Bob Hawke

The argument that much of Australia’s media and associated journalists are cultural-left in their leanings is proven by last week’s events involving Senator Penny Wong being insulted by the infamous ‘meow’ interjection and Bob Hawke’s very public description of Tony Abbott, the leader of the federal opposition, as ‘mad as a cut snake’.

If the Canberra-based media commissariat is fair and balanced, there’s no doubt that the ex-ALP Prime Minister’s snide and offensive description of Abbott would have received the same coverage and condemnation as Senator Bushby’s interjection.

Given the hue and cry against Senator Bushby’s catcall against Senator Wong, it only stands to reason that if critics are consistent they will also have to call old silver budgie to account.

Continue reading "‘Mad as a cut snake’ as insulting as ‘meow’" »

For most Australian Prime Ministers, there is a photo or two that captures the essence of their character and the spirit of the times. Some readily come to mind, such as Ben Chifley at the launch of the first Holden car in 1948.

The well-known photos of Bob Menzies at the microphone during a campaign rally in the 1950s portray both control and confidence.

A picture of Harold Holt relaxing in swimming trunks on the beach at Portsea with friends encapsulates the popular record of the man, and his demise.

Continue reading "History’s photo album will not be kind to Gillard" »

I just ran into Bob Hawke at the airport. The former Prime Minister is one of the more, shall we say, seasoned observers of Australian politics. He is the only Labor figure I’ve found who is confidently predicting a return of the Gillard government on Saturday.

“I’m good. We’re going to win,” he said. “That’s the main thing.” Off he went on his way to Melbourne as I got pinged for the explosives detection test.

A career politician who ascends to the leadership of their party has had thousands of conversations with voters about their day-to-day concerns. It is a practised art but also the basic currency of politics and people like Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have little to fear from doing it on television.

Continue reading "Hawkie ever confident on the road to Rooty Hill redux" »

The Labor Party campaign launch today should be a lesson in why waiting till your last week for a campaign launch is not a good idea: because it could fall flat.

In a very close campaign today’s Labor launch won’t hurt Julia Gillard’s chances, it just won’t do anything extra for them, and that would’ve really helped right now.

There was nothing new in what Gillard had to say today, and was made doubly painful by a meandering and confused speech by former Prime Minister Bob Hawke.

Continue reading "Counterpunch: Wow, that was really average" »

Can Bob Hawke save Kevin Rudd? Can the man who was so popular and led so much reform in Australia in the eighties help Kevin Rudd sell his mining tax today?

You couldn’t think of two more different Prime Ministers than Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd, despite the fact both have enjoyed astronomical levels of popularity in the past. But it is perhaps the way that Hawke and Rudd managed the introduction of big reforms that seems to have really set the two apart.

So can Rudd learn from Hawke? Well Hawke’s former resources minister has told The Australian he has to , while The Age reports that Hawke could already be playing some role in negotiations with the miners.

Continue reading "Campaign countdown: Can Bob Hawke save Rudd?" »

It must be Christmas for politics right now because the ghosts of prime ministers past are out in force. 

Yesterday, Bob Hawke and John Howard tussled over the future of the global economy, China and federalism at the Oxford Business Alumni Forum in their first ever head-to-head debate.

Away from the lectern, last week Hawke backed Anna Bligh over daylight saving in southeastern Queensland and called on Australia to rethink its position on nuclear waste.

Continue reading "Ghosts of PMs past are welcome to the debate" »

Bob Hawke - like most public figures - always likes to get his picture in the paper.

But there was one time when I beat him at his own game.

It was the annual cricket match between the ACTU XI and the Press XI in Port Melbourne in the mid-70s.

Continue reading "Yes I love Bob Hawke and long may he reign" »

I think that we in the ALP are better than our opponents in celebrating our history and honouring our own.

Whereas Malcolm Fraser is reviled by modern Liberals and the Democrats cannibalise their leadership, we revere our former Prime Ministers.

Past differences, old feuds and factional rivalries are forgotten as we celebrate success, and forget failures. I’ve seen, for instance, left-wing delegates cheer and give standing ovations to Paul Keating, their former nemesis. For us, Labor’s history is part of our present, and our future.

Continue reading "Honouring the greatest architect of consensus" »

It is 20 years to the day that the student protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were put down with brutal force by the Chinese Government.

This calculated act of state-sponsored violence was the most audacious expression of the Chinese dictatorship’s disregard for human rights. In full view of the world, with the above video still standing as a defining moment in history, China cemented its standing as a rogue state.

The face of modern Australia was also changed by Tiananmen. Our then prime minister Bob Hawke famously broke down on television, announcing that all 20,000 Chinese students then resident in our country could stay permanently. Today, Bob Hawke is a lobbyist with an office in Shanghai, and has spent much of the past week ducking requests for interviews.

Continue reading "Tiananmen: Never forget, unless you’re Bob Hawke" »