencing "Almighty God", custodianship and occupancy of Australia by Indigenous Australians , as well as affirmations of the law, cultural diversity, unique land and environment and democratic political system of Australia. The 457 visa was the Temporary Business (Long Stay) and was introduced soon after John Howard became prime minister in 1996 Work for
23312-651: The middle-income range. In addition, the social security rent allowance was extended to these families if they lived in private rental accommodation. The rates of payment were also index-linked to inflation, while additional benchmarks were fixed to help achieve and maintain relativities with community earnings levels. As a result of the FAS, major improvements were made in the financial position of working families on low incomes. In his memoirs, Hawke described this as "the greatest social reform of my government, and perhaps of all Labor governments". To increase workforce participation,
23500-421: The mooted GST would apply to all products and services equally. In 1981 Treasurer John Howard proposed an indirect consumption tax to Cabinet, a mid-1980s proposal advocated by then treasurer Paul Keating was stopped within the Labor Party, and the Coalition's loss of the "unlosable" 1993 Federal Election was widely attributed to their GST proposal. In reference to his long-held support for a GST, John Howard said in
23688-402: The next election offering a GST with extensive compensatory cuts in income and sales taxes. A long-held conviction of Howard's, the tax reform proposal was credited with boosting his confidence and direction, which had appeared to wane early in the government's second year. The Treasurer was charged with forming and running a special confidential working group to devise the details of the plan over
23876-523: The oldest living Australian former prime minister since the death of Bob Hawke in May 2019. Howard was born in Sydney and studied law at the University of Sydney . He was a commercial lawyer before entering parliament. A former federal president of the Young Liberals , he first stood for office at the 1968 New South Wales state election , but lost narrowly. At the 1974 federal election , Howard
24064-476: The original HECS, a $ 1,800 fee was charged to all university students, and the Commonwealth paid the balance. A student could defer payment of this HECS amount (in which case it was called a HECS debt) and repay the debt through the tax system, when the student's income exceeds a threshold level. As part of the reforms, Colleges of Advanced Education entered the University sector by various means. The HECS system
24252-504: The ownership of semi-automatic rifles , semi-automatic shotguns , pump-action shotguns , and introduced uniform firearms licensing. It was implemented with bipartisan support by the Commonwealth, States and Territories. The government stated that the previous Keating government had left them with an unexpected $ 7.6 billion "black hole" budget deficit. The new treasurer, Peter Costello , and Finance Minister, John Fahey worked at reducing Commonwealth expenditure. This involved reneging on
24440-490: The partial sale of Telstra . He also promised to restore the prime minister's attendance at question time in parliament (which Keating had reduced in his final term). The 1996 Election brought to an end 13 years of the Hawke-Keating Labor government . The Liberal-National Coalition won the federal election on 2 March 1996 against the incumbent Keating Labor government . The coalition had a 45-seat majority in
24628-476: The percentage of single parents receiving 90% or more of their income from benefits fell from 47% to less than 36%. Other important social security initiatives introduced for the unemployed included the introduction of the New Employment Entry payment, while some administrative obstacles and income tests were relaxed. In October 1987, the international Stock Market Slump saw markets crash around
24816-484: The period". During the period 1983 to 1996, Australia was one of the leading OECD countries in terms of social expenditure growth, with total social spending increasing by more than four percentage points of GDP compared to an OECD average of around 2.5 percentage points. "Active society" measures were also introduced in an attempt to limit the growth of poverty and inequality. From 1980 to 1994, financial assistance for low-income families in Australia increased from 60% of
25004-560: The plan became public (Peter Reith denied knowledge of the plan) and the union movement was able to stop the Dubai training; the training was finished in Australia with the assistance of the National Farmers' Federation . At 11 pm 7 April 1998, Corrigan, with the assistance of security guards with dogs, sacked the union workforce of 1,400 across the country, and replaced it with the alternate non-union labour. John Howard described
25192-503: The political spectrum, and commanded a diverse base of supporters, colloquially referred to as his " battlers ". Retrospectively, ratings of Howard's premiership have been polarised. His critics have admonished him for involving Australia in the Iraq War, his policies regarding asylum seekers, and his economic agenda. Nonetheless, he has been frequently ranked within the upper-tier of Australian prime ministers by political experts and
25380-403: The poor state of the Australian economy. Industrial Relations Minister Peter Cook indicated an intention to introduce a more flexible wage system. In his July budget, Kerin forecast a deficit of $ 4.7 billion. In a press conference, Kerin was unable to recall what GOS – gross operating surplus – stood for. In December, shortly before Keating's successful second challenge against Hawke, Kerin
25568-468: The popularity of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party; industrial relations reforms, including the 1998 waterfront dispute and the introduction of WorkChoices ; the 1999 Australian republic referendum ; reconciliation and native title; the introduction of a goods and services tax ; the 1999 Australian-led intervention in East Timor ; blocking boats of refugees from seeking asylum in Australia;
25756-585: The population in 1985–86 to 9.3% in 1989–90. Child poverty also fell dramatically under the Hawke-Keating government, with the percentage of children estimated to be living in poverty falling from nearly 16% in 1985 to around 11% by 1995. As noted by Brian Howe , social policy under Hawke was effective in reducing poverty and protecting those most vulnerable to massive social and economic change. According to some observers, "improvements in government policies and programs in income support payments, and services such as education, health, public housing and child care, and
25944-566: The progressive nature of the income tax system, have all contributed to the result that Australia appears to have become a more equal society over the period from 1981–82 to 1993–94". In 1984, the government introduced its three mine policy to limit the number of uranium mines in the Australia to three. The policy resulted from the strength of the anti-nuclear movement within Labor. The 1987 budget extended rental assistance to all Family Allowance Supplement recipients together with longer-term unemployment benefit beneficiaries. A family package
26132-428: The public service. On 28 April 1996, eight weeks into the new government's term, 35 people were shot dead by a lone gunman in Port Arthur , Tasmania. John Howard led a push to significantly increase restrictions on gun ownership, which divided the cabinet and inflamed some rural voters who were an important part of the Coalition's core constituency. The new National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996 restricted
26320-572: The public. In his first term, Hawke set the record for the highest approval rating on the ACNielsen Poll (a record which still stands as of 2008). The government benefited from the disarray within the Liberal opposition after the resignation of Fraser. The Liberals were divided between supporters of John Howard and Andrew Peacock . The conservative Premier of Queensland , Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen , also helped Hawke with his " Joh for Canberra " campaign in 1987, which proved highly damaging for
26508-665: The question of Australia becoming a republic and consider other alterations to the Australian Constitution which might be appropriate for the coming centenary of the Federation of Australia in 2001. The convention had been promised in Opposition by Alexander Downer in response to the republican proposals of the Keating government . Consisting of 152 delegates, the Convention comprised both appointed and elected delegates. Appointees included 40 national parliamentarians and elected delegates included representatives of
26696-409: The question of retirement when he turned 64. This was interpreted as boosting Costello's leadership aspirations, and the enmity over leadership and succession resurfaced publicly when Howard did not retire at the age of 64. In the first half of 2001, rising petrol prices, voter enmity over the implementation of the GST, a spike in inflation and economic slowdown led to bad opinion polls and predictions
26884-577: The rate of Asian immigration be "slowed down a little". The comments divided opinion within the Coalition, and undermined Howard's standing amongst Liberal party figures including federal and state Ministers, intellectual opinion makers, business leaders, and within the Asia Pacific. Three Liberal MPs crossed the floor and two abstained in response to a motion put forward by Prime Minister Hawke to affirm that race or ethnicity would not be used as immigrant selection criteria. Many Liberals later nominated
27072-579: The referendum's overwhelming vote in favour of independence. The successful mission was widely supported by Australian voters, but the government was criticised for "foreign policy failure" following the violence and collapse of diplomatic relations with Indonesia. By Howard's fourth term, relations with Indonesia had recovered to include counter-terrorism cooperation and Australia's $ 1bn Boxing Day Tsunami relief efforts, and were assisted by good relations between Howard and Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono . Throughout his prime-ministership, Howard
27260-497: The return of the Gough Whitlam -led Labor government. Howard supported Malcolm Fraser for the leadership of the Liberal Party against Billy Snedden following the 1974 election. When Fraser won office at the 1975 federal election , Howard was appointed Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs , a position in which he served until 1977. At this stage, he followed the protectionist and pro-regulation stance of Fraser and
27448-481: The scheme. From 19 April 1999, job seekers aged 17 or 18 and who had left Year 12 had to join the scheme after three months of job seeking. During the 2000 Summer Olympic Games , all those of an eligible age who had been unemployed for three months or more and lived in Sydney were required to participate. This temporary change was made to encourage people to take up casual work during the Games. In December 2000, Work for
27636-404: The second prime minister to do so, after Stanley Bruce at the 1929 election . Following this loss, Howard retired from politics, but has remained active in political discourse. Howard's government presided over a sustained period of economic growth and a large " mining boom ", and significantly reduced government debt by the time he left office. He was known for his broad appeal to voters across
27824-437: The severity of the recession by initially encouraging the economy to boom post-stock crash as elections were approaching, which necessitated higher interest rates and tighter monetary policy than would otherwise have been necessary. Hewson called for a radical reform program and formulated a package which included a consumption tax policy and industrial relations reform to address the poor economic situation. The Fightback! policy
28012-614: The support of many traditionally Labor voters—dubbed " Howard battlers "—Howard and the Liberal-National Coalition swept to power on the back of a 29-seat swing. This was the second-worst defeat of an incumbent government since Federation. The Coalition picked up a five per cent swing, taking 13 seats away from Labor in New South Wales, and winning all but two seats in Queensland. The Liberals actually won
28200-478: The tax changes—including the GST—were implemented in the government's second term after amendments to the legislation were negotiated with the Australian Democrats to ensure its passage through the Senate. Through much of its first term, opinion polling was disappointing for the government. The popularity of Pauline Hanson, and the new restrictions on gun ownership drew many traditionally Coalition voters away from
28388-483: The tax system, while the Family Assistance Package (introduced in 1987) significantly strengthened the amount of income support for hundreds of thousands of low-income families. Some sole parents and unemployed persons benefited from other measures designed to reduce barriers to workforce participation, deal with their housing costs, and increase their incomes. In addition, a new Child Support Agency
28576-429: The university grades and the social connections to be on track for a partnership". He subsequently moved to a smaller firm, which became Truman, Nelson and Howard after he was made a partner. Howard married fellow Liberal Party member Janette Parker in 1971, with whom he had three children: Melanie (1974), Tim (1977) and Richard (1980). John and Janette are Christians . Howard joined the Liberal Party in 1957. He
28764-518: The unwieldy nature of the 27-member Whitlam cabinet. The caucus under Hawke exhibited a much more formalised system of parliamentary factions , which significantly altered the dynamics of caucus operations. Hawke and Keating formed an effective political partnership despite their differences. Hawke was a Rhodes Scholar; Keating left high school early. Hawke's enthusiasms were cigars, horse racing and sport whereas Keating preferred classical architecture , Mahler symphonies, and antique collecting. Hawke
28952-666: The win as a mandate for the GST, and in surprising and apparently impromptu remarks, he committed the government to reconciliation with Australia's indigenous peoples. Simultaneously with the federal election, a referendum on statehood was held in the Northern Territory , with the Howard government promising to grant statehood if it passed. The "No" vote won with 51.9 percent of the vote, a margin of just over 3,500 votes. John Howard Prime Minister of Australia Term of government (1996–2007) Ministries Elections John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939)
29140-465: The world. The crisis originated when Japan and West Germany pushed up interest rates, pressuring US rates also to rise, triggering a massive sell off of US shares. Global share prices fell an average of 25%, but Australia saw a 40% decline. The Hawke government responded to the crisis initially by asking the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission to defer its national wage case. Treasurer Keating
29328-463: The years ahead. As noted by Ann Harding at the University of Canberra : To appreciate the scale of these changes, let us look at the Browns, a hypothetical family. Mr Brown works for a low wage, Mrs Brown looks after two children, and they rent their home. In late 1982 the Browns received just under $ 13 a week in family allowance – about $ 25 per week in 1995–96 dollars. In contrast, in January 1996
29516-809: Was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party in April 1982. His election depended largely on the support of the "drys", and he became the party's champion of the growing free-market lobby. The economic crises of the early 1980s brought Howard into conflict with the Keynesian Fraser. As the economy headed towards the worst recession since the 1930s, Fraser pushed an expansionary fiscal position much to Howard's and Treasury's horror. With his authority as treasurer being flouted, Howard considered resigning in July 1982, but, after discussions with his wife and senior advisor John Hewson , he decided to "tough it out". The 1982 wages explosion—wages rose 16 per cent across
29704-588: Was transported to New South Wales in 1816 for stealing a watch. Howard was born and raised in the Sydney suburb of Earlwood , in a Methodist family. His mother had been an office worker until her marriage, while his father and his paternal grandfather, Walter Howard, were both veterans of the First Australian Imperial Force in the First World War . They also ran two Dulwich Hill petrol stations where Howard worked as
29892-532: Was a member of the party's New South Wales state executive and was federal president of the Young Liberals (the party youth organisation) from 1962 to 1964. Howard supported Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War , although has since said there were "aspects of it that could have been handled and explained differently". At the 1963 federal election , Howard acted as campaign manager for Tom Hughes in his local seat of Parkes . Hughes went on to defeat
30080-493: Was able to pass legislation without the support of minor parties. The government also faced internal problems and tension, with the loss of numerous ministers during its first term due to the introduction of a ministerial code of conduct and ongoing leadership rivalry between John Howard and Peter Costello. Significant issues for the Howard government included implementation of substantial spending cuts in its first term of office and completely paying off government debt; gun control;
30268-423: Was advised to tighten monetary policy, but, with forthcoming by-elections and a state election in New South Wales, the government opted to delay the potentially unpopular move, which would raise interest rates. Commodity prices dropped and the Australian dollar sharply declined. The Reserve Bank conducted a $ 2 billion intervention to hold the dollar at 68c but it crashed to 51c. In December 1987, Keating said that
30456-443: Was also introduced, while coverage of occupational superannuation pensions was also widened significantly, from 46% of employees in 1985 to 79% in 1991. During the course of the 1980s and early 1990s, government benefits substantially improved the incomes of the bottom 20% of households, with rent assistance, family payments, and sole parent benefits all substantially boosted in real terms. According to some historians, when examining
30644-537: Was appointed director, who turned the focus on the economic benefits of a culturally diverse society. OMA advised the PM and Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs as well as the newly-established Australian Council of Multicultural Affairs , with Justice Sir James Gobbo as chair. In 1989, following community consultations and drawing on the advice of the Advisory Council for Multicultural Affairs (ACMA),
30832-563: Was challenging economic orthodoxies in place for most of the century. He came to favour tax reform including broad-based taxation (later the GST ), a freer industrial system including the dismantling of the centralised wage-fixing system, the abolition of compulsory trade unionism , privatisation and deregulation. In 1978, the Fraser government instigated the Campbell Committee to investigate financial system reforms. Howard supported
31020-469: Was completed. A surge in commodity prices began in 1986 and assisted the economy to a small 1987 surplus of $ 2.3 Billion. With commodity prices now over their peak, economic conditions were entering a decline, with high interest rates, a growing current account deficit, declining demand, increasing foreign debt and a wave of corporate collapses. Furthermore, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc economies,
31208-399: Was consensus-driven whereas Keating revelled in debate. Hawke was a lapsed Protestant and Keating was a practising Catholic, although the extent of his commitment to formal practices are debated . While the impetus for economic reform largely came from Keating, Hawke took the role of reaching consensus and providing political guidance on what was electorally feasible and how best to sell it to
31396-599: Was created in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . This was partly because of a poor reaction to the 1986 budget, which led to the need for better information to be gathered on multicultural issues, and also because it was recommended by the Jupp Review of Migrant and Multicultural Programs and Services. Putting it in PMC gave multicultural affairs the same status as women's and Aboriginal issues. Peter Shergold
31584-399: Was despite saying, before winning the prime ministership, that it would "never ever" be part of Coalition policy. A long-held conviction of Howard's, his tax reform package was credited with "breaking the circuit" of party morale—boosting his confidence and direction, which had appeared to wane early in the Government's second term. The 1998 election was dubbed a "referendum on the GST", and
31772-528: Was devised in March 1997 between Industrial Relations Minister, Peter Reith , Transport Minister John Sharp , and Patrick Corporation managing director Chris Corrigan whereby Patrick's would replace the existing current unionised labour with non-unionised labour using the government's new industrial relations legislation . The government agreed to the company's request to fund redundancy payments later announced to be $ 150 million. The company secretly trained an alternate workforce in Dubai. In December 1997,
31960-412: Was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for the division of Bennelong . He was promoted to cabinet in 1977, and later in the year replaced Phillip Lynch as treasurer of Australia , remaining in that position until the defeat of Malcolm Fraser 's government at the 1983 election . In 1985, Howard was elected leader of the Liberal Party for the first time, thus replacing Andrew Peacock as Leader of
32148-572: Was established to provide community-based services for frail aged people and people with disabilities, while to combat homelessness a Supported Accommodation Assistance program was introduced to assist those who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or escaping domestic violence. A bereavement payment equivalent to fourteen weeks pension for the surviving member of a pensioner couple was also introduced, together with an Asylum Seeker Assistance scheme to provide help to applicants for refugee status in need. A wide range of measures were introduced to protect
32336-721: Was established, designed to provide a more efficient system of maintenance and tackle child poverty. Funding for public housing and disadvantaged students was also considerably increased. Various measures were also introduced which enhanced the rights of women in the workplace. The Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 prohibited sex discrimination in employment while the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act of 1986 required all higher education institutions and all private companies with more than 100 employees to introduce affirmative action programmes on behalf of women. A year later, equal opportunity legislation for
32524-470: Was imposing a monetary squeeze, while on the other it was encouraging spending with wage increases and tax cuts". By July 1990, Australia was entering severe recession. Initially, the Treasurer had insisted Australia would face a "soft landing", but after receiving the September quarter accounts indicating a large contraction of 1.6 per cent, he adopted a different political strategy, instead arguing that
32712-574: Was introduced in fulfilment of this pledge. The code required ministers to divest shares in portfolios that they oversaw and to be truthful in parliament. The code eventually led to seven cabinet ministers resigning following breach of the code. Jim Short and Brian Gibson both resigned in October 1996 as both held shares in companies that were within their ministerial portfolios. Bob Woods resigned in February 1997 over questionable ministerial expense claims. Geoff Prosser resigned in July 1997 following
32900-457: Was introduced that same year, designed not only to improve the adequacy of welfare payments for low-income families, but was also designed to ensure that participating in part-time work or full-time work didn't lead to a loss in income support. The Hawke government's achievements in boosting financial support to low-income households were substantial, with the family assistance package bringing significant benefits to millions of low-income families in
33088-515: Was launched in November 1991. The comprehensive plan further destabilised Hawke's leadership. The ACTU campaigned for a wage increase. Hawke brokered an increase for waterside workers and public servants. By April 1991, unemployment was nearing 10% and rising. On 3 June, Keating challenged Hawke for the leadership of Labor, but lost the vote and became a destabilising presence on the back bench. The new treasurer, John Kerin and deputy prime minister Brian Howe blamed Keating's 1990 economic policy for
33276-485: Was not already an independent nation, but said that, while the Australian Constitution works "remarkably well", it was the institution of monarchy that was the crux of his argument for change: " The temper of the times is democratic; we are uncomfortable with an office that appoints people by hereditary. In our society in our time we prefer appointment by merit". The Convention reached "in principle" support for an Australian republic and examined three models for change. After
33464-568: Was not reappointed to the Second Howard Ministry. In early 1999, the government announced that ministers would no longer be required to divest themselves of shareholdings. On 23 December 1996, the High Court recognised the Wik people 's native titles rights, and that pastoral and mining leases would not extinguish native title as had been assumed after the 1992 Mabo decision and subsequent Native Title Act 1993 . Rather,
33652-450: Was only assured of reelection on the ninth count. He ultimately finished with a fairly comfortable 56 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. In 1998, Howard convened a constitutional convention which decided in principle that Australia should become a republic . At the convention Howard confirmed himself as a monarchist, and said that of the republican options, he preferred the minimalist model. Howard outlined his support for retaining
33840-480: Was persuaded by colleagues to step down, leaving the way open for Hawke to assume leadership of the ALP. In announcing his resignation, Hayden famously remarked that, given the electoral climate, "a drover's dog could lead the Labor Party to victory". Long serving Liberal Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser announced an election that same day, with a date set for 5 March. Hawke served just one month as Opposition Leader (and without sitting in Parliament as one) before taking
34028-575: Was preselected as the Australian Labor Party candidate for the Seat of Wills and resigned from the ACTU. Hawke won the seat at the 1980 Election and was appointed as Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Employment and Youth Affairs by Opposition Leader Bill Hayden . In 1982, amongst the early 1980s recession , he initiated a leadership challenge against Hayden, and narrowly lost. At the February 1983 Funeral of former Labor Prime Minister Frank Forde , Hayden
34216-546: Was proclaimed. In April 1984, the Hawke government proclaimed Advance Australia Fair as Australia's national anthem, settling an ongoing debate, and at the same time declared green and gold as the national colours of Australia . The Hawke government secured passage of the Australia Acts in 1986, severing remaining constitutional ties to Britain: ending the inclusion into Australian law of British Acts of Parliament, and abolishing remaining provisions for appeals to
34404-610: Was removed as Treasurer and appointed Minister for Transport and Communications and the Minister for Finance, Ralph Willis, became Treasurer. Hawke attributed the change to loss of confidence in communication. By 1992, shortly after Hawke lost office, unemployment had reached 11 per cent, the highest level in Australia since the Great Depression of the 1930s. In health, the Whitlam government's universal health insurance system (Medibank), which had been dismantled by Fraser,
34592-404: Was resolute in his refusal to provide a parliamentary "apology" to Indigenous Australians as recommended by the 1997 " Bringing Them Home " Report. Howard made a personal apology before the release of the report. In 1999, Howard negotiated a " Motion of Reconciliation " with Aboriginal Senator Aden Ridgeway . Eschewing use of the word "sorry", the motion recognised mistreatment of Aborigines as
34780-460: Was restored under a new name, Medicare while a Pharmaceutical Allowance was also introduced to help pay towards the cost of prescription medicines. The government's response to the AIDS concern is also considered to have been a success. In addition, nursing education was transferred from hospital-based programs to the tertiary education sector, while Australia's first ever national mental health policy
34968-472: Was staged on Sydney Harbour on Australia Day out of respect for Indigenous Australians . In 1988 Hawke was the first to promise a treaty between Aboriginal peoples and the government, after receiving the Barunga Statement from Aboriginal elders , which called for such a treaty to be concluded. Despite public interest and growing support, concerns were raised over possible implications of such
35156-536: Was succeeded by another Labor administration, the Keating government , led by Paul Keating after an internal party leadership challenge in 1991. Keating was Treasurer through much of Hawke's term as prime minister and the period is sometimes termed the Hawke-Keating government . Bob Hawke was president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) from 1969 to 1980. On 14 October 1980, he
35344-513: Was to see wool and wheat prices decline, savaging Australia's agricultural sector. Keating budgeted a record $ 9.1 billion surplus for 1989–90, and Labor won the 1990 election, aided by the support of environmentalists. To court the green vote, environment minister Graham Richardson had placed restrictions on mining and logging which had a further detrimental effect on already rising unemployment. David Barnett wrote in 1997 that Labor fiscal policy at this time "self-defeating as "with one hand it
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