Paul Keating

Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944), Australian politician and 24th Prime Minister of Australia, came to prominence first as the reforming Treasurer in the Hawke government, then as the Prime Minister who pulled off an upset victory in the "unwinnable" election of 1993. In his second term, however, his "big picture" failed to impress an electorate increasingly concerned about economic issues, and he was defeated in 1996.

Prime Minister

Hawke's undoing had been the policy package unveiled by the new Liberal leader, Dr John Hewson. Known as "Fightback!", it was centred around a GST and included massive industrial relations reforms, sweeping cuts in personal income tax and cuts to government spending, particularly in areas of health and education. Hawke and his new Treasurer, John Kerin, had been unable to counter the renewed energy of the opposition, which was invigorated by a policy package it perceived as a vote winner. Keating, however, severely damaged Hewson's credibility in a series of set-piece parliamentary encounters.

Related Topics:
Dr John Hewson - Fightback! - John Kerin

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Nevertheless, the view of most commentators was that the 1993 election was "unwinnable" for Labor. The government had been in power for ten years, the pace of economic recovery was sluggish, the voters did not like Keating's arrogant style, and Hewson was offering a coherent economic policy. Despite all these factors, Keating succeeded in winning back the electorate with a fear campaign on Fightback, memorable for Keating's litany of "15% on this, 15% on that", and led Labor to an unexpected election victory. Many of the reforms of Fightback were later implemented under the Liberal government of John Howard.

Related Topics:
The 1993 election - John Howard

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As Prime Minister, Keating's interests and public perception broadened from that of the narrowly focused technocrat he had seemed to be as Treasurer. His agenda included items such as making Australia a republic, achieving reconciliation with Australia's indigenous population, and further economic and cultural engagement with Asia. These issues, which came to be known as Keating's "big picture," were highly popular with the tertiary-educated middle class, but failed to capture the aspirations of rural and outer-suburban voters. The loss of the "aspirational" traditionally working-class and Labor-voting outer suburbs has been a continuing problem for the ALP post-Keating.

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Keating interpreted his 1993 election win as a mandate to pursue his "big picture" agenda, and was encouraged in this by the left-leaning intellectual classes of Sydney and Melbourne. Keating failed to notice that working-class and regional voters were more concerned about the sluggish economy, and were also reacting badly to Keating's stress on Australian involvement with Asia.

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