MAXINE McKEW WILL CONTEST HOWARD'S SEAT

[The Australian, February 27, 2007] With her polished ABC vowels and attractive looks, Maxine McKew looks and sounds as if she were born into a life of comfort. But like her Labor Party patron, Kevin Rudd, she has been climbing the ladder of opportunity all her life after difficult early years. Like Rudd, John Howard's new political foe comes from a scattered family. Rudd was 13 when he lost his father in a car crash; McKew was five when her mother, Elaine, died of cancer. Rudd was briefly farmed out to relatives after his father, Bert, died; after her mother died, McKew spent three years living with her grandparents Joe and Eileen Truda at Scarborough, on Brisbane's bayside. Her important role model in this time was her grandmother, whose work ethic involved getting up each morning at 5am in the house above their shop and taking milk and bread deliveries before cooking breakfast for the family and returning to spend a day working behind the counter. In an effort to keep the family together, her father, Bryan, a boilermaker, would bundle up her younger sister, Margo -- then a little baby living in Brisbane with her godparents -- and drive down to Scarborough every weekend to see Maxine. The stories of Rudd and McKew are in sharp contrast to previous Labor leader Mark Latham, who always talked up his humble background but at least had a stable family life. In his memoirs, Latham bagged Rudd as "Heavy Kevvie" and a "terrible piece of work," and criticised McKew for not wanting to live in the western suburbs of Sydney, even though she wanted to represent ALP voters. However, Latham didn't point out that when McKew lived in Scarborough she was growing up in what was then one of Brisbane's poorer postcodes. Latham also had the broader support of the ALP, and after being helped through his economics degree at the University of Sydney, he went to work for the party and in local government. Just as Rudd came under the influence of the Marist Brothers when boarding in Brisbane, so the nuns were an early influence on the young McKew, now 53. At Scarborough she started off at a Brigidine convent, but then her father re-married and the family went to live in Moorooka, on Brisbane's southside. McKew spent another two years at St Brendan's before she started with the Sisters of Mercy at All Hallows, in Brisbane, when she was 10. All Hallows may be one of the top girls' Catholic schools in Brisbane -- prominent old girls include former Queensland chief magistrate Di Fingleton, Sunday reporter Ellen Fanning and federal Tourism Minister Fran Bailey -- but it prides itself on not being snooty or exclusive. McKew's stepmother, Mary McKew, had also been educated there and was the main mover in getting Maxine enrolled. "I knew the standard of education there, and I was determined that that's what Maxine and Margo would have," she said. And just as Rudd's main extra-curricular activity at Nambour High would be drama, so McKew's main activity outside classwork at All Hallows would be speech and drama. Maree Rose travelled with the young McKew from Moorooka to the Valley, near the city centre, every day back in the 60s, and she said yesterday that McKew's polished public persona came from speech and drama lessons with Sister Mary St Vincent. "It was Sister Mary who put her on the right track, but Maxine was always a great talker," she said. "We'd always have a great talk with the Terrace boys (a nearby Catholic school) on the way to school." McKew kept the dubious charms of various Catholic schoolboys at enough length to matriculate in 1970 and enrol at the University of Queensland the following year. She told ABC radio last year that she thought university would be all philosophical discussions, like something out of the Left Bank, but she soon realised that the Left Bank of the Brisbane River (where Queensland University is situated) was nothing like the Left Bank of Paris. So, like many of the time, McKew's dreams involved a world outside Brisbane. She dropped out of university, never to return - to this day she has no tertiary degree. She based herself in London for two years while travelling around Europe, working in odd jobs. One of these was as a temporary typist at the BBC, and this was the time in her life when she really wanted to get involved with journalism. The BBC may have represented lofty heights that she thought, at the time, were beyond her. And, as she was contemplating a return to Australia in any event, she helped herself to some of her employer's letterhead and wrote to the Brisbane office of the ABC asking for a job. The BBC letterhead did the trick and got her an interview with the local ABC, which was just as well because the other major employer of journalists in Brisbane, The Courier-Mail, did not even give her an interview for a cadetship. She started in radio in 1974 but soon transferred to the current affairs program This Day Tonight, where she took the place of future Brisbane lord mayor, Liberal Party candidate and businesswoman Sallyanne Atkinson. "I had the termerity to get pregnant, and in those days that was enough to move you on," Atkinson said. But McKew managed to side-step Atkinson's fate with the same dexterity she had shown the Catholic shoolboys. She was on her way to a celebrated media career and possibly a political career. "The old nuns are all very proud of her, and so am I," she said.

"HOWARD IS BORING" SAYS JOHN HEWSON

[Australian Associated Press, January 9, 2007] Former Liberal leader John Hewson says Prime Minister John Howard is a dull, boring man who came to lead the country by default. Writing in The Bulletin, Mr Hewson unleashes a stinging attack on Mr Howard, complaining the Prime Minister has "dithered" on Iraq, has a poor policy record and is suffering from the perception that his government lacks integrity. Mr Hewson has been a repeated critic of Mr Howard since resigning from federal parliament in 1995. "On policy Mr Howard has achieved very little despite nearly 11 years in office," he says. "Moreover, Howard has been incredibly inconsistent on policy, driven more by prejudice and political opportunity than any genuine desire to solve problems and achieve substantive outcomes." Mr Hewson said Mr Howard was a master politician, expert at taking an unfolding set of circumstances and spinning them to his own political advantage. John Hewson, who led the Liberal party to defeat in the "unloseable" 1993 federal election against Labor's Paul Keating, said if Labor leader Kevin Rudd was to have any hope of winning the next federal election, he must focus on environmental, infrastructure and some key social issues."Howard is vulnerable on a number of points," Mr Hewson says. "Although more popular in the polls, he's not really liked by the electorate. He is seen as dull and boring. He has essentially been elected and remains as PM by default, with no significant opposition either from from within his own party. People vote for him because he's relatively predictable and reliable." Labor should also try to establish a moral supremacy over Mr Howard, highlighting the government's involvement in the Iraq war and its failure to push for a quick trial of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, Mr Hewson says. "Rudd's only chance is to convince people that he has some interesting new ideas and is worth a chance against a tired government. It might only take a few untimely deaths of Australian personnel in Iraq for the electorate to swing heavily against the government.” Mr Hewson said Mr Howard must also decisively put to bed the issue of when he will retire and who would replace him. “Treasurer Peter Costello is no longer the natural successor and there is now a wide field of hopefuls capable leading the Liberals.” Surprisingly, he guessed that one attractive ticket for the conservatives could be that of Brendan Nelson as leader and Julie Bishop as deputy. He said Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Finance Minister Nick Minchin and newcomer Malcolm Turnbull were all potential successors.

CONSCIENCE VOTE CLEARS WAY FOR EMBRYO RESEARCH

[AAP, December 07, 2006] AUSTRALIAN scientists will be able to create cloned human embryos after Parliament voted to overturn a ban on the research in a rare conscience vote. The decision gives hope to thousands of Australians living with debilitating diseases. Liberal senator Kay Patterson's private member's Bill will allow researchers to clone embryos using donor eggs and cells without sperm and extract their stem cells for medical research. The Bill succeeded despite Prime Minister John Howard and new Labor leader Kevin Rudd speaking against it at the 11th hour. Mr Howard said he struggled with his decision, but ultimately decided he could not support the legislation despite his respect for the late John Lockhart, who chaired the government-appointed stem cell review committee and recommended ending the ban. “I don't think the science has shifted enough to warrant Parliament changing its view (since the 2002 vote to ban therapeutic cloning),” he said. Following his speech, Mr Howard went into the public gallery and embraced Mr Lockhart's wife, Juliet. Mr Rudd said he found it very difficult to support a law that would allow human life to be created for the single and explicit purpose of experimentation and ultimate destruction. Senior Cabinet ministers Peter Costello, Tony Abbott and Kevin Andrews also spoke against the technology. Parliament was given only its second conscience vote of the year on the legislation, following a vote on the abortion drug RU486 in February. But after an emotional four-day debate, the final vote was an anti-climax, with MPs electing not to call a division and have their choice recorded. An earlier conscience vote, on whether debate should continue to a third reading, returned an 82 to 62 result. The House of Representatives also voted down an amendment that had threatened to scuttle the legislation. The change would have prevented stem cells being extracted from the eggs of aborted late term female foetuses, but this procedure will remain acceptable under the bill. Liberal MP Michael Ferguson's amendment would have sent the bill back to the Senate, where it passed by only two votes last month. Many MPs expressed fears it would not have survived a second review. Speaking after the vote, Senator Patterson, a former health minister, thanked Mr Howard for giving MPs a free vote and congratulated the members on the debate. The majority of the more than 100 MPs who spoke on the Bill were in favour of changing the law. Education and Science Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said the legislation was a chance for Parliament to give hope to sufferers of conditions like diabetes and motor neurone disease. Dr Nelson said his brother, who died just over two years ago from chronic disease, lived his last years inspired and energised by his search for a cure. “My generation has benefited enormously from the sacrifices, scientific endurance and judgment of those who pioneered not only difficult research but also legislative frontiers,” he told Parliament. “We owe it to the next generation no less to show the same wisdom and indeed the same courage.” Ms Bishop said much progress had been made in the field of embryonic stem cell research in recent years and the hopes of many injured and sick Australians rested with the researchers. “I cannot, in all conscience, stand in the way of the only ray of hope available to sufferers of devastating and debilitating disease and injury,” she said. But Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews said Parliament was agreeing to treat humans as commodities in passing the Bill. “Instead of nurturing our offspring, we as a species will have agreed to plunder them,” he said.

CONTROVERSIAL MEDIA LAWS PASS SENATE

[AAP, October 12, 2006] The Federal Government's controversial shake-up of media laws has passed the Senate. Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce and Family First senator Steve Fielding voted with the Government to approve the changes, despite Senator Joyce expressing concerns about a lack of safeguards to protect media diversity in regional areas. The legislation will now go to the House of Representatives. Labor voted against the new laws, saying they would further concentrate media ownership and erode Australian democracy. Opposition communications spokesman Stephen Conroy warned the overhaul would trigger a frenzy of media company takeovers and mergers. The media changes, outlined in a series of bills, require a minimum of five news outlets, or "voices", in metropolitan areas, and four in regional areas. Senator Joyce failed narrowly in last-minute attempts to amend the laws, including a push to exclude stations that mainly broadcast music and racing from being classed as a "voice." Communications Minister Helen Coonan said Senator Joyce's amendment was unnecessary and could prompt some stations to reduce their news content in order to become a takeover target. Concessions won by the Nationals prevent one company from owning more than two formats -- newspapers, television or radio -- in any market. Radio stations will be required to broadcast four-and-a-half hours of local and live content in regional areas a day, and at least 12.5 minutes of local news. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) will be asked to review the local content requirements to determine if they are appropriate. ACMA must report by June 30 next year. Senator Coonan could then amend the local content requirements, which are proposed to apply from January 1, 2008. "The Government recognises ... that a requirement for four and half hours a day of local content may not be the appropriate level for licensees to maintain commercial viability," Senator Coonan told Parliament today. "There is no point at all in legislating local content levels if licensees go out of business in trying to meet them. We are going to try to get this balance right." Earlier, Queensland Liberal Ian Macdonald said he remained concerned that the changes could result in the closure of small radio stations, citing stations at Mareeba in his own area and at Roma. Before the Government had agreed to the local content requirements sought by the Nationals this week, Senator Joyce had indicated he may have voted against the bills. The Queensland senator said today that without these concessions, the bills would not have passed the Upper House. "Without local content, there would be no support from the National Party," he said. During a flurry of votes before the eventual passing of the legislation, one Labor member heckled Senator Coonan, calling out: "Barnaby has you rattled." Senator Fielding supported the bills despite earlier raising fears that the laws would lead to greater concentration of media ownership. But he told the Senate yesterday these concerns were not sufficient for him to vote against them. The media reform package represents the biggest changes to the media industry in 20 years and significantly relaxes ownership restrictions. Democrats senator Andrew Murray said his party was deeply distressed that the bills were passed. Senator Murray said debate on the media bills had never answered two simple questions: "Why is it better economically and politically for media concentration to be greater in this country than it was and for there to be less competition at the top level -- that is the question you must ask yourself, that is the question you must ask every Liberal member and senator." Senator Murray said one Liberal senator had approached him to find out what the bill involved "I can assure you that not everybody down there (in the senate) knew what they were doing when they voted and we are deeply distressed by the outcome."

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS ALLOWING COMMERCIALS ON ABC

[Tuesday March 14] The federal government will consider introducing advertising on the ABC as part of a push to reshape the culture of the national broadcaster, Communications Minister Helen Coonan says. In the latest issue of the Bulletin magazine, to be published on Wednesday, Senator Coonan said the government had flagged the issue of commercial advertising on the ABC. The article says also ABC chairman Donald McDonald, who is seeking a third term, does not have the support of federal cabinet Senator Coonan said the ABC would not be the same in a year and that the government would look into commercial advertising on the national broadcaster. "I think that there's something that we can look at down the future," she told The Bulletin when asked about advertising on the ABC, "It's not an immediate priority, but I think if we look at what the ABC is going to need to go forward, and to deal with some of these challenges, these are some of the things that I mean the board might like to look at." The article said the ABC was seeking additional funding of $115 million to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by digital television. The ABC's drama production had fallen from 103 hours annually, four years ago to just 13 hours annually. Mr McDonald did not have support of federal cabinet because he had defended the culture of the ABC, and his enemies had raised names such as former Nine Network boss Sam Chisholm as his replacement, the Bulletin article said.

RUPERT MURDOCH ENDORSES KEVIN RUDD

[AAP, April 21, 2007] Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has endorsed Labor Leader Kevin Rudd, saying he would make a good Australian prime minister. Mr Rudd met for a one-hour private meeting with Mr Murdoch at the News Corporation's New York headquarters today but the meeting was extended when the pair decided to have dinner together at a local restaurant. Channel Seven reported that when asked if Mr Rudd would make a good prime minister, Mr Murdoch replied “Oh, I'm sure.” Mr Murdoch has previously given his public support of world leaders who went on to win their elections, including Britain's Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush. He also has been a supporter of Prime Minister John Howard but would not say if Mr Howard should step aside. “We'll have to see and make a judgment at the end of the year,” he said. Mr Rudd will return to Australia on Monday from his first overseas visit as Opposition Leader. Mr Rudd has met with US government officials and business leaders and yesterday addressed the prestigious left-wing thinktank The Brookings Institution. In his wide-ranging speech on the Australia-US alliance, Mr Rudd urged the US to ratify the Kyoto protocol and said the economic potential of the relationship with China for both Australia and the US was great. “Australia's challenge, therefore, as with the US, is to maximise our common economic interest with China while robustly asserting, both publicly and privately, our continuing points of difference and disagreement,” he said. There are no more official meetings on Mr Rudd's agenda, but he is expected to meet with a New York football team, the Magpies, in a social event tomorrow. A spokesman for Mr Rudd confirmed that he would not meet with US Democrat candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as suggested.

LABOR WOULD RETAIN HOWARD'S LEGISLATION FOR CONTRACTORS

[The Australian, January 10, 2007] Labor would retain controversial Howard Government laws allowing the nation's 800,000 contractors to set their own deals with employers in a new push to recast itself as a friend of the aspirational class. The Opposition, which just weeks ago voted against the legislation, yesterday backed the intention of the laws to allow genuine independent contractors the flexibility to arrive at their own work arrangements. But Labor independent contractors spokesman Craig Emerson foreshadowed possible toughening of the laws to prevent "sham contractor arrangements" being forced on workers by unscrupulous bosses. His comments, which were cautiously accepted by the ACTU, provide further signs that Labor under new leader Kevin Rudd will craft policies to protect vulnerable workers from exploitation while retaining the Government's emphasis on allowing greater workplace flexibility. Labor industrial relations spokeswoman Julia Gillard said last week she would consider allowing high-income earners greater flexibility to trade off award conditions in exchange for higher pay in individual contracts. Labor remains opposed to Australian Workplace Agreements private contracts and has vowed to rip up the Government's Work Choices laws if it wins office, but the comments by Dr Emerson and Ms Gillard, who is Deputy Opposition Leader, indicate a shift on less-vulnerable workers. The nation's independent contracting workforce is dominated by agriculture, forestry, fishing and construction workers, as well as truck-drivers, computer experts and professional service industry workers. The Productivity Commission estimates there are about 800,000 of these, but Independent Contractors of Australia claims the figure is closer to 1.9 million -- or 20 per cent of the working population. Parliament last month passed the Independent Contractors Act, exempting independent contractors from state industrial laws, with the exception of those working from home in the clothing and textiles sectors, and contract owner-drivers in NSW and Victoria. The bill was strongly opposed by the unions and Labor, which described it as a backdoor method of stripping workers' rights. The Government amended its original legislation to ban employers from dismissing workers and rehiring them as contractors. But Dr Emerson said the amendments did not go far enough, revealing that Labor was considering the use of clearer definitions of contracting, similar to those used by the Australian Taxation Office. Dr Emerson said one of the ATO tests for an independent contractor, which Labor wanted to mirror, was that contractors derived no more than 80per cent of their income from one employer. He would investigate giving the courts guidance on a sham arrangement between an employer and a contractor, because he was concerned the Government might have deliberately left the definition vague. "Without being overly prescriptive, I would like to look at bolstering the common law definition by giving guidance to the courts on what constitutes a sham arrangement that might include the tax office definition of a sham arrangement," Dr Emerson said. Labor's plans mirror those proposed by the Government's House of Representatives backbench committee, but ignored by the Government. "The legislation will allow the courts to see through sham arrangements," Dr Emerson said. "To support independent contractors, I'll also discuss with colleagues options for inexpensive legal remedies of complaints by contractors of unfair contracts being imposed on them." Dr Emerson, Labor's small business spokesman, played down the role of unions in small business, further distancing the party's approach from the intervention sought by some unions. "It's too costly for unions to organise for so few members in a workplace. Unions have not sought from me special privileges in dealing with small business, and would not expect to get them," he said. Mr Rudd appointed Dr Emerson to the new portfolio to counter the Government's appeal to contractors. While unions have opposed independent contracting, concerned it is a vehicle for undercutting industrial employee awards, ACTU president Sharan Burrow yesterday said she cautiously backed Labor's plans. "We need to have detailed discussions clearly with Craig at this point, but we look forward to sitting down and discussing these issues in order to protect working people, whether they're dependent workers or they are genuinely independent contractors," she said. "If Craig is set to eliminate sham contracting arrangements, if he is about providing for genuine choice ... and there's a genuine reform of the legislation so there's an intersection with sound tax law then I think that's a good start." John Howard dedicated a separate policy platform to contractors in the 2004 election campaign, which he said reflected "the ever increasing contribution that independent contractors make to our economy." Hobart telecommunications engineer and independent contractor Scott Bailey-Stewart said protecting Australia's independent contractors was a smart and necessary move considering the country's skills crisis. Mr Bailey-Stewart, an independent contractor for the past 10 years, believes strong laws to support independent contractors are essential for the Australian labour market. "Independent contracting is really a win-win situation for workers and companies," he said. "It's a flexible approach to the workforce and is essential considering we have a skills crisis in this country." After working for Telecom (now Telstra), Austel and Hydro Tasmania, Mr Bailey-Stewart -- a telecommunications engineer -- quit to start up on his own as an independent contractor in 1997. "There's no way I could be an employee any more."

HOWARD IS "CLIMATE CHANGE SCEPTIC" -- RUDD

[Australian Associated Press, February 11, 2007] Coal miners need not lose their jobs even if Australia moves to reduce its greenhouse emissions, Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has said. Mr Rudd said today a Labor government would work with the coal industry to protect jobs while also protecting the environment, amid mounting concern about the contribution of coal-fired power stations to global warming. Asked on Channel 10's Meet the Press if it was inevitable there would be job losses in the coal industry, Mr Rudd replied, "Not necessarily. The country needs a responsible, long-term response to climate change which does this -- protects our environment, protects jobs and builds new jobs in other energy sectors as well." Mr Rudd said a national emissions trading scheme would engage the coal industry in helping to reduce Australia's greenhouse emissions."Across the mining industry, whether it's Rio Tinto or BHP as well as the coal miners' union, all these organisations and individuals are now talking about the need for action," he said. "Mr Howard's setting up a false debate in this area, saying that the coal industry's over here (on one side) not wanting to act, and you've got a bunch of mad greenies over here (on the other side) who want to destroy the planet. There's a way through this which actually works in partnership with industry, works in partnership with mine workers, and you can do that through an effectively constructed national emissions trading scheme." Mr Rudd accused Prime Minister John Howard of repeatedly refusing to acknowledge the impact of climate change until he was panicked into action by a concerned electorate. "Mr Howard's response has been driven by the fact he's spent his life in politics as a climate-change sceptic," he said. "He's now trying to be the climate change solution and people are not buying it. "In his heart of hearts, Mr Howard is still a climate-change sceptic."

AUSTRALIA'S TOP TAX RATE EXCEEDS OECD AVERAGE

AUSTRALIA'S top tax rate of 47 per cent has stood still while the rest of the world has cut taxes, according to a much anticipated review delivered to Treasurer Peter Costello in April. The report made a strong case for lowering Australia's top rate of marginal tax, despite John Howard's comment that he would prefer to spend the budget surplus on assisting low- and middle-income families. The report, by Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Hendy and Tax Board chairman Dick Warburton, draws on OECD figures showing that the top rate of marginal tax in the industrialised world has come down from 47 per cent to an average of 43.5per cent over the past five years. But Australia's top rate has been stuck at 48.5 per cent, including the Medicare levy. The OECD figures show that two-thirds of industrialised countries have cut their top rates in the past five years. The Hendy-Warburton review is expected to show the rate at which tax payments rise as income increases is steeper in Australia than almost anywhere else in the world. It will show that the progressivity of the tax system is in part due to the system of family tax benefits, which favour low-income earners. This results in high effective marginal tax rates as those benefits are withdrawn on higher incomes. The report does not contain any recommendations; instead it discusses the trends identified in the tables comparing Australia's performance with those of other industrialised countries. It does not accept the contention of Mr Costello that the level of taxation in Australia cannot be compared fairly to those of nations such as the US and Japan, which are running large budget deficits. In an article published by a Liberal Party journal, Mr Costello gave an explanation for the disparity between Australia's tax rates and those of key trading partners. "Many of those countries that in the OECD rankings have lower tax than Australia, like the US and Japan, have massive government deficits. This means that while they may have a lower tax take now, they are doing it in some part by postponing tax collection into the future." The study does not reflect this view, on the basis that Australia's tax system must be internationally competitive, regardless of other countries' surpluses or deficits. It says there are other ways to manage deficits than raising tax, such as cutting spending or economic growth. There have been robust discussions on several issues between the report's authors and the team of Treasury Department officials assisting them. Neither Treasury nor Mr Costello will be happy with all the commentary, some of which is expected to be critical of elements of the existing tax system. Mr Costello said last week he hoped to make the report public before the budget. The review's study on land tax was understood to have found Australia's level of the state-imposed tax uncompetitive compared with other nations. The report has also found that while Australia's reliance on income tax and profits is high, indirect tax, such as the goods and services tax, is low. Mr Costello told Melbourne radio that Australia's direct tax take was high in an effort to keep petrol taxes low. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said the federal budget surplus is too high, and should be used to fund personal income tax relief. "I think there are higher priorities in the tax system," Mr Howard said. "To me the most important thing a tax system can do is to provide incentive for hard work, and the other important thing to do is to provide help for people who assume the responsibility of bringing children into this world and raising them. "And I will never agree to changes that are going to undermine the support for low and middle-income families." The Prime Minister defended the progressive nature of the tax system. He said little could be done to deal with high effective marginal tax rates for low-income earners. "The only way you can be rid of these effective high marginal tax rates is to have a completely non-means-tested tax and welfare system," he said.

PRIME MINISTERS OF AUSTRALIA SINCE 1949

Since Sir Robert Menzies led the (then) newly formed Liberal Party into office in 1949, Australia has had five other Liberal Prime Ministers, one Country Party and three Labor. However the total time during which the Liberal Coalition has governed the country has been more than double the duration of Labor Governments: 36 years as opposed to 16 years. It would no doubt be comforting to Liberal voters if I could report that the amount of constructive legislation introduced by the Liberal Party was in the same proportion to the time it held government. However the facts do not support this as Gough "Big Spender" Whitlam in his relatively short term in office introduced probably more items (507) of progressive legslation than all the governments of both parties combined, during this 52 year period. Much of this legislation was aimed at creating an egalitarian society in which every Australian, rich or poor, would have access to education, health care and other social security facilities. But Gough Whitlam was also the Prime Minister who first put Austrlia on the map internationally. He let the world know that we were a REAL country, and that kangaroos didn't hop along George Street. Sir Robert Menzies, who founded the present day Liberal Party, was the longest serving Prime Minister since the beginning of federation. However, during his 16 year uninterrupted term, which included two narrow victories, he didn't actually do much. To quote from Webster's History of Australia (CD-ROM): "His electoral supremacy was assisted by the economic prosperity of the time and the division in the Labor ranks on issues such as communism and foreign policy, which Menzies exploited to the hilt, deliberately provoking fears of communism as an anti-Labor tactic." Bob Hawke was not only the longest serving Labor Prime Minister (1983-1991), but also the first Labor PM to be elected for a third (and a fourth) term. His success was, I believe, due largely to his pragmatic approach. As president of the ACTU for 10 years, he had earned a reputation as a tough negotiator and effective settler of disputes. When he became Prime Minister, he trod the middle path, avoiding the excesses of the Whitlam regime. With Paul Keating as his treasurer, Hawke led the country into an era of unprecedented industrial peace. Three Liberal PMs (Harold Holt, John Gorton and William McMahon) and one Country Party PM (John McEwen) were perhaps not in office long enough to do anything dramtic. However you might care to compare this unproductive quartet with the extraordinary accomplishments of Gough Whitlam who, too, was only PM for three years. Malcolm Fraser, who served three terms as PM (1975-1983), following the messy exit of the Whitlam regime, was, according to his own party in the official Federation Centenary Book, pretty much of a non event. While his dour persona was quite off-putting, in retrospect I see him as a man of integrity, which has been revealed in his post Prime Ministerial activities and public statements. Hawke's successor, Paul Keating, was regarded by a great many Australians as being arrogant. Personally, I admired him, and interpreted his "arrogance" as self confidence. However, it was probably largely this perception of his personality that saw the Liberal/National Coalition returned to power in 1996, Led by John Howard. This man, quaintly nicknamed "Honest John," has well and truly proven himself to be unworthy of this title. His "simple and fair" Goods and Services Tax turned out to be just the opposite. It blatantly discriminated against disadvantaged and poorer Australians. But to my surprise, most of the electorate adjustd to living with it, and accepted it. While John Howard has proven to be a strong leader, his callous and cynical exploitation of the refugee/terrorist combination to narrowly scrape back for a third term is inexcusable and unforgivable. Without the conveniently timed occurrence of these two issues, Australia would unquestionably have moved into 2002 with a Labor Prime Minister.FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WEBSITE