In his time in power in the 80's, with his sleeves perpetually rolled up and his commitment to the nation in driving focus, the lovable larrikin Bob Hawke and his side kick, Paul Keating re-shaped Australia and our place in the world with a vision that reminds us all that leaders of that capacity do exist and hopefully they will come again. Soon. Around Australia and the world, people and organisations are sending out tributes that speak for all of us with their different memories and lives with this great man.
"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.Bob’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.Among his 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.”
Bob Hawke was the Australian Prime Minister who
Now *that* was visionary. A man of courage. A courage we must all now possess.
"The Australian people loved Bob Hawke because they knew Bob loved them, this was true to the very end. Australians everywhere remember and honour a man who gave so much to the country and people he cared for so deeply."
"With Bob Hawke's passing today, the great partnership I enjoyed with him passes too. A partnership we forged with the Australian people. But what remains and what will endure from that partnership are the monumental foundations of modern Australia.Bob possessed a moral framework for his important public life, both representing the workers of Australia and more broadly, the country at large. He understood that imagination was central to policy-making and never lacked the courage to do what had to be done to turn that imagination into reality.And that reality was the reformation of Australia's economy and society and its place in the world."
"Bob Hawke – the man as much at ease with world leaders as he was with punters at the races, just as dedicated to forging economic accords as he was to picking winners at the track.He was persuasive and committed when he needed to be, yet a good listener at the cabinet table. He was a hard worker and an excellent judge of trends. He was comfortable with people, and they with him. And he had a strong moral compass."
“I really admired him when he issued that letter a couple days ago supporting Labor in this election. It would’ve hurt him deeply that he couldn’t campaign for the Labor Party.I tell you what though, I bet he voted.”
Bob Hawke led Labor to four election victories. Born in South Australia, he grew in Western Australia and won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University. In his 20s he worked for the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and became president of the ACTU in 1969. It was a step on his path to the Labor party presidency and then Labor party leader in February 1983. He won the federal election in March that year in a landslide, and was re-elected in 1984,1987 and 1990. Hawke will be remembered for his profound economic and social reforms in Australia, including Medicare. He succumbed to a leadership challenge from Paul Keating, who became prime minister in 1991. Hawke died on 15 May 2019, aged 89.