Kim Beazley
Encyclopedia
In the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote
and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister.
In mid-2001 Labor was well ahead in the opinion polls and seemed set to win the election due at the end of the year, but in August the Tampa affair
occurred when the Howard government
refused to allow the MV Tampa
, a Norwegian freighter, to set down on Australian soil at Christmas Island
several hundred asylum seekers whom the crew had rescued from an unseaworthy boat in international waters. Beazley's compromise stance was pilloried as wishy-washy. The 11 September attacks also occurred. When the November 2001 election was announced, Howard had taken a commanding lead in the polls and seemed set for a huge victory. But Beazley's dogged campaigning regained some of this ground and Labor suffered only a net loss of two seats to the Coalition.
. But by 2003 Crean had failed to make any headway against Howard and Labor MPs began to fear that Howard would easily win the election due in 2004. Crean's opponents persuaded Beazley to attempt a return to the leadership by challenging Crean. The Labor Caucus
(parliamentary Labor Party) re-elected Crean in June 2003, not convinced that Beazley offered a better alternative. Some Beazley supporters, most notably Stephen Conroy
, continued to plot against Crean, and Beazley refused to rule out a further challenge.
On 27 November 2003, Crean's closest supporters told him that he had lost their confidence, then on the next day when Crean announced his resignation from the Labor party leadership. Beazley immediately announced that he would be contesting the leadership when the Labor Caucus met on 2 December 2003. His only opponent was the party's economic spokesperson, Mark Latham
. Latham defeated Beazley by 47 votes to 45. After the ballot, Beazley announced that he would remain in politics as a backbench member and would recontest his seat at the 2004 election.
In June 2004 Beazley battled claims he had a "special relationship" with Ratih Harjono back when he was Defence Minister; it was alleged this relationship posed a security risk.
In July 2004, however, Latham arranged for Beazley to return to the Labor front bench as Shadow Defence Minister. This followed controversy over Latham's policy of withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq
by the end of 2004. Beazley's return to the front bench was generally seen as a move by Latham to reassure Australian public opinion that a Labor government would not put the U.S.-Australian alliance
at risk.
After Labor's defeat in the October 2004 federal election, at which he became the longest-serving Labor member of the Parliament, Beazley again returned to the backbench, saying "my time as leader of the Labor Party has come and gone, it's over for me as far as leadership is concerned". But after Latham resigned as leader on 18 January 2005, Beazley announced he would contest the leadership, saying that he was "absolutely fired with ambition".
Referring to widespread doubt that Labor could win the 2007 election under a leader who had already lost two elections, Beazley said: "There's no doubt in my mind that I can lead a winning team in the next election. The road to the prime ministership of this nation is a long and hard road. It's not an easy one. And there are many twists and turns on that road. I'm in my 25th year as a member of the Federal Parliament and I know this: public opinion is volatile and it can change."
Beazley was re-elected as federal Labor Leader when the Labor Caucus met on 28 January 2005 following the withdrawal of the other potential candidates, Kevin Rudd
and Julia Gillard
. Labor hoped that Beazley could follow a similar course to John Howard, who failed in his first term as Opposition Leader but returned in 1995 for a second term and then won the 1996 election.
In September 2005, the publication of Mark Latham's The Latham Diaries
contained comments by Latham to the effect that Beazley was a "dirty dog" and was not fit to "clean toilets in Parliament". Latham's abuse resulted mainly from two allegations: firstly that Beazley had engaged in a prolonged campaign to undermine Latham in his positions as a frontbencher
and as opposition leader and; secondly that Beazley (as leader) had failed to provide support to Labor MP Greg Wilton
, who later committed suicide. All of these allegations were vehemently denied by Beazley, his supporters and others.
In the first half of 2006, Beazley focussed much of the Labor Party's parliamentary inquiry into the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) scandal, which allegedly involved bribes and kickbacks with the then Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein
, that universally breached UN sanctions, to which Australia was a signatory. The situation reached a climax in the aftermath of Treasurer Peter Costello
's 2006 Budget, whereby for the first time in recent Australian political history, the opposition leader and his colleagues ceased inquiry on the budget papers after just six questions, before resuming further questioning on the AWB scandal. The media criticised the ALP, although many ministers acknowledged the need for the Government to be held accountable for the AWB scandal.
These tactical deficiencies plagued Beazley's return to the leadership and were amplified by factional infighting in the broader Labor Party, raising many questions concerning both his ability to lead and the stability of the party. At the time, opinion polls by ACNielsen and Newspoll on preferred leader had him at record lows. This was confirmed in a forum on the SBS Insight television program on 2 May 2006, which specifically dealt with the Labor Party's political struggles, where some community members voiced their concerns about being disillusioned with Kim Beazley, and a lack of understanding of the values and policies for which he and the party stood. While Beazley admitted that winning an election was difficult, he was adamant that the 2007 election would be a "referendum on the Howard Government's unfair industrial relations laws".
After the mid-term parliamentary break, Beazley's fortunes slightly improved, with voter concern over interest rate rises, petrol prices and industrial relations giving Labor some electoral comfort. This was later evident in polls which suggested the ALP's primary vote was at around 40 per cent – the minimum considered necessary to gain government. However, polls concerning preferred leader still positioned Kim Beazley well below John Howard.
with President Bush's
adviser, Karl Rove
, offering his sympathy to the wrong Rove.
Beazley's leadership of the Labor Party came under increasing pressure. Opposition to Beazley again centred around foreign affairs spokesperson Kevin Rudd
and health spokesperson Julia Gillard
. According to media reports, the New South Wales Right faction promised its support to Rudd for leadership so long as he challenged Beazley before Christmas. On 30 November 2006 Rudd met with Beazley and announced his intention to challenge for the leadership. On 1 December, Beazley announced not only a leadership election but also that all frontbench positions within the Parliamentary Labor Party would be made vacant. Both sides claimed that they were in a winning position.
A ballot was held on Monday 4 December and Kevin Rudd was declared the winner and leader of the ALP, by a margin of 49 votes to 39. After the leadership results were announced, Jenny Macklin
withdrew from the contest for deputy leader, which allowed Gillard to be elected unopposed to that position.
Following the ballot, Beazley said of his political future, "For me to do anything further in the Australian Labor Party I would say is Lazarus
with a quadruple bypass. So the time has come for me to move on but when that gets properly formalised I will let you know." It was also revealed that his brother David had died of a severe heart attack at age 53, shortly before the vote took place.
(AC) for his service to the Australian parliament.
He worked as a professorial fellow at the University of Western Australia
, focusing on politics, public policy and international relations. He also served as Chancellor of the Australian National University
in 2009, having succeeded Allan Hawke
. He is a member of the Council of Advisors of the United States Studies Centre
at the University of Sydney
.
In September 2009, Beazley was appointed as Australia's Ambassador to the United States of America. His appointment began in February 2010.
Australian electoral system
The Australian electoral system has evolved over nearly 150 years of continuous democratic government, and has a number of distinctive features including compulsory voting, preferential voting and the use of proportional voting to elect the upper house, the Australian Senate.- Compulsory voting...
and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister.
In mid-2001 Labor was well ahead in the opinion polls and seemed set to win the election due at the end of the year, but in August the Tampa affair
Tampa affair
In August 2001, the Howard Government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 438 rescued Afghans from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters, to enter Australian waters...
occurred when the Howard government
Howard Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
refused to allow the MV Tampa
MV Tampa
MV Tampa is a roll-on/roll-off container ship completed in 1984 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in South Korea for the Norway based firm, Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning.-Tampa affair:...
, a Norwegian freighter, to set down on Australian soil at Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
several hundred asylum seekers whom the crew had rescued from an unseaworthy boat in international waters. Beazley's compromise stance was pilloried as wishy-washy. The 11 September attacks also occurred. When the November 2001 election was announced, Howard had taken a commanding lead in the polls and seemed set for a huge victory. But Beazley's dogged campaigning regained some of this ground and Labor suffered only a net loss of two seats to the Coalition.
Opposition backbencher
Beazley resigned the Labor leadership after the election and was succeeded by Simon CreanSimon Crean
Simon Findlay Crean is an Australian politician, and the current Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government in the Australian Federal Government. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition at the Federal level,...
. But by 2003 Crean had failed to make any headway against Howard and Labor MPs began to fear that Howard would easily win the election due in 2004. Crean's opponents persuaded Beazley to attempt a return to the leadership by challenging Crean. The Labor Caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
(parliamentary Labor Party) re-elected Crean in June 2003, not convinced that Beazley offered a better alternative. Some Beazley supporters, most notably Stephen Conroy
Stephen Conroy
Stephen Michael Conroy is an Australian politician and the current Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy in the Gillard Ministry...
, continued to plot against Crean, and Beazley refused to rule out a further challenge.
On 27 November 2003, Crean's closest supporters told him that he had lost their confidence, then on the next day when Crean announced his resignation from the Labor party leadership. Beazley immediately announced that he would be contesting the leadership when the Labor Caucus met on 2 December 2003. His only opponent was the party's economic spokesperson, Mark Latham
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham , an author and former Australian politician, was leader of the Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from December 2003 to January 2005....
. Latham defeated Beazley by 47 votes to 45. After the ballot, Beazley announced that he would remain in politics as a backbench member and would recontest his seat at the 2004 election.
In June 2004 Beazley battled claims he had a "special relationship" with Ratih Harjono back when he was Defence Minister; it was alleged this relationship posed a security risk.
In July 2004, however, Latham arranged for Beazley to return to the Labor front bench as Shadow Defence Minister. This followed controversy over Latham's policy of withdrawing Australian troops from Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
by the end of 2004. Beazley's return to the front bench was generally seen as a move by Latham to reassure Australian public opinion that a Labor government would not put the U.S.-Australian alliance
ANZUS
The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to cooperate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks...
at risk.
Second term as Labor leader
Referring to widespread doubt that Labor could win the 2007 election under a leader who had already lost two elections, Beazley said: "There's no doubt in my mind that I can lead a winning team in the next election. The road to the prime ministership of this nation is a long and hard road. It's not an easy one. And there are many twists and turns on that road. I'm in my 25th year as a member of the Federal Parliament and I know this: public opinion is volatile and it can change."
Beazley was re-elected as federal Labor Leader when the Labor Caucus met on 28 January 2005 following the withdrawal of the other potential candidates, Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
and Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
. Labor hoped that Beazley could follow a similar course to John Howard, who failed in his first term as Opposition Leader but returned in 1995 for a second term and then won the 1996 election.
In September 2005, the publication of Mark Latham's The Latham Diaries
The Latham Diaries
The Latham Diaries is a political memoir by the former Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party leader, Mark Latham. The book, published in 2005 by Melbourne University Press, attracted a great amount of criticism...
contained comments by Latham to the effect that Beazley was a "dirty dog" and was not fit to "clean toilets in Parliament". Latham's abuse resulted mainly from two allegations: firstly that Beazley had engaged in a prolonged campaign to undermine Latham in his positions as a frontbencher
Frontbencher
In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then known as being on the frontbench and are described as...
and as opposition leader and; secondly that Beazley (as leader) had failed to provide support to Labor MP Greg Wilton
Greg Wilton
Gregory Stuart Wilton was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Isaacs, from 1996 until his suicide at the age of 44...
, who later committed suicide. All of these allegations were vehemently denied by Beazley, his supporters and others.
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, that universally breached UN sanctions, to which Australia was a signatory. The situation reached a climax in the aftermath of Treasurer Peter Costello
Peter Costello
Peter Howard Costello AC is an Australian politician and lawyer who served as the Treasurer in the Australian government from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving Treasurer in Australian history. Costello was a Member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1990 to 2009, representing...
's 2006 Budget, whereby for the first time in recent Australian political history, the opposition leader and his colleagues ceased inquiry on the budget papers after just six questions, before resuming further questioning on the AWB scandal. The media criticised the ALP, although many ministers acknowledged the need for the Government to be held accountable for the AWB scandal.
These tactical deficiencies plagued Beazley's return to the leadership and were amplified by factional infighting in the broader Labor Party, raising many questions concerning both his ability to lead and the stability of the party. At the time, opinion polls by ACNielsen and Newspoll on preferred leader had him at record lows. This was confirmed in a forum on the SBS Insight television program on 2 May 2006, which specifically dealt with the Labor Party's political struggles, where some community members voiced their concerns about being disillusioned with Kim Beazley, and a lack of understanding of the values and policies for which he and the party stood. While Beazley admitted that winning an election was difficult, he was adamant that the 2007 election would be a "referendum on the Howard Government's unfair industrial relations laws".
After the mid-term parliamentary break, Beazley's fortunes slightly improved, with voter concern over interest rate rises, petrol prices and industrial relations giving Labor some electoral comfort. This was later evident in polls which suggested the ALP's primary vote was at around 40 per cent – the minimum considered necessary to gain government. However, polls concerning preferred leader still positioned Kim Beazley well below John Howard.
2006 leadership challenge
With continued weak performances in preferred Prime Minister opinion polls, 2006 was punctuated by a number of embarrassing gaffes from the opposition leader. At a press conference on 17 November 2006, Beazley confused the grieving TV host Rove McManusRove McManus
John Henry Michael "Rove" McManus is an Australian comedian, television presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the self-titled variety show Rove, and is the owner of the production company Roving Enterprises...
with President Bush's
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
adviser, Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
, offering his sympathy to the wrong Rove.
Beazley's leadership of the Labor Party came under increasing pressure. Opposition to Beazley again centred around foreign affairs spokesperson Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
and health spokesperson Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
. According to media reports, the New South Wales Right faction promised its support to Rudd for leadership so long as he challenged Beazley before Christmas. On 30 November 2006 Rudd met with Beazley and announced his intention to challenge for the leadership. On 1 December, Beazley announced not only a leadership election but also that all frontbench positions within the Parliamentary Labor Party would be made vacant. Both sides claimed that they were in a winning position.
A ballot was held on Monday 4 December and Kevin Rudd was declared the winner and leader of the ALP, by a margin of 49 votes to 39. After the leadership results were announced, Jenny Macklin
Jenny Macklin
Jennifer Louise Macklin , is an Australian politician. She is Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in the Gillard Ministry...
withdrew from the contest for deputy leader, which allowed Gillard to be elected unopposed to that position.
Following the ballot, Beazley said of his political future, "For me to do anything further in the Australian Labor Party I would say is Lazarus
Lazarus of Bethany
Lazarus of Bethany, also known as Saint Lazarus or Lazarus of the Four Days, is the subject of a prominent miracle attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of John, in which Jesus restores him to life four days after his death...
with a quadruple bypass. So the time has come for me to move on but when that gets properly formalised I will let you know." It was also revealed that his brother David had died of a severe heart attack at age 53, shortly before the vote took place.
Post-political career
Beazley announced on 13 December 2006 that he would not stand for re-election at the 2007 federal election and that he would retire from Parliament after the election. In 2009, Beazley was appointed a Companion in the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AC) for his service to the Australian parliament.
He worked as a professorial fellow at the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
, focusing on politics, public policy and international relations. He also served as Chancellor of the Australian National University
Australian National University
The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
in 2009, having succeeded Allan Hawke
Allan Hawke
Allan Douglas Hawke AC is a former Australian senior public servant and diplomat. He was the Chief of Staff to the former Prime Minister, Paul Keating; Secretary of the Department of Veterans' Affairs 1994–1996; Secretary of the Department of Transport and Regional Services 1996–1999; and...
. He is a member of the Council of Advisors of the United States Studies Centre
United States Studies Centre
The United States Studies Centre is located at the University of Sydney, and aims to increase understanding of the United States in Australia. The centre provides courses for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and hosts public and business forums....
at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
.
In September 2009, Beazley was appointed as Australia's Ambassador to the United States of America. His appointment began in February 2010.