Paul Keating

Paul Keating had a long parliamentary career which included an eight-year stint as federal Treasurer and a five year term as Prime Minister. As Treasurer under Bob Hawke he had pursued a radical policy of economic deregulation which had a major effect on the Australian economy throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The notable achievements of Keating's time as Prime Minister include the passing of indigenous land rights legislation, the setting in place of a referendum on an Australian republic, and the reform of vocational education and training. Keating is perhaps best known for his political persona, with his sharp wit, creative put-downs of Opposition members and forceful style of argument making him a powerful and intimidating presence in Parliament.

Paul John Keating was born in Sydney in 1944. He grew up in Bankstown, an industrial outer western suburb of Sydney. Keating left school at 15 and later studied at Belmore and Sydney Technical Colleges. At 15 he also joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He worked for a trade union representing workers in local government and famously managed a rock band, the Ramrods.

Keating was elected to the House of Representatives for the Sydney seat of Blaxland in 1969. He first became a minister in the 1970s, in the cabinet of Gough Whitlam. Over his time in Opposition from 1975 to 1983 Keating was given responsibility for a variety of portfolios, and was for a time president of the New South Wales ALP. When Bob Hawke became Prime Minister in 1983 he appointed Keating Treasurer, a portfolio he would hold for the next eight years and three months.

As Treasurer, Keating was responsible for a sweeping program of economic reform and deregulation. In this period the Hawke government licensed the operation of foreign banks in Australia and floated the Australian dollar on international money markets. These were the first steps towards deregulating the national economy so as to make Australia competitive in a global economy. Keating and Hawke's program of deregulation was criticised for going against the fundamental policies of the ALP by promoting market-oriented economic policies based on an 'economic rationalist' philosophy. Economic rationalism has faith in the ability of markets to operate independently from government control.

The Hawke-Keating reforms were widely praised in the business and economic communities in Australia and internationally, although there was a backlash against the program by the time of the recession of 1990 to 1992, which followed the stock market crash of 1987. The 1987 'Black Monday' crash brought the precarious economic boom of the 1980s to an abrupt end and led to the spectacular collapse of the business empires of high profile entrepreneurs who had emerged in the early 1980s, along with economic losses and anxiety for ordinary Australians.

The questionable business dealings in and around the collapse of large corporations run by figures like Alan Bond, tarnished the positive image of deregulation and indicated the need for more effective corporate governance and regulation.

On John Laws' radio program in 1986 Keating made a famous comment that the economic difficulties in Australia were leading it to become a 'Banana Republic', a colourful term meaning a politically unstable country, dependent on limited agriculture and led by a small, wealthy and corrupt group, like many Latin American countries of the period. These comments were widely criticised and thought to have a negative economic effect by sapping investor confidence internationally. By 1990 the Australian economy had slid into recession and unemployment figures would go on to reach elevn percent by 1992, the highest level since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Keating made another gaffe in this period, attracting further criticism for stating that 'this is the recession we had to have'.

Although Hawke had taken the Labor Party to a record fourth term in office at the federal election held in March 1990, the poor state of the economy and the length of Hawke's time in office meant that many of his colleagues felt he was unable to lead the party to further victories.

As well as holding the Treasury portfolio, Keating served as Deputy Prime Minister, and in June of 1991 he challenged Hawke for the ALP leadership. In this instance he was unsuccessful, and resigned his ministries and took up a position on the back-bench. However, increased economic pressure and a lack of confidence in Hawke led to his removal as leader in December 1991, when Keating made a second and successful challenge to Hawke's leadership. See image 1

Although opposed by the 'Left' faction of the party, even his opponents recognised that his political skill meant that under his leadership the ALP might be returned at the next election. In March of 1993 Keating led Labor to victory in a federal election which most people expected it would not win. The election campaign centred on the ALP's opposition to a 'goods and services' tax (GST), a tax on general consumption which has since been brought in by the Howard government.

Having been confirmed as the people's choice for leader, Keating began actively legislating and promoting the causes in which he believed. During Keating's term the following notable legislation was introduced:

• The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth), which made discrimination on the basis of disability unlawful on a uniform basis across the country;

• The Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Cth), which reformed the Broadcasting Act 1942 (Cth) and established the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) which regulates all aspects of broadcasting;

• The Antarctic (Environmental Protection) Legislative Amendment Act 1992 (Cth), which implemented the international Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty; and

• The Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 (Cth), which provided for the protection of endangered species and ecological communities.

Keating was also responsible for amending the structure of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) so as to establish bodies dealing specifically with issues of Aboriginal land rights and funding.

One of Keating's best-known initiatives as Prime Minister was his work on the issue of Australia becoming a republic. As Keating came to power in the early 1990s his support for the republic was widely known, and he continued to campaign for it throughout his time in office and beyond. In February 1992 Keating called for a new Australian flag, stating that the presence of the Union Jack in the corner of the flag was appropriate for a colony, not for an independent nation like Australia.

Keating gave a speech during the Queen's visit to Australia in 1992 in which he referred to Australia's outlook being 'necessarily independent' Around the same time he announced Cabinet's decision to amend the Citizenship Act and the Oath of Allegiance to remove all references to the Queen. In April 1993 Keating appointed a Republic Advisory Committee to examine the options for an Australian republic. The Republic Advisory Committee published its report in 1993 and in the wake of the report Keating proposed a referendum on the republic, on the question of replacing the Governor-General with a President. The President was to be nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by a two-thirds majority in a joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives. It was not until 1999, by which time Keating was several years out of office, that the referendum went to the Australian people under John Howard. It was defeated.

Under Keating, the republic was part of a progressive policy approach toward the Australian national image, which also included reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. In 1992 he established a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, and following the High Court's decision on native Title in the Mabo case in June 1992, Keating took a personal lead by presenting to parliament two major items of legislation (the Native Title Bill and the Land Fund Bill) designed to secure the land rights of Aboriginal people. In 1993 the Parliament passed the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) which set into law the High Court's Mabo decision and provided a national system for the recognition and protection of native title and for its co-existence with the national land management system. See animation

Keating also sought to strengthen Australia's links with Asia, a cause for which he continued to campaign after his term in office. He worked to increase dialogue with our neighbours in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) group, to achieve economic cooperation in the region through the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organisation (APEC).

In March 1996, after more than four years in office, Keating went to his second federal election as Prime Minister. Problems with the economy, including high foreign debt, high unemployment numbers and high interest rates were felt to reflect his government's inability to manage the economy. Keating was convincingly defeated by the Liberal-National Party coalition of John Howard.

Keating immediately resigned as ALP leader and from parliament, handing over to Kim Beazley. He has remained out of the public arena after his defeat and has devoted himself to developing business interests. Keating's significant achievements as Prime Minister are the passage of the Native Title legislation, pushing reconciliation between Aboriginal and other Australians, the major reform of the Australian economy, and the setting in place of a debate over the possibility of an Australian republic.