Lazarus Rising

by John Howard

  11 James Graf & Bruce Crumley, ‘France Is Not a Pacifist Country’, Time Magazine, 16 February 2003.

  12 Simon Crean MP, Leader of the Opposition, transcript of doorstop interview, Melbourne, 15 January 2003.

  13 Kevin Rudd MP, shadow minister for Foreign Affairs, keynote address to the State Zionist Council Annual Assembly, 15 October 2002.

  14 Tony Parkinson, ‘The thoughts of Beazley now’, Age, 18 April 2003.

  15 Letter from Kevin Rudd MP, shadow minister for Foreign Affairs, to the Hon. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia, 17 November 2003.

  16 Lincoln Wright, ‘Proof Rudd approved of Iraq war’, Daily Telegraph, 12 August 2007.

  17 Ibid.

  18 United States of America, National Intelligence Estimate: Iraq’s Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, National Intelligence Council, October 2002.

  19 Parliamentary Joint Committee ASIO, ASIS and DSD, Inquiry into Intelligence on Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction, 15 September 2003, quoting an ONA assessment of 31 January 2003.

  20 Report of the Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, July 2004.

  21 Report of the Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies (Flood Report), Commonwealth of Australia, 2004, reproduced by permission.

  22 Ibid.

  23 ‘Opposition Leader discusses Newspoll; AFP Commissioner; troops in Iraq; and Alexander Downer’, Radio 2UE, broadcast on 22 March 2004.

  24 Mick Keelty, AFP Commissioner, Sunday, Nine Network, transcript of broadcast, 14 March 2004.

  Chapter 35: George Bush

  1 Rt Hon. Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, address to the House of Representatives, 27 March 2006.

  2 President George W. Bush, ‘The Howard Years’, ABC Television, transcript of broadcast, 1 December 2008.

  Chapter 36: Blue Collars and Green Sleeves — Latham’s Implosion

  1 Ken Hall, ‘Latham betrays workers’, Australian, 8 October 2004.

  2 ‘Opposition Leader discusses Newspoll; AFP Commissioner; troops in Iraq; and Alexander Downer’, Radio 2UE, broadcast on 22 March 2004.

  3 Geoffrey Barker, ‘A dual destiny’, Australian Financial Review, 9 October 2004.

  Chapter 39: Asia First, Not Asia Only

  1 The Hon. John Dawkins MP, Treasurer, Sunday, Nine Network, transcript of broadcast, 26 March 1992.

  2 Dr H. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, ‘Bali remembered’ [edited version of speech by the President of the Republic of Indonesia], Age, 13 October 2003.

  Chapter 40: A Wonder Down Under

  1 Glenn Stevens, Address to the Inaugural Faculty of Economics and Business Alumni Dinner, The University of Sydney, Sydney, 15 May 2008.

  2 Julia Gillard MP, Deputy Prime Minister, Address to the Australian Reception, World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, 29 January 2009.

  3 Robert Rubin & Jacob Weisberg, In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington, Random House, New York, 2003, p. 122.

  4 Department of the Treasury, Economic Roundup, Autumn 2005, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 2005, reproduced by permission.

  Chapter 41: Our Warm, Dry Land

  1 Nicholas Stern (dir.), The Stern Review Report: The Economics of Climate Change, HM Treasury, London, 30 October 2006.

  2 Nigel Lawson, An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming, Duckworth Overlook, London, 2008, p. 83.

  3 Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Securing Australia’s Energy Future, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 2004.

  Chapter 42: Billy Gets a Job, but Who Cares?

  1 Sir Robert Menzies, Central Power in the Australian Commonwealth, Cassell, Sydney, 1967, p. 130.

  2 Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) (1994), Aluminium Industry CRA [Comalco] Bell Bay Case, Full Bench Decision, Print No. L7449.

  3 Liberal Party of Australia, ‘A stronger economy, a stronger Australia, flexibility and productivity in the work place: the key to jobs’. Howard Government election policy, 2004.

  4 Paul Kelly, ‘Milestone on quest for reform’, Australian, 27 May 2005.

  5 ‘A big win for all the workers’, Australian, 27 May 2005.

  6 ‘A new way of working’, Daily Telegraph, 27 May 2005.

  7 ‘Finance Minister addresses H.R. Nicholls Society on industrial relations reform’, ABC Radio, broadcast on 8 March 2006.

  Chapter 44: The Leadership

  1 ‘Prime Minister discusses Bali bombings; Premiers’ meeting; handguns; APEC; and medical indemnity’, Radio 6PR, broadcast on 23 October 2002.

  2 ‘Costello stays on a slow boil’, Australian, 2 May 2005.

  3 Michael Gordon & Misha Schubert, ‘Costello backers set deadline’, Age, 4 May 2005.

  4 Louise Dodson, ‘The rubbery deadline still taunting Costello’, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 April 2006.

  5 Glenn Milne, ‘At last, a 12-year secret is revealed’, Sunday Telegraph, 9 July 2006.

  6 Neil Mitchell, ‘After his latest petulant outburst … He’s on the nose’, Herald-Sun, 13 July 2006.

  7 Tony Wright, ‘He can’t win. I can: The Year: 2005, The Pretender: Peter Costello, The Strategy: Destroy Howard’, Age, 15 August 2007.

  Chapter 45: The Tide Runs Out

  1 ‘Labor ahead no matter who leads: poll’, ABC News Online, 3 December 2006, www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200612/s1802994.htm (accessed 31 March 2010).

  2 Ross Gittins, ‘Good politics has met good economics’, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 May 2007.

  3 Steve Price, ‘Peter Garrett’s gaffe was no simple joke’, Sunday Telegraph, 4 November 2007.

  4 Rosanne Barrett, ‘Former leaders suck publicity oxygen from current party heads’, Australian, 14 August 2010.

  Chapter 46: Reflections

  1 John O’Sullivan, The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister, Regnery Publishing, Inc., Washington, 2006, p. 2.

  2 Sir Robert Menzies, Afternoon Light: Some memories of men and events, Cassell, Melbourne, 1967, p. 215.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  No person can have the political career I did without continued support and counsel from staff and advisors. I owe the many who fall into this group special gratitude. They are entitled to share the success publicly attributed to me.

  For nine years of my prime ministership Arthur Sinodinos gave outstanding leadership to my office as my chief of staff. Arthur had an endearing sense of humour. He was policy driven but politically savvy — a crucial combination in such a role. Universally respected by my staff and my parliamentary colleagues, Arthur was a trusted sounding board on the multitude of complex issues which come the way of a PM’s office. He also enjoyed the respect and confidence of the public service, which added greatly to the harmony between the political and administrative arms of the Government. Likewise he was a point of easy access and reference for many in the business sector. They were comfortable dealing with him if they could not speak to me. His knowledge and candour minimised the inevitable misunderstandings which arise in communications between business and government. A gifted economist, Arthur Sinodinos began as a cadet with the Commonwealth Treasury and in his post-Canberra life has been successful in pursuing a banking career.

  The partnership between Arthur and my principal private secretary, Tony Nutt, was a key ingredient in the unity and smooth functioning of my office. Tony’s political science and Liberal Party staff experience meant that they neatly complemented each other. Tony’s corporate knowledge was priceless in dealing with party issues. I joked often that he knew ‘where all the Liberal bodies are buried’. He had a deep understanding of Australian and world political history, and loved the hurly-burly of political combat. Tony’s sharp grasp of parliamentary procedure and capacity for detailed research was invaluable in the political battles of attrition which come the way of all governments. Tony gave great service as chief of staff during our last difficult year in government. Currently di
rector of the Victorian division, Tony Nutt is the most gifted professional employee of the Liberal Party anywhere in Australia.

  References to Grahame Morris appear regularly during the book. It is no exaggeration to say he has devoted much of his working life to the Liberal cause and to me in particular as the standard bearer of that cause. He was on my staff during my first and difficult turn-out as Opposition leader, came across from Downer’s staff in 1995 and was with me in my early prime ministerial years. He always gave earthy political advice, and it was mostly correct. We remained in regular contact after he left my office. He and his wife, Bronwyn, spent every election night with us from 1996 onwards. We remain close friends.

  Barbara Williams worked a total of 18 years for me as my personal assistant, commencing when I became Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs and continuing through various positions until my removal as Opposition leader in May 1989. She returned to that role when I became PM and stayed until 2002. Barbara was efficient, loyal and possessed of remarkable contacts, so indispensable in such a position. Her service to the Liberal cause and to me was exceptional. Suzanne Kasprzak assumed that role after Barbara left and did it well and enthusiastically.

  For eight years Peter Crone was my economic advisor, and a talented person in that role. He was steady, thoughtful and balanced in his advice as well as his assessments of departmental views. To have both Peter and Arthur, who liked to keep his hand in on economic issues, meant I was well served in this crucial policy area. Peter rejoined the private sector in 2006 and was replaced by a highly skilled former Treasury economist, Nigel Bailey. He knew the political dimension well, having worked on Peter Costello’s staff for some years. He also had a stint as Treasury man at the Australian Embassy in Washington.

  I write elsewhere in the book of John Perrin, who died prematurely in 2006 and was my social policy advisor for nine years. His advice was important in securing the improvements delivered by my Government in this immensely important policy area. His technical grasp of issues as well as a strong policy compass made him a first-class advisor. Perry Sperling followed John in that role, and likewise brought immense policy depth, thus ensuring that an effective social vision remained a prominent part of the Government’s public face.

  Michael Thawley, of whom I write elsewhere, was my first international advisor and later, importantly, ambassador in Washington. David Ritchie (later our ambassador in Jakarta during the 2004 bomb attack), Miles Jordana, Peter Varghese (now high commissioner to India), Paul O’Sullivan (for a time head of ASIO, now high commissioner to New Zealand), and Nick Warner (later secretary of Defence, now head of ASIS), followed Michael in that role. They filled that position through years of intense policy debates and controversies. All brought foreign-policy skills and experience to my office. The final occupant of the post was Andrew Shearer, who has left the government service and flies something of a centre-right foreign policy flag at the Lowy Institute. He remains a frequent sounding board of mine on foreign policy.

  Two of my former policy advisors have pursued federal political careers. Jamie Briggs is now the Liberal MP for Mayo, having succeeded Alexander Downer in that seat. He was my advisor for three years on industrial relations and related industry matters. Joshua Frydenberg is now the Liberal MP for Kooyong, Robert Menzies’ old seat. Both Jamie and Joshua were bright advisors. At a state level, Barry O’Farrell, who worked for me when Opposition leader in the 1980s, is currently the Premier of that state. One of his colleagues is Anthony Roberts, the state MP for Lane Cove; he worked for a number of years in my electorate office.

  Complicated anti-terrorist legislation featured heavily after 11 September 2001, making it essential that I had immediate, high-quality legal advice at hand in my office. For a time Josh Frydenberg filled this role, and after the 2004 election Simone Burford, who was an excellent lawyer, took over the responsibility. She shone in the position, having a great capacity to distil the legal essence of an issue into intelligible language.

  What I called the ‘paper flow’ between me and my department — ensuring that departmental submissions were dealt with in a timely fashion — was handled by several people over the years, most particularly Stephen Brady, who is now the Governor-General’s official secretary, and Malcolm Hazell, previously official secretary to two former occupants of that position. I frequently dubbed Malcolm my royal and ecclesiastical advisor; part of his role was to maintain liaison, when necessary, with Government House and Buckingham Palace. They both did their jobs with skill and discretion.

  There was no more hardworking and loyal staffer than Tony O’Leary, a highly experienced journalist who was the head of my press office for the whole period of my prime ministership. He was astute, had a good news sense, rarely gave me bad advice and maintained good relations with the gallery, while usually knowing what its members were up to. Willie Herron, whose natural openness and straight-dealing style made her popular with journalists, was a well-loved staffer, particularly by another staffer, Patrick Coleman, who married her. They now have four children. Ben Mitchell and David Luff (affectionately known as ‘Luffy’), were a duo who worked effectively with Tony O’Leary. David Luff, a former Daily Telegraph man, had a good knockabout news sense. Based in Sydney, he travelled back and forth to Canberra with me. I spent a lot of time with David and found him an excellent media advisor. He became a regular on my early-morning walks. We enjoyed each other’s company.

  Aileen Wiessner filled a special role in my office. With me from March 1996 onwards, she kept in touch with backbench Liberal MPs and kept a constant finger on the pulse of marginal seat opinion. Aileen understood better than most what influenced swing voters; her advice was always candid and direct. Gerry Wheeler was something of a keeper of the conservative flame in my office. He was a passionate anti-republican. Gerry and I high-fived after the referendum went down.

  The Cabinet Policy Unit (CPU), which I established in 1996, was led by three people in my time as PM: Michael L’Estrange, Paul McClintock and Peter Conran — all extremely able, but in different ways. I have written elsewhere of the careers of both Michael and Paul, who have both achieved so much in their professional lives. L’Estrange served as high commissioner in London during times of intense cooperation with Britain in the fight against terrorism, and then I appointed him secretary of the department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Paul McClintock has resumed a busy and successful commercial career. Peter Conran had variously worked for the Northern Territory and Western Australian Governments, before joining my staff before the 2004 election. After that election he took over the CPU. One of his great assets was to understand and interpret likely state responses to Commonwealth ideas. He was a poacher-turned-gamekeeper, only to turn back again. He is now director general of the department of Premier and Cabinet in Western Australia.

  One speech writer I had as PM was John Kunkel. I disliked reading speeches. Less than 10 per cent of the speeches I made as PM were scripted. In my last three years as PM, I found in John Kunkel, who joined the CPU in 2004, someone who grasped the type of language I was comfortable with and was able, after much workshopping between us, to craft some really good speeches. As well as being a good economist, John shared my interest in history and the ebb and flow of the cultural debate. I especially recall working with him in March 2005 on my speech launching the Lowy Institute, which enunciated the broad themes of my foreign policy views.

  Two other people were responsible for me looking better on television than I sometimes deserved. They were Carol Robertson and Susan Bruce. They successively headed my group of ‘advancers’: staff members who visited venues in advance of me to check logistics. They and their colleagues were always friendly and obliging and won over countless citizens who may have been just a little sceptical about this visiting PM.

  Many of my former policy advisors have provided helpful comments on chapter drafts of this book. Those comments have sharpened the book’s presentation.

  Two businessmen
, Bob Mansfield and Fergus Ryan, filled consultancies and gave good advice regarding investment projects. Geoffrey Cousins also provided valuable public relations advice.

  A security detail from the Australian Federal Police is a fixed part of the daily life of an Australian PM. A close personal protection unit spends a lot of time with the person they are looking after. I was able to establish good personal relations with the various members of my team over almost 12 years. Three efficient and highly professional men, Michael Casey, Blen Rowley and Gary Hanna, headed up my detail during that time. I trusted them completely. My family and I remain deeply grateful for the unobtrusive and reassuring security they and their teams provided. Their teams included at various stages David Capper, Ben McIntyre, James Bareham, Peter Bassett, John Blandford, Andrew Bailey, Terry McCarthy, Ron Learmonth, Bill Townsend, Annie Brooks, Frank Morgan, Richard Kelland, Michael Jackson, Chris Collingwood, Philippa Cottam, Bruce Hayward, Mark McIntyre, Steven Martin, Michael Howard, John Collins, Bevan Moroney, Phil McInerney, Alan Paterson, Graham Leaver, Clinton Wright, Michael Dainer, Nye Konig, Ross Casella, Richard Breiner, Andrew Bailey, Gary Mills and Adam McCormack.

  Officers from state police forces also provided regular protection. They included Andrew Slattery, Mark Hargreaves, Christopher Reardon, Susan Bielby, Christopher Reeves, Timothy Holt, Kevin Toohey, Rod Brown, Geoff Chiddy and John Hodge.

  In the mobile phone era, discreet and utterly trustworthy drivers are essential. I was very lucky to have Mario Bartolic, an ever friendly and obliging man, as my Sydney driver for most of the time that I was Prime Minister. His Canberra counterpart, Dan Radovanovic, was equally reliable and helpful. They were both excellent drivers and I thank both for their service, as well as Greg Wright and the late Wayne Patterson, who drove for me in Sydney in the early years. From earlier times I record my thanks to Bob Jenkins and Tony Barry.