Australia is much poorer for the death of former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke, says his one-time treasurer and successor Paul Keating.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Mr Hawke died aged 89 at his Sydney home on Thursday, his wife Blanche d'Alpuget confirmed.
Together, Mr Hawke and Mr Keating transformed Australia's economy, negotiating an accord with unions to reduce strikes and restrain wages, floating the dollar and deregulating the financial system.
The pair also overhauled the tax system, slashing tariffs and introducing enterprise bargaining.
Mr Keating on Thursday evening issued a statement describing the legacy of his partnership with Mr Hawke as "the monumental foundations of modern Australia".
He also said the two of them had delighted in supporting Bill Shorten last week, with Mr Hawke, of course, hoping for a Labor win in this weekend's federal election.
The duo's relationship was tested when each, with a trusted witness, signed the secret Kirribilli House pact in late 1988 where Mr Hawke promised to hand over to Mr Keating after the 1990 election.
He reneged and after one failed attempt, Mr Keating toppled him in December 1991. It was the first time Labor had voted out a serving prime minister.
But the pair made amends, jointly backing Mr Shorten for Saturday's election.
"With Bob Hawke's passing today, the great partnership I enjoyed with him passes too. A partnership we forged with the Australian people," Mr Keating said.
"But what remains and what will endure from that partnership are the monumental foundations of modern Australia.
"In what was our last collaboration, Bob and I were delighted to support Bill Shorten last week in recounting the rationale we employed in opening Australia to the world.
"Bob, of course, was hoping for a Labor victory this weekend. His friends too, were hoping he would see this.
"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.
"No one will miss Bob more than his wife, Blanche, who very sweetly, attended his every need, particularly in these later years.
"His children, Susan, Stephen and Rosslyn loved their father and were deeply committed to the precepts of his public life.
"Bob's death will be an enormous loss to them and their children, of whom, he was eternally proud.
The country is much the poorer for Bob Hawke's passing."
Australian Associated Press
