Paul Keating

• Born: 18 January 1944

Australian politician and former prime minister

Place of birth: Paddington, Australia

Education: De La Salle College (attended until 1958)

Significance: As Australia's treasurer and prime minister, the Honourable Paul Keating of the Australian Labor Party made wide-ranging economic and legislative reforms during the 1980s and 1990s. His achievements included deregulating the economy, strengthening international relations and passing legislation on Aboriginal Australians' land rights.

Background

Paul Keating was born on 18 January 1944 in Paddington, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. The eldest of four children born to Matt and Min Keating, he grew up in Bankstown, a south-western suburb of Sydney. Around 1958, he left De La Salle College and took a job as a clerk. He attended evening school for two years but did not take the final exams.

Keating joined the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in 1959 and joined its Labor Youth Council in 1964. He became the president of the Youth Council in 1966.

Political Career

Keating began what would become a nearly three-decade career in Parliament when he was elected to the House of Representatives for Blaxland, New South Wales, in 1969. In October 1975, he became the minister for Northern Australia following the resignation of Rex Connor but lost the portfolio several weeks later when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's government was dismissed. The ALP lost the 1975 election, and Keating spent the next eight years in the Opposition. He held several shadow ministries, including minerals and energy (1976–80), national development (1977–80) and resources and energy (1980–83). He was also the treasury spokesperson in 1983.

When Labor returned to power following the March 1983 election, Keating was appointed the treasurer in Prime Minister Bob Hawke's government. During his first year as treasurer, he began deregulating Australia's economy to make it more competitive in the international market. Radical changes included floating the Australian dollar on the international money markets and allowing foreign banks to operate in Australia. Additional reforms followed, including the privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank and Qantas, tariff reductions, and the elimination of direct government control of interest rates.

After Labor won the 1990 election, Keating became the deputy prime minister and the minister assisting the prime minister for Commonwealth–State relations. By this time, however, fractures had developed within the party. Australia's economy was in a recession, and Keating had grown critical of Prime Minister Hawke's leadership. In June 1991, Keating challenged Hawke for the leadership of the ALP but lost the caucus ballot. Following his defeat, he resigned from both ministries and the treasury. In December 1991, he once again challenged Hawke's leadership and won the caucus ballot. Hawke resigned and Keating took office as prime minister on 20 December 1991. He was first elected into office when he guided the ALP toward a surprise win in the 1993 election and a fifth term in government, attributed in large part to his staunch attacks of the Opposition's proposed goods-and-services tax.

As prime minister, Keating continued to deregulate the economy and worked to strengthen the economy and Australia's relations with other countries. A proponent of free trade, he was very active in the newly established Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and developed bilateral relations with several Asia-Pacific countries, most notably, Indonesia. In response to Australia's high unemployment, Keating supported legislation that established the Australian National Training Authority, which provided vocational education and instruction to help individuals become more employable and productive. He established a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (1992) and initiated legislation that addressed the land rights of Aboriginal Australians. The Native Title Act 1993 set up a system to determine the validity of title rights and provide protection for them, and the Land Fund and Indigenous Land Corporation (ATSIC Amendment) Act 1995 established a corporate body to assist Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. His government passed legislation that implemented a superannuation system, an employer-based retirement savings program (Superannuation Guarantee of 1992); protected the environment (Endangered Species Protection Act 1992 and the Antarctic Legislative Amendment Act 1992); and banned disability discrimination (Disability Discrimination Act 1992). Keating also was interested in Australia becoming a republic and created a Republic Advisory Committee to examine this issue.

Amid high unemployment and increasing foreign debt, the ALP lost the 2 March 1996 election. Keating immediately resigned as leader of the party and was succeeded as prime minister by John Howard on 11 March 1996. Following his resignation from the House of Representatives on 23 April 1996, Keating has remained interested in issues facing the county and has been a frequent political commentator and speaker. In 2000, he published Engagement: Australia Faces the Asia-Pacific, an examination of Australia's foreign policy during his time as prime minister. He was a visiting professor of public policy at the University of New South Wales in 2007.

Impact

Paul Keating's social and economic reforms and foreign policy initiatives transformed Australia and increased the competitiveness of the nation. While he was unsuccessful in enacting all of his plans, he set Australia on a solid pro-market path that continues to shape the nation. Similarly, his foreign policy initiatives established a foundation for increased participation in regional and global affairs.

Personal Life

Keating and Anna Johanna Maria "Annita" van Iersel married in 1975 and later divorced. They have four children: Patrick, Caroline, Katherine and Alexandra.

Bibliography

Bowen, Chris. The Money Men: Australia's Twelve Most Notable Treasurers. Melbourne UP, 2015.

Holden, Richard. "Was Paul Keating a Great Treasurer?" Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 Nov. 2013, www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-20/holden-keating-legacy/5104990. Accessed 18 June 2024.

O'Brien, Kerry. Keating. Allen & Unwin, 2015.

"Paul Keating." Australia's Prime Ministers, National Archives of Australia, Commonwealth of Australia, 2016, primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/keating/index.aspx. Accessed 18 June 2024.

"Prime Ministers of Australia: Paul Keating." National Museum Australia, https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/prime-ministers/paul-keating. Accessed 18 June 2024.

Wilson, Jason. "How Paul Keating Became the Modern Day Hero for Left and Right Alike." The Guardian, 30 June 2016, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/01/how-paul-keating-became-the-modern-day-hero-for-left-and-right-alike. Accessed 18 June 2024.