Former PM Bob Hawke Has Died

Iconic former Labor Prime Minster Bob Hawke has died, aged 89. Hawke served as Australia’s 23rd PM from 1983 to 1991, winning four elections. The news was confirmed in a statement by his wife, Blanche d’Alpuget, tonight.

“Today we lost Bob Hawke, a great Australian – many would say the greatest Australian of the post-war era,” d’Alpuget said. “I and Bob’s children, Sue, Stephen, Rosslyn and stepson, Louis, and his grandchildren, will hold a private funeral,” the statement reads.

“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.

“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.

“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.”

Hawke, along with his Treasurer, Paul Keating, was responsible for many of the reforms that lead to Australia’s unprecedented unbroken period of economic growth, including floating the Australian dollar and de-regulating the economy. He was also a strong environmentalist who protected the Antarctic from drilling, and fiercely opposed South Africa’s apartheid regime.

Shorten Pays Tribute

Opposition leader Bill Shorten described Hawke as “a leader of conviction”.

“With his passing, the labour movement salutes our greatest son, the Labor Party gives thanks for the life of our longest-serving Prime Minister and Australians everywhere remember and honour a man who gave so much to the country and people he cared for so deeply,” Shorten said in a statement.

“In Australian history, in Australian politics, there will always be B.H. and A.H: Before Hawke and After Hawke. After Hawke, we were a different country. A kinder, better, bigger and bolder country.

The labour movement salutes our greatest son.

Australians everywhere remember and honour a man who gave so much to the country and people he cared for so deeply.

May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/NzKwxW1e4X

— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) May 16, 2019

“His brilliant, incomparable partnership with Paul Keating transformed our economy. His deep friendship and co-operation with Bill Kelty gave us the national Accord and the social wage. In our region, conscientiously, sensitively and with deep humility, he engaged the leaders and people of Asia.He knew that Australia’s future depended on making peace with our past, through true and lasting Reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“And he understood the duty we all have to preserve our natural heritage, to protect the environmental treasures we hold on trust for future generations.

“We honour him. We will remember him. In solidarity, forever. May he rest in peace.”

A public memorial for Hawke will be held in Sydney in the coming weeks.