Australian statesman and prime minister (19916), born in Sydney, New South Wales, SE Australia. He managed a rock-and-roll band before entering federal parliament as a member of the House of Representatives in 1969. He was minister for Northern Australia in the Whitlam Government in 1975, and president of the New South Wales Labor Party (197983). As Treasurer (198391), he was the main architect of the government's economic policies, particularly the deregulation of financial markets. After unsuccessfully challenging Bob Hawke as leader, he spent some time as a back-bencher before being elected leader by his party in 1991. In 1993, in the midst of a recession and record high levels of unemployment, he and his party managed to win a general election that was seen as unwinnable. An outspoken republican, known for his razor-sharp tongue, he retired from parliament following the election defeat of 1996. In 1997 he declined the award of Companion to the Order of Australia - the first living former prime minister not to accept the honour. He continues to speak on political issues.
Paul John Keating|
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| 24th Prime Minister of Australia | |
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In office 20 December 1991 – 11 March 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Bob Hawke |
| Succeeded by | John Howard |
| Born |
18 January 1944 Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| Political party | Labor |
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944), was an Australian politician and the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1996. As Prime Minister he is noted for his many legislative achievements, and his victory in the 1993 Election, which many had considered "unwinnable" for Keating.
Early life
Keating grew up in Bankstown, a working-class suburb of Sydney.
Keating was educated at Catholic schools;
Through the unions and the NSW Young Labor Council Keating met other Labor luminaries such as Laurie Brereton, Graham Richardson and Bob Carr, and also developed a friendship with former New South Wales Labor Premier Jack Lang, then in his 90s. Keating met Lang to discuss politics on a weekly basis for some time, and in 1972 succeeded in having Lang's Labor Party membership restored. Using his extensive contacts, Keating gained Labor endorsement for the seat of Blaxland in the western suburbs of Sydney, and was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1969 election, at the age of 25.
Keating was a backbencher for most of the Whitlam Labor government, but briefly became Minister for Northern Australia in 1975, one of the youngest ministers in Australian history.
After Labor's defeat in 1975, Keating became an opposition frontbencher, and in 1981 he became president of the New South Wales branch of the party and thus leader of the dominant right-wing faction.
Reforming Treasurer
When Hawke won the March 1983 elections, Keating became Treasurer, a post which he held until 1991. Keating inherited the position of Treasurer of Australia from Liberal John Howard, and with it an economy that needed much attention. So after a difficult start, Keating mastered economic policy and was soon acknowledged as the driving political force behind many of the macroeconomic reforms of the Hawke government, including floating the Australian dollar, substantial cuts in tariffs, and taxation reforms, all of which modernised the Australian economy and increased its Competitiveness. In 1985, Keating proposed a value-added tax (known in Australia as in New Zealand and Canada whence it was directly copied as the Goods and Services Tax or GST), an option seriously debated before being dropped by Hawke, in the belief that the idea would be highly unpopular in the electorate.
The Hawke-Keating partnership was strongest during the first two terms of the government, (1983-87), with Hawke playing the statesman and populist leader while Keating was the political attack dog. Keating and Hawke provided a study in contrasts. After the 1987 election, however, Keating began to feel that it was time for Hawke to make way for him.
In 1988, in a meeting at Kirribilli House, Hawke and Keating discussed the handover of the leadership to Keating. Hawke confidentially agreed in front of one witnesses that after the 1990 election, he would resign in Keating's favour. In 1991, when Hawke intimated to Keating that he planned to renege on the deal on the basis that Keating had been publicly disloyal and moreover was less popular than Hawke, Keating challenged him for the leadership. In December 1991 Keating defeated Hawke in a second leadership challenge, and became Prime Minister.
Prime Minister
Hawke's undoing had been the policy package unveiled by the new Liberal leader, Dr John Hewson. The government had been in power for ten years, the pace of economic recovery was sluggish, and some voters perceived Keating as arrogant. However, Keating succeeded in winning back the electorate with a strong campaign opposing Fightback, memorable for Keating's litany of "15% on this, 15% on that", and a focus on creating jobs to reduce unemployment. Keating led Labor to an unexpected election victory, and his memorable "true believers" victory speechhas entered Australian political folklore as one of the great Australian political speeches. After Keating, many of the reforms of Fightback were implemented under the Liberal government of John Howard.
As Prime Minister, Keating's interests and public perception broadened from that of the narrowly focused Treasurer.
As well as this agenda, Keating embarked on a comprehensive legislative program. Keating also strengthened Australia’s position in the region and the world, increasing the status of Australia internationally and strengthening Australia's strategic importance.
Defeat
As long as the Liberal Party failed to present a credible alternative Prime Minister, Keating seemed secure. Alexander Downer replaced Hewson as leader in 1994, but he failed to make any impression on Keating's standing and never shook off Keating's jibe that he was "the idiot son of the aristocracy."
Despite Keating once promising to "crucify" him, and arguably doing so in the 1987 election, Howard led the Liberals to a sweeping victory at the March 1996 election, ending the 13 years of enlightened Labor government, the longest in Australia's federal history.
Life after politics
After the 1996 electoral defeat, Keating immediately resigned from Parliament. During Howard's Prime Ministership, Keating has made occasional speeches strongly criticising his successor's social policies, and disavowing perceived weaknesses in his own policies (such as those on East Timor), but he has stayed out of Labor Party affairs.
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