reading

The role of prime minister has been traditionally referred to as primus inter pares, a Latin phrase meaning ‘first among equals’. As such, the prime minister is considered to be the ‘first’ and most senior minister of the group of ministers holding office. While the office of prime minister is not mentioned in the Australian Constitution, the prime minister is unquestionably the most important and powerful position in politics.

Since Federation, Australia has had 30 prime ministers. From Barton to Morrison, each of Australia’s top political leaders has contributed to the shaping of the country’s national identity. Some, like Chifley and Gorton, have had the position thrust upon them, while others, like McMahon and Keating and Turnbull, have plotted and schemed their way into The Lodge. Morrison took advantage of leadership turmoil to play the numbers and win the contest but whether this was long-term plotting or last-minute opportunism has yet to unfold.

Three prime ministers — Lyons, Curtin and Holt — have died while in office. Lyons was the first. Worn down by the pressures of war and the Great Depression, he suffered a heart attack and died on 7 April 1939. Curtin, too, was a casualty of his times, dying on 5 July 1945, only two months after the German surrender to the Allied forces ended the war in Europe. Holt met his end in a most mysterious and controversial manner, disappearing while taking a swim off Cheviot Beach on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula on 17 December 1967.

Of the remainder, excluding the country’s caretaker prime ministers and bearing in mind that four prime ministers served more than once, only three — Barton, Fisher and Menzies — retired at a time of their own choosing. Deakin, Watson, Reid and Fadden were forced to resign after being voted out by parliament. And eight — Hughes, Menzies, Gorton, Hawke, Rudd, Gillard, Abbott and Turnbull — were unceremoniously deposed by their own parties, while the rest were defeated at the elections.

Four prime ministers — Deakin, Fisher, Menzies and Rudd — led the nation more than once. Deakin first came to power in 1903 when the incumbent prime minister, Edmund Barton, the nation’s first leader, resigned to become a judge of the High Court. Deakin then returned not once, but twice, in 1905 and 1909. Fisher, too, had three stabs at the top job, taking office in 1908, 1910 and 1914. Menzies first served, briefly, from 1939 to 1941, but is most remembered for his record stint that took in three decades beginning in 1949 and ending in 1966. Kevin Rudd came to office on 3 December 2007, but in one of Australia’s most dramatic political purges was dumped in favour of Julia Gillard on 24 June 2010. Gillard, Australia’s only woman prime minister, served for three years and two days, fighting an election and leading a minority government, only to be deposed herself by Kevin Rudd who served a second time as prime minster until his defeat in September 2013 to the Coalition led by Tony Abbott. Abbott’s term of barely two years put him among those who served shortest. But the prime minister who served longest, Menzies, remained in office for a total of eighteen years, five months and ten days as prime minister. He also served the longest continuous term, which was sixteen years, one month and seven days.

But the prime minister who served longest, Menzies, remained in office for a total of eighteen years, five months and ten days …

The shortest prime-ministerial terms were held by Australia’s three caretaker leaders: Forde served eight days, Page twenty days and McEwen 23 days. A grand total of less than two months between them!

Who, then, has been Australia’s most effective prime minister? There have been various attempts at such polls, some run by newspapers. In January 2001 for example, a year after the centenary of Federation, The Australian Financial Review asked this very question. The result was their top five list of Australia’s greatest prime ministers. Sitting at the top was Deakin, followed in order by Menzies, Curtin, Chifley and Whitlam. Yet others feel that Bob Hawke and Paul Keating should be in that list for overseeing the opening up and modernising of the Australian economy.

Assessing greatness is a very subjective business. Comparing prime ministers from different time periods, too, is a perilous endeavour. For example, how can you make a comparison between Australia’s fathers of Federation, like Barton and Deakin, and much later prime ministers such as Keating and Howard? Having served in completely different time periods, each of them faced their own set of challenges and problems.

Yet, it is only by examining the prime ministers and their place within history that we can come to an understanding of political leadership in Australia. Therefore, this book will study Australia’s prime ministers in the context of the times in which they served. Broadly speaking, the first century of prime-ministerships since Federation can be categorised into five chronological periods: the early years of Federation (1901–13), World War I and the Great Depression (1913–39), World War II and its after effects (1939–49), immigration and the post-war boom (1949–72), the move to multiculturalism and the shift to meet new global alignments (1972–2019).

For the first thirteen years following Federation, Barton, Deakin, Watson, Reid and Fisher set the foundations for the new nation state. Then, from 1913 to 1939, Cook, Hughes, Bruce, Scullin and Lyons faced the fledgling country’s first war and tackled the setbacks of the Great Depression. From 1939 to 1949, Page, Fadden, Curtin, Forde and Chifley dealt with a country in crisis as more young men died fighting a new war, this time on two fronts, in Europe and in the Pacific. From 1949 to 1972, Menzies, Holt, McEwen, Gorton and McMahon, all from the Liberal Party of Australia, led the country through 23 years of conservative reign during a post-war economic boom and large-scale immigration, leaving the main political competition, the Australian Labor Party, out in the political cold, and virtually creating a one-party state in the process. In 1972, the Australian Labor Party finally broke the Liberal Party’s political stronghold with the election of Whitlam. He was followed by Fraser, Hawke, Keating, Howard, Rudd, Gillard, Rudd again, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison, each of whom have dealt with issues of multiculturalism and national identity and a newly emerging world order, often in very conflicting ways.

With the ‘lucky country’ entering the new millennium stronger in self-identity, the mood in the country shifted. No longer holding on to its conservative roots, Australia and its citizens became more concerned with global issues such as the ‘war on terror’ and global warming, ultimately leading to the defeat of the conservative party and the election of Australia’s 26^th prime minister, the Labor Party’s Kevin Rudd, in late 2007. He became the first prime minister to be dumped by his own party during a first term in office. Gillard took over and held together a minority government and was then dumped by her party in favour of Kevin Rudd again before Tony Abbott led the Coalition to victory in September 2013. Then, in what became known as the revolving door period, Abbott became the second prime minister to be dumped by his own party in his first term in September 2015 by Malcolm Turnbull who himself was dumped by his party in favour of Scott Morrison in August 2018 — giving Australia six prime ministers in eight years and earning the sobriquet of the ‘Italy of the South Pacific’.

… giving Australia six prime ministers in eight years and earning the sobriquet of the ‘Italy of the South Pacific’.

While Australia’s prime ministers have come from diverse backgrounds, each in his or her position as first among equals has sought to guide the country along what they believed to be the correct path of nationhood. In presenting a brief history of Australia’s prime ministers since Federation, this book examines how the decisions and actions they made during each of their tenures have influenced and shaped Australia’s national identity.

On 1 January 1901 after many years of debating and campaigning, six self-governing British colonies — New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland — united as a nation when the Commonwealth of Australia was formally inaugurated. Amid an air of overwhelming optimism, an immense crowd gathered at Sydney’s Centennial Park to see the Earl of Hopetoun sworn in as Australia’s first governor-general.

The Labor Party … which formed in 1891, emerged as a political force with Watson’s government becoming the first Labor government in the world…

During the first thirteen years of Federation, Australia’s first five prime ministers — Barton, Deakin, Watson, Reid and Fisher — engaged themselves with the onerous task of nation-building. They worked to create the framework for Australia’s government, putting in place a number of important institutions such as the High Court of Australia. They also sanctioned the high tariff policy that was customary for much of the twentieth century, and agreed on the White Australia Policy, a discriminatory plan that sought to exclude all non-white people from the Australian continent, which was to endure until the late 1960s.

It was also a period of international achievements. The Labor Party (originally spelt ‘Labour’, the American spelling ‘Labor’ was adopted in 1912), which formed in 1891, emerged as a political force with Watson’s government becoming the first Labor government in the world and Fisher becoming the first Labor prime minister to serve two terms. What is more, in 1902, Australia became the first sovereign nation to give women the right to vote and to stand for parliament. (New Zealand, still a self-governing colony, gave women the right to vote in 1893 but not to stand for parliament).

While the early years of Federation were dedicated to creating a stable nation, they were also a period of unrest with five prime ministers and seven changes in office. With the country’s seat of power contested by three main political parties, each with roughly the same number of representatives in parliament, the continual shifting of allegiances thus resulted in a number of changes of government.

By the end of this period, though, a broad two-party system developed. The rise of Labor and working-class consciousness forced a historic merger between two enemies — Reid’s Free Traders and Deakin’s Protectionists, which had long disagreed over the country’s tariff policies. In 1909 they combined to form the Fusion Party, paving the way for the conservatives and leading to the Labor versus non-Labor model, which has endured since.

images

Nicknamed ‘Toby Tosspot’ by The Bulletin for his fondness for food and wine …

In the weeks and months leading up to the celebration of Australia’s Centenary of Federation in 2001 a national television advertising campaign teased: What kind of country doesn’t know the name of their first prime minister? Research commissioned by the National Council for the Centenary of Federation had shown that Australians had a greater knowledge of America’s founding fathers than they did of their own. Yet without Edmund Barton and his colleagues Australia would not have federated.

Nicknamed ‘Toby Tosspot’ by The Bulletin for his fondness for food and wine, Barton was born in the Sydney suburb of Glebe on 18 January 1849. The second youngest of the nine surviving children of William and Mary Louise Barton, he was educated at Sydney Grammar School. Barton then studied the classics at the University of Sydney where he excelled at cricket and graduated with first-class honours in 1868. After completing his master’s degree, Barton qualified as a barrister in 1871. In 1877 he married Jane Mason Ross whom he met while on a cricket tour to Newcastle in 1870.

His long-time friend George Reid introduced Barton to debating at the Sydney School of Arts Debating Society where he became a proficient public speaker and developed an interest in politics. In 1879, Barton successfully contested the seat of the University of Sydney in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. When the seat was abolished the following year, he became the member for Wellington. At the age of 33 Barton became the speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the youngest presiding officer to be chosen by an Australian legislature. Here he was influenced by Henry Parkes, a leading federalist who was premier of New South Wales five times, and was subsequently installed in the Legislative Council for the next four years.

Spurred on by Parkes’ famous Tenterfield speech on 24 October 1889, Barton gave up his chance for high office in New South Wales to campaign tirelessly for Federation. At the first Federal Convention held in 1891, Barton became a Constitutional Committee member. This same year Barton won the seat of East Sydney and re-entered the assembly. Barton then led the sittings of the 1897–98 Federal Convention and played a major role in supporting the Constitution that, after two referendums, was adopted in 1899.

Originally leaning towards the Free Traders, Barton switched his allegiances to the Protectionist Party and was subsequently denounced by Parkes in 1893. However, following Parkes’ death in 1896, Barton carried on his commitment to Federation, eventually travelling to Britain to see the bill passed by Westminster Parliament in 1900.

… under Barton’s leadership, women won the right to vote in 1902 and the foundations for Australia’s High Court were laid.

Despite his popularity, Barton was not the first choice for the prime-ministership. Instead the newly appointed governor-general, Lord Hopetoun, offered the position to Sir William Lyne, the then premier of New South Wales. Lyne, however, was unable to form a cabinet and so the post went to Barton. Thus, on 1 January 1901, at the age of 52, Barton became Australia’s first prime minister.

Once in power Barton’s government passed a number of significant acts including the Immigration Restriction Act of 1902, which was the start of the White Australia Policy, and the Pacific Island Labourers’ Bill, which led to the expulsion of almost 10,000 Pacific Islanders from Queensland’s sugar plantations. On a more positive note, under Barton’s leadership, women won the right to vote in 1902 and the foundations for Australia’s High Court were laid.

Within a year of becoming prime minister, Barton set sail for England to attend the Imperial Conference and coronation of Edward VII. Here he was bestowed as a Knight of the Grand Cross of St Michael and St George — the highest knighthood available in the Empire. Because of Australia’s distance from Britain, Barton was absent from Australia for six consecutive months, leaving Alfred Deakin to shoulder the responsibility of the new nation’s problems.

In September 1903, with popular opinion turning against him, Barton resigned as prime minister to become one of the founding justices of the High Court of Australia, where he remained for the next sixteen years. On 7 January 1920, at the age of 70, Barton died of a sudden heart attack at Medlow Bath, in New South Wales.

images

Considered one of Australia’s greatest prime ministers, Alfred Deakin held office three times in the first decade of Federation. Referred to as ‘affable Alfred’ because of his gentle looks and manner, Deakin was well liked on both sides of politics. Yet while he maintained a high public profile, he was reputedly very private. He shunned pomp and honours, penned sonnets for his wife and, during his time in parliament, wrote anonymously for the London Morning Post.

Deakin was born on 3 August 1856 in Fitzroy, Melbourne. The second child of William and Sarah Deakin, who migrated to Australia in 1849, he was educated at Melbourne Grammar School, before reading law at Melbourne University. Although he qualified for the Bar in 1877 at the age of 21, he made his name as a journalist writing for The Age after meeting its editor, David Syme, in 1878.

Under Syme’s tutelage, Deakin changed from a Free Trader to a Protectionist and turned his attention to politics. He ran for the rural seat of West Bourke in 1879, but it was not until 1880 that he secured the seat and established himself in the arena of Victorian politics. Then, in 1882, Deakin married Elizabeth Martha Anne ‘Pattie’ Browne whom he had met through his strong association with spiritualism.

During his time in the Victorian government, Deakin held office in several ministries including public works, water supply and solicitor-general. In 1885 Deakin introduced pioneering legislation regulating employment conditions and hours of work in factories. After the 1887 Imperial Conference in London, where he turned down a knighthood, Deakin began to focus his attention towards Federation. He was a delegate at the Federal Conventions of 1891 and 1897–98, subsequently accompanying Barton to London in 1900 to negotiate the passage of the Federation Bill.

Upon Federation, Deakin became Australia’s first attorney-general. He became Australia’s second prime minister when Barton resigned in 1903. However, because of ideological differences with his Protectionist Party’s coalition partner, the Labor Party, he resigned after only seven months in the position, handing over power to John Watson. While George Reid then succeeded Watson, with the renewed support of the Labor Party, Deakin resumed the prime-ministership in July 1905.

During his second term as prime minister, Deakin established institutions such as the Public Service, the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and the Arbitration Commission. He also introduced the old age pension, a new Australian currency and began setting the foundations for the Australian Navy.

In 1908 Andrew Fisher succeeded Watson as the leader of the Labor Party and then forced Deakin to resign. Deakin then joined forces with Free Trade leader Joseph Cook, forming the Fusion Party in 1909 and again becoming prime minister, but was quickly defeated in the 1910 election.