Mark Latham

Mark William Latham (born February 28, 1961) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the federal parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005. Latham captured national attention and high levels of public approval with his innovative policies and unconventional approach, but also attracted controversy surrounding his colourful past. In the October 2004 federal election, Latham was defeated by the incumbent Prime Minister John Howard. Ill health and deteriorating relations with his own party forced him to step down as Leader on 18 January, 2005. In September, Latham released a set of diaries in which he attacked many of his former colleagues and members of the media, as well as condemning the general state of political life in Australia.

Early career

Latham was born in Ashcroft, a suburb of southwestern Sydney in New South Wales. He was educated at Hurlstone Agricultural High School and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated with a degree in economics. He worked as a research assistant to the former Labor Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, and worked on Whitlam's book The Whitlam Government. In 1987 he was elected to the City Council of Liverpool, a southwestern suburb of Sydney, and was mayor from 1991–94.

Related Topics:
Ashcroft - Sydney - New South Wales - Hurlstone Agricultural High School - University of Sydney - Economics - Gough Whitlam - 1987 - City Council of Liverpool - 1991 - 94

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Latham's term as mayor saw radical changes introduced to the council, with large spending on public works, to be paid for by a combination of loans and efficiencies achieved from outsourcing many council services. The public works, including libraries, a pedestrian mall, and public art, have been highly praised in accounts of the period. The council's financial performance, however, has been the subject of extensive debate, with claims by political opponents that Latham's term left the council nearly bankrupt.

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In an article in Quarterly Essay (issue 15), journalist Margaret Simons, who conducted an extensive investigation of the period, concluded that there were real issues in the financial management of the council. These were mostly relating to the drafting of the outsourcing agreements. Simons also notes that most of the allegations come from council members who were sacked for incompetence by the state government.

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On 1 June 2004 Latham told Parliament that during his time as Mayor he had reduced Liverpool's debt-servicing ratio from 17 percent to 10 percent, which he said was less than half of western Sydney's average. He also said that Liverpool had adopted a debt-retirement strategy that he claimed would have made them debt free by 2005, but which was not implemented by his successors. Councillor Colin Harrington, who Latham defeated during the mayoral elections of 1991, later claimed that these figures were not accurate. According to him, the average debt-servicing ratio for western Sydney was 12.1 percent and he said the council's financial staff could find no significant reference to the debt-retirement strategy.

Related Topics:
1 June - 2004 - Debt-servicing ratio - Debt-retirement - 2005 - 1991

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In January 1994 Latham was elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the Sydney seat of Werriwa, which had been Gough Whitlam's seat 1952–78. He was elected to the Opposition front bench after Labor lost the 1996 election, and became Shadow Minister for Education. After the 1998 election he resigned from the front bench following a policy dispute with Opposition Leader Kim Beazley. The two became political enemies following this incident.

Related Topics:
1994 - Australian House of Representatives - Seat of Werriwa - 1952 - 78 - 1996 election - Shadow Minister - 1998 election - Opposition Leader - Kim Beazley

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On the backbench, Latham published Civilising Global Capital: New Thinking for Australian Labor (Allen and Unwin, 1998), in which he argued that Labor needed to abandon many of its traditional policies and embrace the aspirational values (home ownership, higher education) of the upwardly-mobile skilled working class and small business class. These views alienated him from many Labor traditionalists, but his aggressive Parliamentary style won him many admirers. He once referred to Prime Minister John Howard as an "arselicker", and to the Liberal Party front bench as a "conga-line of suckholes". http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/11/1044927598634.html?oneclick=true He also once characterised George W. Bush as "the most incompetent and dangerous President in living memory". http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2267198

Related Topics:
John Howard - George W. Bush - President

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Latham gave a hint of his approach to politics in a 2002 interview: "I'm a hater. Part of the tribalness of politics is to really dislike the other side with intensity. And the more I see of them the more I hate them. I hate their negativity. I hate their narrowness. I hate the way, for instance, John Howard tries to appeal to suburban values when I know that he hasn't got any real answers to the problems and challenges we face. I hate the phoniness of that." http://bulletin.ninemsn.com.au/bulletin/EdDesk.nsf/All/E5D0425446FA0C07CA256BDE0016BE7C

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