Bob Hawke and Archbishop James Carroll outside Parliament House. Photo: NMA.
One of Australia’s towering post-war political figures, former PM Bob Hawke has died. Hawke dominated Canberra for much of the 1980’s following the “drover’s dog” election. He was prime minister from 1983 to 1991.
In recent days he had strongly endorsed Labor leader Bill Shorten as prime minister. A statement from his wife, Blanche d’Alpuget said “Today we lost Bob Hawke, a great Australian – many would say the greatest Australian of the post-war era. He died peacefully at home at the age of 89 years.
“Bob Hawke and Paul Keating and their governments modernised the Australian economy, paving the way for an unprecedented period of recession-free economic growth and job creation.
Ms D’Alpuget paid tribute to Hawke’s “consensus-style approach of bringing together the trade union movement and the business community boosted job opportunities while increasing the social wage through Medicare and extra financial support for low-income families”.
She said that with his “highly talented Cabinets”, he foresaw the Asian Century and positioned Australia to take full advantage of it “through a program of sweeping economic reforms”.
Ms d”Alpughet said that among Hawke’s proudest achievements were large increases in the proportion of children finishing high school, his role in ending apartheid in South Africa, and his successful international campaign to protect Antarctica from mining.
“He abhorred racism and bigotry. His father, the Reverend Clem Hawke, told Bob that if you believed in the Fatherhood of God then you must also believe in the Brotherhood of Man. Bob would add today the Sisterhood of Women.
“Bob was dearly loved by his family, and so many friends and colleagues. We will miss him. The golden bowl is broken”, the statement concluded.
Original Article published by Genevieve Jacobs on The RiotACT.
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