The
Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia...
John HowardJohn Winston Howard, AC was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
. It was made up of members of the
LiberalThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
–
NationalThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing rural voters, it was originally called the Country Party, but adopted the name National Country Party in 1975 and changed to its present name in 1982...
CoalitionThe Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922. The Coalition partners are the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Party of Australia ;...
, which won a majority of seats in the
Australian House of RepresentativesThe House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house, the upper house being the Senate.-Origins and role:The House is presided over by the Speaker....
at four successive elections.
The Howard Government commenced on 11 March 1996, nine days after the defeat of the
Keating GovernmentThe Hawke-Keating Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 1983 to 1996. The government was led initially by Bob Hawke as Prime Minister, who was succeed by Paul Keating in 1991....
at the 1996 federal election. It concluded on 3 December 2007, nine days after its defeat at the 2007 federal election by the
Australian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party.Known as the ALP for short, the party is the current governing party of Australia, since the 2007 federal election...
, whose leader
Kevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the centre-left Australian Labor Party . Under Rudd's leadership, the Labor Party won the 2007 federal election on 24 November against the incumbent centre-right Liberal/National coalition government led...
formed the
Rudd GovernmentThe Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia during Kevin Rudd's prime ministership. It is made up of members of the Australian Labor Party....
and became Prime Minister. It thus was the second-longest government under a single Prime Minister, with the longest having been the second Menzies Government (1949–1966).
As has been the convention with Coalition governments, the leader of the
Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
,
John HowardJohn Winston Howard, AC was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, served as
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia...
, whilst the leader of the
National PartyThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing rural voters, it was originally called the Country Party, but adopted the name National Country Party in 1975 and changed to its present name in 1982...
served as
Deputy Prime MinisterThe Deputy Prime Minister of Australia is the second-most senior officer in the Government of Australia. The Deputy Prime Ministership has been a ministerial portfolio since 1968, and the Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.The current...
. Three Nationals leaders served in this capacity:
Tim FischerTimothy Andrew Fischer, AC, FTSE , is a former Australian politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 before retiring from Cabinet in 1999...
until 20 July 1999, followed by
John AndersonJohn Duncan Anderson is an Australian politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the rural-based National Party of Australia from July 1999 to July 2005.-Early years:...
until 6 July 2005 and then
Mark VaileMark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Pre parliament:...
. Two senior ministers also served in single roles for the duration of the Government—
Peter CostelloPeter Howard Costello is an Australian lawyer and former politician. Elected to the seat of Higgins in 1990, he was Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 2007, and served as Treasurer of Australia from 1996 to 2007, making him the longest serving treasurer in Australian history.On 18...
as
TreasurerThe Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
, and
Alexander DownerAlexander John Gosse Downer is an Australian former Liberal politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
as
Minister for Foreign AffairsIn the Government of Australia, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is responsible for overseeing the international diplomacy section of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In common with international practice, the office is often informally referred to as Foreign Minister...
. Decisions of the Executive were made either by the
CabinetThe Cabinet of Australia is the council of senior ministers of the Crown, responsible to parliament. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General, on the advice of the Prime Minister, and serves at the former's pleasure. The strictly private Cabinet meetings occur once a week to discuss vital...
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
SenateThe Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. The lower house is known as the House of Representatives. Senators, popularly elected under a system of proportional representation, serve terms of six years...
. Significant 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 was able to pass legislation without the support of minor parties.
Election win
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 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 the public service which had previously worked closely with the previous Labor government.
Port Arthur massacre and gun control
On 28 April 1996, eight weeks into the new government's term, 35 people were shot dead by a lone gunman in
Port ArthurPort Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. Port Arthur is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and the open air museum is officially Tasmania's top tourist attraction. Known for its harsh conditions, dark history and...
,
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...
. John Howard led a push to significantly increase restrictions on gun ownership, which divided the cabinet and inflamed rural voters who were an important part of the Coalition's core constituency. The new legislation was implemented on a bi-partisan co-operative arrangement across the States which restricted the private ownership of
semi-automatic riflesA semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a gun that after being fired, ejects the empty round that has been fired, loads a new cartridge, and cocks itself...
,
semi-automatic shotgunA semi-automatic shotgun is a form of shotgun that is able to fire a cartridge after every trigger squeeze, without any manual chambering of another round being required...
s and pump-action shotguns and raised the prospect of a referendum on gun control. A "National Firearms Agreement" was introduced which covered related matters such as uniform firearms licensing, although this was never fully implemented.
Government spending cuts
The Government soon found that the previous
Keating GovernmentThe Hawke-Keating Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia of the Australian Labor Party from 1983 to 1996. The government was led initially by Bob Hawke as Prime Minister, who was succeed by Paul Keating in 1991....
had left them with an unexpected $9 billion "black hole" budget deficit. The new treasurer,
Peter CostelloPeter Howard Costello is an Australian lawyer and former politician. Elected to the seat of Higgins in 1990, he was Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 2007, and served as Treasurer of Australia from 1996 to 2007, making him the longest serving treasurer in Australian history.On 18...
, and Finance Minister,
John FaheyJohn Joseph Fahey, AC is the former Premier of New South Wales and Federal Minister for Finance in Australia. John Fahey is currently the chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1984 to 1996 and the federal House of...
worked at trimming government spending. This involved reneging on a number of election commitments, which Howard defended as "non-core promises". At the first Coalition government budget, the public service was "down-sized", the
Commonwealth Employment ServiceThe Commonwealth Employment Service was an Australian Government employment agency established in 1946 with the introduction of the Re-establishment and Employment Act 1945 and continued to exist under the provisions of the Commonwealth Employment Service Act 1978.-History in the last 1990...
(CES) was privatised, and big cuts were made to all departments including universities, the Office of the Status of Women, the Australian Broadcasting Commission, ATSIC, with the exception of defence, which received no funding cuts. Further big spending cuts came in the 1997 budget.
Industrial relations and waterfront dispute
The Howard Government made waterfront reform a key feature of the 'first wave' of its industrial relations agenda. Their intent was to lift exports with a unitarist HRM and hence improve the economy, but also sought to use it as a symbolic issue to decrease trade union influence. Initially,
new workplace legislationThe Workplace Relations Act 1996 is an Australian law passed by the Howard Government after coming into power in 1996. It replaced the previous Labor Government's Industrial Relations Act 1988. It started operation on 1 January, 1997 and provided for the continuation of the federal award system...
was introduced in December 1996—following a deal with Democrats Leader
Cheryl KernotCheryl Kernot is a former Australian politician. She was the fifth leader of the Australian Democrats , before defecting to the Australian Labor Party where she narrowly held the Brisbane seat of Dickson for one term.-Political career:Kernot spent twelve years as a political activist while working...
—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.
The “Interventionist Strategy” was devised in March 1997 between Industrial Relations Minister,
Peter ReithPeter Keaston Reith, , former Australian politician, was a senior Cabinet minister in the first two terms of the Howard Government.-Early life:...
, Transport Minister
John SharpJohn Randall Sharp , Australian politician, is a former National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Divisions of Gilmore and Hume in New South Wales....
, and
Patrick CorporationPatrick Corporation Ltd was an Australian publicly listed logistics conglomerate. Headed by controversial CEO Chris Corrigan before it was absorbed by Toll Holdings in 2006, Patrick had interests in shipping, rail and aviation, including a 62% shareholding in low-cost airline Virgin Blue...
managing director
Chris CorriganChris Corrigan is an Australian businessman. He was the Managing Director of the Patrick Corporation until it was taken over in 2006....
wherby Patrick’s would replace the existing current unionised labour with non-unionised labour using
the government’s new industrial relations legislationThe Workplace Relations Act 1996 is an Australian law passed by the Howard Government after coming into power in 1996. It replaced the previous Labor Government's Industrial Relations Act 1988. It started operation on 1 January, 1997 and provided for the continuation of the federal award system...
. The government agreed to the company’s request to fund redundancy payments later announced to be $250 million. The company secretly trained an alternate workforce in Dubai. In December 1997, 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' FederationThe National Farmers' Federation is an Australian industry association that represents Australian farmers at a national level, including through lobbying the Australian Government...
. At 11pm 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 describes the action as
"a fightback by the people of Australia against the inefficiency of the wharves.”
Over the following months, a bitter and sometime violent dispute took place at port locations. The
Maritime Union of AustraliaThe Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, seamen, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. As of 2005 the union has about 10,000 members...
(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 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.
Legislation
The government did not have a majority in the
SenateThe Senate is the upper of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia. The lower house is known as the House of Representatives. Senators, popularly elected under a system of proportional representation, serve terms of six years...
, and thus had to negotiate legislation through the Senate with either the
Australian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a centrist or social liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former minister Don Chipp, as a high...
or the independents. The Senate modified Government legislation, including the partial privatisation of the government-owned telecommunications company,
TelstraTelstra or Telstra Corporation Ltd , is an Australian telecommunications and media company, formerly owned by the Australian government...
; increases in
university fees; large funding cuts in the 1996 and 1997 budgets; a 30% private
health insuranceHealth insurance is insurance that pays for medical expenses. It is sometimes used more broadly to include insurance covering disability or long-term nursing or custodial care needs. It may be provided through a government-sponsored social insurance program, or from private insurance companies...
rebate; and the
Wik 10 Point PlanThe Native Title Amendment Act 1998 , also commonly referred to as the "10 Point Plan" is an Australian law created by the John Howard led Liberal government in response to the 1996 Wik Decision by the High Court of Australia...
, giving
extinguishmentExtinguishment is the destruction of a right or contract. If the subject of the contract is destroyed , then the contract may be made void. Extinguishment occurs in a variety of contracts, such as land contracts , debts, rents, and right of ways...
of
native titleNative title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
on
pastoral leasePastoral Leases exist in both Australian commonwealth law and state jurisdictions.Under the Commonwealth of Australia law they are agreements that allow for the use of Crown land by farmers, etc...
s.
During this first term, only two pieces of legislation were rejected outright by the Senate, being the Workplace Relationships Amendment Bill 1997 and the Telstra (Transition to Full Private Ownership) Bill 1998. A "
work for the doleWork for the Dole is an Australian federal government program that is a form of workfare, work-based welfare. It was first permanently enacted in 1998, having been trialed in 1997....
" system was introduced that required able-bodied
social securitySocial security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection, or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
recipients to participate in activites aimed at improving their social and work skills.
Ministerial code of conduct
The coalition campaigned on a policy of "clean government" as a contrast to the previous government. A "Code of Ministerial Conduct" 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 ShortJames Robert "Jim" Short is an Australian politician and diplomat.Born in Shepparton, Victoria, he attended the University of Melbourne before becoming a public servant with the Treasury Department. He was Executive Secretary of the Australian Industries Development Corporation from 1973 to 1974...
and
Brian GibsonBrian Francis Gibson is an Australian politician and businessman who has held senior appointments in Australian companies and industry bodies.Gibson was born in Ascot Vale Victoria in 1936....
both resigned in October 1996 as both held shares in companies that were within their ministerial portfolios.
Bob WoodsRobert Leslie "Bob" Woods was an Australian politician. Born in London, England, he attended the University of London and then the University of Sydney. He became a doctor and cancer specialist. In 1987, he was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Liberal member for Lowe,...
resigned in February 1997 over questionable ministerial expense claims.
Geoff ProsserGeoffrey Daniel Prosser , Australianpolitician, was a Liberal member of theAustralian House of Representatives from July 1987 until the 2007 election, representing the Division of Forrest, Western Australia....
resigned in July 1997 following the disclosure that he was a shopping centre landlord whilst he was responsible for commercial tenancy provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1975.
John SharpJohn Randall Sharp , Australian politician, is a former National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Divisions of Gilmore and Hume in New South Wales....
,
David JullDavid Francis Jull , Australian politician, was a long-serving Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Bowman, Queensland, 1975-83 and Fadden, Queensland, 1984-2007. He was born in Kingaroy, Queensland, and was educated at the University of Queensland...
and
Peter McGauranPeter John McGauran , Australian politician, was a National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives representing the Division of Gippsland in Victoria, from 5 March 1983 to 9 April 2008. He is the brother of Senator Julian 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 MooreJohn Colinton Moore AO is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives for over 25 years, and a minister from 1980 to 1982 and 1996 to 2001....
and
Warwick ParerWarwick Raymond Parer , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate, representing the state of Queensland. He was the nephew of Australian war photographer Damien Parer.Born in Wau, Papua New Guinea, he attended St...
survived revelations about his shareholdings. Parer however 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.
Wik & Native Title
On 23 December 1996, the
High CourtThe High Court of Australia is the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
recognised the Wik people's native titles rights, and that pastoral and mining leases would not extinguish
native titleNative title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
as had been assumed after the 1992 Mabo decision and subsequent
Native Title Act 1993The Native Title Act of 1993 provides for determinations of native title in Australia. The Act was passed in response to the High Court's decision in Mabo v Queensland. The Act commenced operation on January 1, 1994....
. Rather, 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 1998The Native Title Amendment Act 1998 , also commonly referred to as the "10 Point Plan" is an Australian law created by the John Howard led Liberal government in response to the 1996 Wik Decision by the High Court of Australia...
" was introduced into Parliament in September 1997, John Forbes in the Adelaide Review raised critical five issues which the proposed government plan did not address. but was opposed by 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.
Taxation and the GST
A broad-based
goods and services taxThe GST is a value added tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia.It was introduced by the Howard Government on 1 July 2000, replacing the previous Federal wholesale sales tax system and designed to phase out a number of various State and Territory Government taxes, duties...
(GST) had been proposed by both the Labor Party and the Coalition as a means of increasing the tax base; in 1981 Treasurer John Howard proposed an indirect consumption tax to Cabinet, a mid-1980’s 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 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 the 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 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 term. The Treasurer was charged with forming and running a special confidential working group to devise the details of the plan over 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. 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 a difficult sell during the election campaign which was considered a “referendum on the GST”.
1998 election
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 the Howard government. Also unpopular with many voters were the large spending cuts, the waterfront dispute and industrial changes, and the Government's commitment to a GST.
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 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 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.
The 1999 Republican referendum
The 1999 Australian republic referendum was a two question
referendumA referendum , ballot question, or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal...
held in 1999. The first question asked whether Australia should become a
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
with a
PresidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
appointed by
ParliamentThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
, a model that had previously been decided at a
Constitutional ConventionIn Australian history, the term Constitutional Convention refers to four distinct gatherings.-First convention:The first Constitutional Convention was held in Sydney in March 1891 to consider a draft Constitution for the proposed federation of the British colonies in Australia and New Zealand....
in February 1998. The second question, generally deemed to be far less important politically, asked whether Australia should alter the
constitutionThe Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
to insert a preamble. Neither of the amendments passed, with 55% of all electors and all states voting 'no' to the proposed amendment.
The referendum was held on 6 November 1999, after a national advertising campaign and the distribution of 12.9 million Yes/No case pamphlets. The question on a republic was defeated. It was not carried in any state and attracted 45 per cent of the total national vote. The preamble referendum question was also defeated, with a Yes vote of only 39 per cent.
Many opinions were put forward for the defeat, some relating to perceived difficulties with the Parliamentary Appointment model, others relating to the lack of public engagement. Many republicans voted no because they did not agree with provisions such as the President being instantly dismissable by the Prime Minister.
Implementing the GST
In the month following the election, the Government moved to implement its tax changes, and sought the support of Tasmanian independent senator,
Brian HarradineBrian Harradine , Australian politician, was an independent member of the Australian Senate from 1975 to 2005, representing the state of Tasmania. He was the longest-serving independent federal politician in Australian history, and a Father of the Senate.He was born in Quorn, South Australia before...
. The Senator, however, announced on 14 May 1999, that he had an in-principle objection to the GST and would not support the bill. The sole remaining opportunity for the Government to pass the legislation through the Senate was to obtain the support of the
Australian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a centrist or social liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former minister Don Chipp, as a high...
. Following intense negotiations which had at one stage almost broken down, a deal was reached on 28 May whereby the concessions given to the Democrats included and exemption on basic food, more generous compensation to pensioners, and a reduction in tax cuts to higher income earners. The GST came into effect on 1 July 2000, the lead up to which was marked by public concerns and confusion, interest group lobbying for exemptions, and the Opposition campaigning against it. The GST lead to a single quarter of negative economic growth and a spike in the consumer price index, however, these effects were transient. The implementation of the new tax system was not without its problems and voter dissatisfaction with the GST increased; Labor stepped up a campaign against it, promising a partial rollback should it win office.
East Timor
Australia was one of the few countries to recognise the
1976 annexation of East TimorIndonesia occupied East Timor from December 1975 to October 1999.After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, a 1974 coup in Portugal led to decolonization among its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain...
by
PresidentThe President of the Republic of Indonesia is the Head of State as well as the Head of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia.The first president was Sukarno and the current president is Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.-History of the office:...
Suharto's "New Order" government. The 1998 resignation of Suharto and replacement by his reformist protégé, B.J. Habibie, created an opportunity in both countries for policy reform. Habibie was suggesting
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
receive special autonomy status within the
Indonesian republicThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, which he offered as part of United Nations (UN)-mediated negotiation process between Indonesia and the territory's former colonial ruler, Portugal. Australian policy also changed. From a position of not supporting any act of East Timorese self-determination, the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Downer formulated a shift in policy to suggesting not just autonomy but a political solution that included a referendum on independence be provided in about a decade. This was developed confidentially without the knowledge of Cabinet, and outlined in a December 1998 letter to Habibie suggesting the Indonesian government prepare for such a referendum.
Reacting to the Howard-Downer letter, in January 1999 Habibie announced a snap decision for East Timor to have a UN-supervised referendum within 6 months rather than the 10 years suggested by Howard. The Habibie announcement provoked violence from East Timorese
pro-integration militia groupsPro-Indonesia militias were East Timorese paramilitary militia groups that formed to show loyalty to the Indonesian government during the movement for East Timorese independence in the late 1990s...
, violence that the Indonesian military (TNI) could not or would not control. The Prime Minister’s request for President Habibie to permit a UN peace-keeping force to take control was rejected by President Habibie as unacceptable and inflammatory to the Indonesian domestic political environment.
On 30 August 1999, the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence. Within a few days, the pro-integration militia—along with their TNI supporters—undertook a retaliatory scorched earth campaign that left over 1,000 people dead and destroyed much of the territory’s infrastructure. In the face of Australian public and international outrage, the Prime Minister led discussions for a UN peacekeeping force, a position supported by US President Bill Clinton and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Following international pressure, President Habibie allowed the peacekeeping force (
INTERFETThe International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers.The International Force for East...
) to enter Indonesia, with Australia providing the largest contingent of 4,500 troops. Landing in
DiliDili , spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital and largest city of East Timor. It lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. Dili is the chief port and commercial centre for East Timor, and has approximately 150,000 inhabitants...
on 20 September 1999, the mission was popular within Australia and maintained bipartisan political support. In early October, the UN Secretary-General announced that INTERFET had largely restored order to East Timor.
In the
Bulletin MagazineThe Bulletin is a discontinued Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its...
it was suggested that the Prime Minister viewed Australia as a "deputy peacekeeping capacity to the global policing role of the US" in the
Asia-PacificAsia-Pacific or Apac is that part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The area includes much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia and Oceania)....
region, and that he had embraced the term "Howard Doctrine". Both notions were criticised in the region—including by diplomats and academics—and Howard rejected both notions later that week.
Reconciliation
As recommended in the 1997
Bringing Them HomeBringing Them Home is the title of the Australian "Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families"...
report, the Government considered the issue of a national apology to
Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands, and these peoples' descendants. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia's...
, in recognition of the treatment by previous governments since the European settlement of the country. However, in the face of a growing movement in favour of a formal national apology, Howard remained strongly against it, saying he didn’t believe that the current generation should accept responsibility for the actions of previous generations. Instead, on 26 August 1999 John Howard introduced a “
Motion of ReconciliationThe Motion of Reconciliation was a motion to the Australian Parliament introduced on 26 August 1999. Drafted by Prime Minister John Howard in consulation with Aboriginal Senator Aden Ridgeway , it dedicated the Parliament to the "cause of reconciliation" and recognised historic mal-treatment of...
” and repeated his personal expression of "deep and sincere regret" for past injustices.
At Corroboree 2000, a Reconciliation convention in May 2000 in preparation for a reconciliation ceremony to be held at the centenary of Australian Federation, the Government opposed the wording of a proposed “Australian Declaration towards Reconciliation”. Consequently agreement is not reached with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, with the Government preferring reference be made to “practical reconciliation” that focuses on health, education, housing and employment, rather than the more symbolic proposal for an apology, to expressed as part of ‘’“walk[ing] the journey of healing”’’. No member of the Cabinet reportedly at the instruction of John Howard, joined the 250,000 people who walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of the Peoples Walk for Reconciliation.
Leadership tensions and slump in popularity
Howard’s reported instruction to his Cabinet to not join the Reconciliation Walk highlighted tensions between him and Treasurer Costello, who was amongst those Cabinet Ministers who had wanted to walk. In a 2000 radio interview on his 61st birthday, Howard suggested that if the Party still wanted him to contest the next election he would consider retirement when he was 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 May 2001, an internal Liberal Party memo written by Shane Stone, the Federal President of the Liberal Party, was leaked to the media. The memo, particularly critical of Peter Costello and warning that the government was perceived as “ a mean government”, “not listening” and “out of touch”, was highly embarrassing for the government’s top leadership group and flared tensions between Howard and Costello.
In the first half of 2001, the government suffered a number of setbacks including rising petrol prices, voter enmity over the implementation of the GST and its new administrative obligations on business, a spike in inflation and a sharp slow down in the economy. The Coalition lost office in both the West Australian and Queensland state elections in February, while defeat in the Ryan by-election and bad opinion polls led to predictions of the Howard Government losing office in the election expected late that year.
In response, the government announced a serious of reversals and softening of policy: fuel excise was decreased by 1.5c/litre and indexation of excise was removed with John Howard saying the government was
“not going to be sacrificed on the pyre of ideological purity”. Contrary to their previous record on encouraging foreign investment, the government announced intention to block Royal Dutch Shell’s $10 billion takeover of
Woodside PetroleumWoodside Petroleum Limited is an Australian petroleum exploration and production company. It is a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and has its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia.-History:...
. It was generally a popular decision within the electorate but one that critics said was pandering to
"Hansonite"Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician and former leader of Pauline Hanson's One Nation, a political party with a populist and anti-immigration platform. In 2006, she was named by The Bulletin as one of the 100 most influential Australians of all time.-Early life:Hanson was raised in...
economic nationalism. By June, government spending on media promotion and advertising of government programs was $20 million a month. The subsequent federal budget had a lower than expected surplus of $1.5 billion, and contained significant benefits and tax cuts for older Australians, a demographic whose support the government keenly sought. News that the economy had avoided recession also boosted the government. In July, the Liberal Party held onto the seat of Aston in a by-election prompting John Howard to say that the Coalition was
“back in the game”.
In 2001, Finance Minister John Fahey, announced he would retire at the next election, as did Defence Mnister Peter Reith. Deputy Prime Minister,
Tim FischerTimothy Andrew Fischer, AC, FTSE , is a former Australian politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 before retiring from Cabinet in 1999...
resigned from the Ministry in 1999 and from Parliament in 2001.
Asylum seekers
From 1999 to mid 2001, approximately 8,000 asylum seekers had landed on Australian shores. The government instructed the Australian Navy to turn boats back, which it said would stop more asylum seekers making the journey. The program dubbed "Operation Relex" begins on 3 September. In August 2001, the government refused permission for the
NorwegianNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
freighter
MV TampaThe ship MV Tampa was built in Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the carrying of shipping containers or cars. It was launched in 1984 and is currently owned by the Norwegian based Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning.-Tampa affair:...
, carrying a group of asylum seekers picked up in
international watersThe terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands...
, to enter Australian waters (see
Tampa affairIn August 2001, the Howard Government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 438 asylum seekers rescued up in international waters, to enter Australian waters...
). When the Tampa entered Australian waters, the Prime Minister ordered the ship be boarded by
Australian special forcesThe Special Air Service Regiment is a special forces regiment of the Australian Army and is modelled on the original British SAS, while also drawing on the traditions of the Australian 'Z' Special Force commando unit, and the Independent Companies which were active in the South Pacific during the...
. This brought censure from the
government of NorwayPolitics in Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the King's council, the cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of Norway. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Storting, elected...
who said the Australian Government failed to meet obligations to distressed mariners under international law at the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
. Within a few days the government introduces the
Border Protection Bill into the House of Representatives saying it will confirm Australian sovereignty to "
determine who will enter and reside in Australia". The Opposition opposed the bill defeating it in the Senate, and John Howard accused Labor leader Kim Beazley of standing for nothing and said
"He has no ticker". Two weeks later, the opposition supported an amended version of the Bill. The Government brokered a deal, dubbed "The Pacific Solution", with the Government of Nauru whereby the asylum seekers were taken to
NauruNauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island nation in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbor is Banaba Island in Kiribati, 300 km to the east...
where their refugee status was considered, rather than in Australia.
On 7 October 2001, a Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel (SIEV) containing 223 refugees was intercepted by an Australian warship as part of "Operation Relex". The Department of Defence informed the government that children had been thrown overboard. The Government said that the refugees threw their children in the water and sank the boat in an attempt to force the Australian sailors to grant them asylum. John Howard said
"we're not a nation that‟s going to be intimidated by this kind of behaviour.” Three days later doubt was cast over whether photos offered as evidence by Defence Minster Peter Reith actually proved that children had been thrown overboard. Evidence later presented suggested that the Government had exaggerated or fabricated these claims.
These asylum restriction incidents resounded with the Australian electorate; many commentators cite the August 2001
Tampa controversyThe ship MV Tampa was built in Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the carrying of shipping containers or cars. It was launched in 1984 and is currently owned by the Norwegian based Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning.-Tampa affair:...
as the decisive issue in Howard's 2001 election victory. The government pointed out that by that November the boat arrivals had stopped. The Government's position on asylum seekers was criticised by Liberal members
Petro GeorgiouPetro Georgiou , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since November 1994, representing the Division of Kooyong, Victoria.-Early life:...
and
Bruce BairdThe Honourable Bruce George Baird , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of theAustralian House of Representatives from October 1998 to November 2007, representing the electorate of Cook, New South Wales...
, questioning the extent of the problem and the ethics of the Government's response.
On 5 October 2001, John Howard announced a federal election to be held on 10 November. From the poor opinion polling in early 2001 that suggested electoral defeat, the government recovered to win the 2001 election, recording one of the biggest electoral swings to an incumbent government.
Third term: 2001–2004
The
Governor GeneralThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
, Dr.
Peter HollingworthPeter John Hollingworth, AC, OBE is an Australian Anglican bishop. He served as the Archbishop of Brisbane for 11 years before becoming the 23rd Governor-General of Australia from 2001 until 2003....
, faced allegations of not investigating Anglican ministers accused of
paedophiliaThe term pedophilia has a range of definitions as found in psychiatry, psychology, law enforcement, and the vernacular. As a medical diagnosis, it is defined as a psychological disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a sexual preference for prepubescent children...
while he was Anglican
Archbishop of BrisbaneThe Anglican Diocese of Brisbane is located in Brisbane, Australia. The cathedral church of the diocese is St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The current Archbishop of Brisbane is the Most Reverend Dr Phillip Aspinall, who is also the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.The first Anglican...
. Hollingworth subsequently resigned the governor-generalship.
In April 2002 changes where made to
Australian nationality lawAustralian nationality law is based primarily on the principle of Jus soli. The status of Australian citizenship was created by the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 which received Royal Assent on 21 December 1948 and came into force on 26 January 1949.Prior to this date Australians were...
that allowed Australian citizens who had acquired another country's citizenship to keep their Australian citizenship concurrently.
Despite its victory in 2001, the government did not have a Senate majority, and its ability to pass planned legislation was restricted.
"War on Terror"
Following the
2002 Bali bombingThe 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia, killing 202 people, 152 of whom were foreign nationals, and 38 Indonesian citizens...
, in which 202 people were killed including 88 Australian citizens, Howard pledged that Australia would fight in worldwide "war on terrorism", saying; "I can't understand how anybody could argue that you can respond adequately, in the name of the scores of Australians who were killed in Bali, without being part of the worldwide war against terror." Two days before the attack, the US issued a worldwide warning notice urging tourists to Bali to avoid "clubs, bars and restaurants" where Westerners congregate. The Australian Government had received US intelligence identifying Bali as a possible target of a terrorist attack on Western tourists but did not change its advice to Australian holidaymakers. The Howard Government did not issue a similar warning, though following the attack it issued a travel advisory warning against any travel to Indonesia.
In March 2003, Australia joined the so-called
Coalition of the WillingThe term coalition of the willing is a post-1990 political phrase used to describe military or military/humanitarian interventions for which the United Nations Security Council cannot agree to mount a full UN peacekeeping operation...
and
sent troops and naval unitsThe Howard Government supported the disarmament of Iraq during the Iraq disarmament crisis. Australia later provided one of the four most substantial combat force contingents during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, under the operational codename Operation Falconer....
to support the
invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 20 to May 1...
. Australian opinion was divided on the war and large public protests against the war occurred. Several senior figures from the Liberal party, including
John ValderJohn Valder is a former president of the federal Liberal Party of Australia and also a previous chairman of the Australian Stock Exchange. Valder was a founding member of the 'Not happy John!' campaign.-Quote:...
, a former president of the Liberal Party, and Howard's former friend and colleague, former Opposition Leader
John HewsonDr John Robert Hewson AM is an Australian economist and former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994, and led the party to defeat at the 1993 federal election.-Early life:...
and former Prime Minister
Malcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser, AC, CH is an Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
publicly criticised Howard over Iraq. John Valder's criticism was particularly strong, claiming that Howard should be tried and punished as a
war criminal.War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war"; including "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war", the killing of hostages, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns...
.
On 5 February 2003, the Australian Senate presented its first vote of no-confidence against a serving leader for deploying troops to the Persian Gulf. The unprecedented vote carried no legislative power as the motion was defeated in the House of Representatives. Senior Australian intelligence officer,
Andrew WilkieAndrew Wilkie is a former soldier and intelligence analyst who resigned from the Office of National Assessments , an Australian intelligence agency, in March 2003 over concerns that intelligence was being misrepresented for political purposes in making the case for Australia's contribution to the...
resigned from his job citing ethical reasons. Wilkie later went on to challenge Howard in
his electorateThe Division of Bennelong is an Australian electorate in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Bennelong, an Aboriginal man befriended by the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip...
. On
Anzac DayAnzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who...
2004, Howard made a surprise visit to Australian defence personnel in Iraq. This came amid a bitter debate in Australia over the war following opposition leader
Mark LathamMark William Latham , a former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
's promise to return Australian troops by
ChristmasChristmas , also referred to as Christmas Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The day marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. The nativity of Jesus, which is the basis for the anno Domini...
. Howard successfully portrayed Latham as a threat to the U.S.-Australia alliance, which led to a fall in Latham's popularity.
Renewable energy
On 6 May 2004, Howard convened a meeting with a group of energy industry representatives called the Lower Emissions Technology Advisory Group (LETAG). Although it met with the renewable energy sector separately, the Government was later criticised for not inviting them to this meeting. According to leaked minutes from the meeting, Howard would conclude that technology would be the long-term solution to greenhouse issues and his focus should be on ways to accelerate introduction of technology for reducing greenhouse gases, but that he was not looking for the establishment of public policy. Concerns about the cost and effectiveness of the current Mandatory
Renewable EnergyRenewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat—which are renewable . In 2006, about 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewables, with 13% coming from traditional biomass, such as wood-burning...
Targets (MRET) were also raised.
Same-sex relationships
In May 2004, and with the help of the
Australian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a centrist or social liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former minister Don Chipp, as a high...
, the Howard Government amended Australia's superannuation law to allow same-sex couples to inherit their partners' private sector superannuation.
Announcing the May 2004 proposal, Howard said:
- "The changes we are announcing today will provide greater certainty for the payment of super death benefits for those involved in interdependency relationships including, of course, members of same sex relationships"
The changes did not extend to members in Commonwealth superannuation schemes.
On 13 August 2004, the Senate passed the Howard Government's Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill which incorporated the common law definition of marriage—"the union of a man and a woman to exclusion of all others"—into the
Marriage ActThe Marriage Act 1961 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which governs legal marriage in Australia. It does not deal with the legal dissolution of marriage...
and the
Family Law Act.
International affairs
By 2003, trade with China had tripled since the Government came to office and Chinese President
Hu JintaoHu Jintao is currently the Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
selected Australia as his first international port of call after taking office. Howard invited Hu to become the first Chinese leader to address the Australian Parliament. Presidents Bush and Hu addressed the Parliament over two days in 2003 and Howard has claimed management of China relations as his major foreign policy achievement.
Tsunami and Changing Opposition Leaders
On 26th December 2004, a massive Tsunami devastated large areas of Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. Howard moved quickly to offer a $A1 Billion aid package and won praise from Indonesia's President for being first on the phone and first on the ground aiding Indonesia . After nose-diving at the time of the
INTERFETThe International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers.The International Force for East...
intervention in
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
in 1999, government-to-government ties with Indonesia had been strengthening in the aftermath of the
2002 Bali BombingThe 2002 Bali bombings occurred on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attack was the deadliest act of terrorism in the history of Indonesia, killing 202 people, 152 of whom were foreign nationals, and 38 Indonesian citizens...
, notably through counter-terrorism co-operation and inter-faith dialogue. The Australian response to the Tsunami further consolidated improving relations and a personal rapport between Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang YudhoyonoSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a retired Indonesian Army general officer, and the President of Indonesia. Yudhoyono won the 2004 Indonesian presidential election defeating incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Widely known in Indonesia by his initials "SBY", he was sworn into office on 20...
and John Howard.
Opposition Leader
Mark LathamMark William Latham , a former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
came under criticism for failing to take time out from Christmas leave to comment on the Tsunami disaster adding to growing speculation about his leadership. Citing ill-health, Latham resigned as Leader soon after and was replaced by veteran
Kim BeazleyKim Christian Beazley, AC , son of Kim Edward Beazley, is an Australian politician and academic, who was Leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1996 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2006. As of 2007 he is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at the...
. Unable to dent Howard's popularity as preferred Prime Minister, Beazley's was replaced in December 2006 by
Kevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the centre-left Australian Labor Party . Under Rudd's leadership, the Labor Party won the 2007 federal election on 24 November against the incumbent centre-right Liberal/National coalition government led...
who went on to successfully oust the Howard Government from power in the 2007 Election.
Industrial relations
In 2005, Howard announced
significant changesThe Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, or WorkChoices, which came into effect in March 2006, was a comprehensive change to industrial relations in Australia....
to industrial relations laws. Government ministers, including Howard, felt the Coalition's new Senate majority should be used to implement the potentially unpopular legislation. From the time changes were first hinted at, the changes became the subject of a national publicity campaign by the government and pronounced opposition from community groups, the union movement and state Labor governments. On 15 November 2005,
public ralliesA national day of protest was held in Australia on 15 November 2005, to protest against the industrial relations legislation being introduced by the government of Prime Minister John Howard...
were held to protest against the industrial relations changes. An estimated 100,000-175,000 people attended rallies in Melbourne and around 300 other meetings and rallies, held concurrently around the country, were also well attended. These meetings were organised by various unions and community organisations with the help of Labor and the Greens. Due to the Coalition's slim majority in the Senate, the passage of the proposed laws was put in doubt following criticisms from Queensland National Party Senator
Barnaby JoyceBarnaby Thomas Gerald Joyce , Australian politician, has been a National Party member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Queensland since July 2005...
, although he later voted in support of the legislation. The industrial relations laws were passed without substantial change.
WorkChoices continued to be unpopular after they came into effect on 27 March 2006. Opinion polls found that 63 percent of voters opposed WorkChoices in 2006 and 65 percent in 2007 and that the policy was reducing support for the Coalition. The Government responded to the continuing union campaign against the reforms by conducting a large scale information campaign of its own. On 4 May 2007 Howard announced reforms to WorkChoices which included a new 'fairness test' to protect workers paid less than $75,000 a year. Despite these responses, the Labor Party's polling in 2007 found that opposition to WorkChoices was one of the three biggest vote drivers at the election.
Anti-terrorism measures
In mid 2005, John Howard and his cabinet began discussions of new anti-terror legislation which includes modification to the
Crimes Act 1914The Crimes Act 1914 is a piece of Federal legislation in Australia. Pursuant to the Australian Constitution it prevails in any conflict with State laws dealing with the subject of crime....
. In particular, sections relating to
seditionSedition is a term of law which refers to overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority...
are to be modified. On 14 October 2005,
Jon StanhopeJonathon Ronald Stanhope is the current, and longest serving, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, representing the Australian Labor Party...
(Chief Minister of the ACT) took the controversial step of publishing the confidential draft of the Federal Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005 on his website. This action was both praised and criticised. Citing concerns about civil rights raised by the
Australian National UniversityThe Australian National University, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public teaching and research university located in Canberra, Australia, the federal capital city...
as well as concerns over the speed of the legislation's passage through parliament, he later refused to sign off on a revised version of the legislation, becoming the only State and Territorial leader not to sign. The House of Representatives passed the anti-terrorism legislation which was debated in the Senate before its final implementation in December 2005.
On 2 November 2005 Howard held a press conference to announce that he had received information from police and the
Australian Security Intelligence OrganisationThe Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is the domestic counter-intelligence and security agency of Australia which is responsible for the protection of the country and its citizens from espionage, sabotage, politically-motivated violence, attacks on the Australian defence system,...
(ASIO) that indicated an imminent terrorist attack in Australia. Within a week, on 8 November, anti-terrorist raids were held across
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
and
SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, with 17 suspected terrorists arrested, including
Abdul Nacer BenbrikaAbdul Nacer Benbrika , Australian Muslim activist, also known as Abu Bakr , was one of 17 men arrested in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne in November 2005, and charged with membership of a terrorist organisation and of planning terrorist attacks on targets within Australia...
. These raids, according to Howard, demonstrated the need for his Anti-Terrorism Bill. Critics have also said that the press conference was held on the same day as the changes to industrial relations laws were introduced to Parliament.
Since
Mohamed HaneefMohamed Haneef is an Indian physician who was accused of aiding terrorists, and left Australia upon cancellation of his visa amid great political controversy....
spent 12 days in jail without charges (he was suspected to have supported the perpetrators of the foiled terror attacks in London and Glasgow in July 2007), the anti-terrorism bill and its impact for the
separation of powersThe separation of powers, also known as trias politica, is a model for the governance of democratic states. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the uncodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
in a democracy became more publicly discussed. When a judge found insufficient evidence for the charges against Haneef, Minister of Immigration
Kevin AndrewsKevin James Andrews is an Australian politician and member of the Liberal Party of Australia. He is a member of the House of Representatives, and was Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in the Howard Government, having previously been Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations from 7...
withdrew his working visa. While the Howard government unequivocally backed Kevin Andrew's decision, members of the judicial community in Australia raised their concern about the interference of the government in judicial proceedings.
Mandatory detention policy
Throughout the first half of 2005, the Howard government faced pressure regarding the controversial
mandatory detentionMandatory detention in Australia concerns the Australian federal government's policy and system of mandatory detention active from 1992 to date, pursuant to which all persons entering the country without a valid visa are compulsorily detained and sometimes subject to deportation.In the early 2000s,...
program, introduced in 1992 by the
KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. He came to prominence as the reformist treasurer in the Hawke government from 1983...
LaborThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party.Known as the ALP for short, the party is the current governing party of Australia, since the 2007 federal election...
government.
It was revealed in February that a mentally ill
GermanThe German people are an ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent, and speaking the German language as a mother tongue. Within Germany, Germans are defined by citizenship , distinguished from people of German ancestry...
citizen and Australian resident,
Cornelia RauCornelia Rau is a German citizen and Australian permanent resident who was unlawfully detained for a period of ten months in 2004 and 2005 as part of the Australian Government's mandatory detention program.- Overview :...
, had been held in detention for nine months. The government then established the closed non-judicial Palmer Inquiry promising that the findings would be made public. In May, it was revealed that another Australian, subsequently identified as
Vivian SolonVivian Alvarez Solon is an Australian who was unlawfully removed to the Philippines by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs in July 2001. In May 2005, it became public knowledge that she had been deported, although DIMIA knew of their mistake in 2003...
, had been deported from Australia and that the department responsible was unable to locate her. By late May, it was revealed that an additional 200 cases of possible wrongful detention had been referred to the Palmer Inquiry. Also at this time Howard faced backbench revolt from small numbers of his own party demanding that reforms be made. On 9 June Australia's longest serving detainee,
Peter QasimPeter Qasim was the longest-serving detainee within the Australian immigration detention system, having resided there for over seven years . He had not been deported because he was stateless. He had applied to over 80 countries for asylum, but had not been accepted.His case has been publicised by...
, was moved to a psychiatric hospital.
In June 2005, several backbenchers including
Petro GeorgiouPetro Georgiou , Australian politician, has been a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives since November 1994, representing the Division of Kooyong, Victoria.-Early life:...
challenged the Howard government's holding of asylum-seeker children in immigration detention centres. Over 2000 asylum-seeker children were held in detention centres during previous years. The longest period a child was detained was 5 years.
Under the agreement between Howard and the MPs, legislation was introduced to "soften" the detention system enacted in 1992. Detained families with children were moved out of detention centres and placed in "community detention", and people detained over two years received an
ombudsmanAn ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing the broad scope of constituent interests....
review. Questioned as to why the government had not acted sooner, Howard was quoted as saying: "We have to confess that was one of the many failings of this Government."
Energy
The Government did not sign the
Kyoto ProtocolThe Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at combating global warming...
, refusing to consider a ratification that didn't set binding emission reduction targets for
developing countriesDeveloping country is a term generally used to describe a nation with a low level of material well being. There is no single internationally-recognized definition of developed country, and the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries, with some developing...
such as China and India.
This position was established at the
Asia-Pacific Economic CooperationAsia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries to cooperate on regional trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation. APEC's objective is to enhance economic growth and prosperity in the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community...
summitAPEC Australia 2007 was made up of a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. These meetings culminated in Leaders Week, where the heads of government of each member economy attended Sydney, New South Wales from 2...
in September 2007, which had "nothing to do with trade deals announced [in the previous two] weeks" for the Howard Government. Because "many [of its] business communities were ahead of [government] in preparing and instilling corporate change" on climate issues, Australia could justifiably wait for its overture to the Chinese to "return with greater fervour as trust between [American investers] and the Asian political communities developed" in the future; as it was believed they had to, in order to follow the global energy markets, come to share relatively level business expectations and time horizons.
On 6 June 2006, Howard announced a task force to conduct the "Uranium Mining, Processing, and Nuclear Energy Review", the terms of reference of which include "the extent to which nuclear energy will make a contribution to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions". Howard announced on 10 December 2006 the formation of a
Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions TradingOn December 10 2006, the Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced the establishment of the Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading. The task group has been tasked with developing an Australian Carbon Trading Scheme and was given the following terms of reference: "Australia enjoys...
. On 3 February 2007, the Australian government announced that it could not by itself have a significant effect on
mitigation of global warmingMitigation of global warming involves taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance sinks aimed at reducing the extent of global warming. This is in distinction to adaptation to global warming which involves taking action to minimize the effects of global warming. Mitigation is...
, though it would continue to make efforts to cut greenhouse gases; it would be necessary for Australia to find means of
adaptationAdaptation to global warming consists of initiatives and measures to reduce the vulnerability of natural and human systems against actual or expected climate change effects...
. On 4 June 2007, Howard announced a new Carbon Trading Scheme to be in place in Australia by 2012. Only four months earlier, Howard rejected such a scheme by the states, claiming "knee-jerk reactions that are going to destroy the jobs of coalminers".
Northern Territory intervention
In August 2007, the Howard government announced the
Northern Territory National Emergency ResponseThe Northern Territory National Emergency Response is a package of changes to welfare provision, law enforcement, land tenure and other measures, introduced by the Australian federal government under John Howard in 2007, nominally to address claims of rampant child sexual abuse and neglect in...
(NTER). This package of revisions to welfare provisions, law enforcement and other measures was advanced as a plan for addressing child abuse in Aboriginal
Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
communities that had been highlighted by the "
Little Children are SacredLittle Children are Sacred is the report of a Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse commissioned by the government of the Northern Territory, Australia, was publicly released on 15 June 2007...
" report in mid-June.
Howard had been a long-time opponent of indigenous
Native TitleNative title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
in Australia. Key components of the intervention included seizure by the Federal Government of local community land leases for a five year period and removal of the permit system that had allowed aboriginal communities to control access to their land.
The plan drew criticism from the report's authors for not incorporating any of the report's numerous recommendations, however some aboriginal activists such as Noel Pearson provided qualified support for the intervention, as it provided the first sign of the Howard government taking any significant interest in aboriginal affairs. Commentators noted the approaching November federal election, suggesting that the intervention was an attempt at "wedge politics" and an appeal to middle class non-Aboriginal voters concerned with child abuse and racial issues.
Economy
The Howard Government's fourth term took place during a period of exceptional economic growth and prosperity. During the term over 855,000 new jobs were created, unemployment declined to just over four percent and inflation generally remained within the
Reserve Bank of Australia'sThe Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
(RBA's) target range of 2-3 percent. The Government also completed repaying the Commonwealth's debt and recorded surpluses in each of its budgets during the term. Australia's strong economic performance was largely attributed to the reforms made by both the Hawke-Keating Government and Howard Government and the growth in the world economy over the same period. Growth in Australia's
productivityProductivity is a measure of output from a production process, per unit of input. For example, labor productivity is typically measured as a ratio of output per labor-hour, an input. Productivity may be conceived of as a metric of the technical or engineering efficiency of production. As such, the...
did slow during the Howard Government's fourth term, however, and many areas of Australia's infrastructure reached capacity and required reform. The Howard Government's ability to drive these reforms was limited by the lack of a working relationship with many of the state and territory governments.
The RBA's use of
monetary policyMonetary policy is the process by which the government, central bank, or monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, availability of money, and cost of money or rate of interest, in order to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and stability of the economy...
was a significant issue during the Government's fourth term. A key element of the Government's campaign in the 2004 election was the argument that only a Coalition government could keep interest rates low. As a result, the ALP was able to use the RBA's six interest rate increases over the term to criticise the Government. The interest rate increases and strong growth in house prices during this period contributed to housing affordability reaching an all-time low.
Changes to fiscal policy introduced in the 2004–05 budget included a 'baby bonus', increased tax benefits for families with children, and lower income tax rates for all Australians. The family benefits introduced by the Howard Government led to middle-income households becoming the largest single group of social welfare recipients. The superannuation system was also changed in 2007 to allow most people to withdraw their superannuation tax-free after they reached the age of 60 and to increase incentives for semi-retired people to work part-time. Once the Commonwealth debt was repaid, the Government used its financial surplus to establish a
'Future Fund'The Australian Government Future Fund is an independently managed investment fund into which the Australian Government deposits its budget surplus. The purpose of the fund is to meet the government's future liabilities for the payment of superannuation to retired civil servants of the Australian...
to pay its superannuation liabilities and a Higher Education Endowment Fund was established in the 2006-07 Budget. The Government also negotiated and signed several
free trade agreementFree trade area is a type of trade bloc, a designated group of countries that have agreed to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most goods and services traded between them. It can be considered the second stage of economic integration. Countries choose this kind of economic integration...
s between 2004 and 2007, including one with the
United StatesThe Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement is a preferential trade agreement between Australia and the United States modelled on the North American Free Trade Agreement . The free trade agreement was signed on 18 May 2004, ratified by the U.S. House of Representatives on 14 July 2004 by a...
which had been mostly negotiated during the third term.
Other activities
Other previously blocked legislation secured by the Government in this term included
abolition of compulsory university student union feesVoluntary student unionism is a policy, notable in Australia, under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations is voluntary....
and the liberalisation of media ownership laws (by lowering restrictions on media companies owning multiple different media). The government instructed the Governor-General to disallow the ACT Civil Unions Act. In April 2006, the government announced it had completely paid off the last of $96 billion of Commonwealth net debt inherited when it came to power in 1996. Economists generally welcomed the news, while cautioning that some level of debt was not necessarily bad, and that some of the debt had been transferred to the private sector.
In 2005, the Howard Government abolished the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander CommissionThe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives...
(ATSIC), the only federal body charged with formally representing indigenous Australians. This was done in response to concerns that its organisational structure was conducive to corrupt behaviour by its officers.
Following the
2004 Asian tsunamiThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
, the government pledged US$820 million (including US$761 million for Indonesia) worth of assistance to affected countries. In 2005, with the support of Indonesia, the Howard Government secured a seat for Australia at the East Asian Summit.
2007 election loss
For most of 2007, polling by various companies including Newspoll indicated that the Howard government was likely to be defeated if it went to an election. The election, held on 24 November, represented a 5.44 percent swing against the government nationwide, with a much stronger swing in Queensland of 7.53%. Howard lost his seat, as did three of his ministers (
Gary NairnGary Roy Nairn was an Australian politician.Nairn was born in Sydney, New South Wales, and was educated at the University of New South Wales. He was a surveyor in private practice and managing director of a surveying and mapping consultancy before entering politics. He moved to the Northern...
,
Mal BroughMalcolm Thomas "Mal" Brough is a former Australian politician and Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to November 2007, representing the Division of Longman, Queensland...
and
Jim LloydJames Eric Lloyd , Australian politician, was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from the March 1996 election until the November 2007 election, representing the Division of Robertson in New South Wales.Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Lloyd was educated...
) and 17 other Coalition MPs, although the Liberals gained two marginal Labor seats in Western Australia. The
Rudd GovernmentThe Rudd Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia during Kevin Rudd's prime ministership. It is made up of members of the Australian Labor Party....
was sworn into office on 3 December 2007.
See also
- First Howard Ministry
The First Howard Ministry was the sixty-first Australian Commonwealth ministry....
- Second Howard Ministry
The Second Howard Ministry was the sixty-second Australian Commonwealth ministry, and ran from 21 October 1998 to 26 November 2001....
- Third Howard Ministry
The Third Howard Ministry was the sixty-third Australian Commonwealth ministry....
- Fourth Howard Ministry
The Fourth Howard Ministry was the 64th Australian ministry.It was sworn in by the Governor-General Major-General Michael Jeffery on 22 October 2004, and it ended on 3 December 2007 when the Prime Minister resigned his commission after losing the 2007 election to the Australian Labor Party led by...
External links