Paul Keating
Updated: Wikipedia source
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as treasurer under Bob Hawke from 1983 to 1991 and as the seventh deputy prime minister from 1990 to 1991. Keating was born in Sydney and left school at the age of 14. He joined the Labor Party at the same age, serving a term as State president of Young Labor and working as a research assistant for a trade union. He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the age of 25, winning the division of Blaxland at the 1969 election. He was briefly minister for Northern Australia from October to November 1975, in the final weeks of the Whitlam government - along with Doug McClelland, he is the last surviving minister who served under Gough Whitlam. After the Dismissal removed Labor from power, he held senior portfolios in the Shadow Cabinets of Whitlam and Bill Hayden. During this time he came to be seen as the leader of the Labor Right faction, and developed a reputation as a talented and fierce parliamentary performer. After Labor's landslide victory at the 1983 election, Keating was appointed treasurer by prime minister Bob Hawke. The pair developed a powerful political partnership, overseeing significant reforms intended to liberalise and strengthen the Australian economy. These included the Prices and Incomes Accord, the float of the Australian dollar, the elimination of tariffs, the deregulation of the financial sector, achieving the first federal budget surplus in Australian history, and reform of the taxation system, including the introduction of capital gains tax, fringe benefits tax, and dividend imputation. He also became recognised for his sardonic rhetoric, as a controversial but deeply skilled orator. Keating became deputy prime minister in 1990, but in June 1991 he resigned from the ministry to unsuccessfully challenge Hawke for the leadership, believing he had reneged on the Kirribilli Agreement. He mounted a second successful challenge six months later, and became prime minister. Keating was appointed prime minister in the aftermath of the early 1990s economic downturn, which he had famously described as "the recession that Australia had to have". This, combined with poor opinion polling, led many to predict Labor was certain to lose the 1993 election, but Keating's government was re-elected in an upset victory. In its second term, the Keating government enacted the landmark Native Title Act to enshrine Indigenous land rights, introduced compulsory superannuation and enterprise bargaining, created a national infrastructure development program, privatised Qantas, Commonwealth Serum Laboratories and the Commonwealth Bank, established the APEC leaders' meeting, and promoted republicanism by establishing the Republic Advisory Committee. At the 1996 election, after 13 years in office, Keating’s government suffered a landslide defeat to the Liberal–National Coalition, led by John Howard. Keating resigned as leader of the Labor Party and retired from Parliament shortly after the election, with his deputy Kim Beazley being elected unopposed to replace him. Keating has since remained active as a political commentator, whilst maintaining a broad series of business interests, including serving on the international board of the China Development Bank from 2005 to 2018. As prime minister, Keating performed poorly in opinion polls, and in August 1993, received the lowest approval rating for any Australian prime minister since modern political polling began. Since leaving office, Keating received broad praise from historians and commentators for his role in modernising the Australian economy as treasurer, although ratings of his premiership have been mixed. Keating has been recognised across the political spectrum for his charisma, debating skills, and his willingness to boldly confront social norms, including his famous Redfern Park Speech on the impact of colonisation in Australia and Aboriginal reconciliation.