by John Howard
Wonderful staff at Kirribilli House and the Lodge, particularly our great KH chef, Adam Thomas, looked after us so well. Others included the Lodge chef, Stuart Heddle, and Mary Quinn (Canderle), Sally Stocker, Ian Spencer, Trina Barrie, Sharon Dominick-Gill and Brenda Shearwood.
Keeping my constituents well looked after was the task of my hardworking electorate staff, led by Kay Long who was my electorate secretary for 16 years. Scottish-born, possessed of a good sense of humour and immaculate spelling and stenographic skills, she was a popular figure in the local community. My electorate assistants, Jenny Stearn and Sam Kursar (who was in charge of the electorate office for the last 18 months), had caring and conscientious manners with constituents, and did terrific jobs in those roles. During the last and difficult year, when my seat of Bennelong was vulnerable, Chris Stone obligingly assumed responsibility for much of the campaign liaison effort. It was a tough assignment, which he tackled with dedication.
From earlier years I thank Geoff Hodgkinson, my chief of staff when I was Treasurer, and Gerard Henderson, who filled that role during my time as both Deputy Leader and then Leader of the Opposition. They both worked hard and gave intelligent counsel. Nicole Feeley ran my office effectively during our last year in opposition. She was chief of staff at the beginning of my time as Prime Minister. I have written elsewhere of John Hewson’s valuable contribution.
Among the many other people who worked for me and helped from the time I entered parliament in 1974, I would like to particularly thank John Griffin, Anthony Benscher, Catherine Murphy, Brett Cox, Hellen Georgopoulos, Jamie Fox, Alastair McLean, Peter Langhorne, Andrew Kefford, Marnie Gaffney, Gary Dawson, Adam Connolly, Niki Savva, Gavin Jackman, Bill Hogan, Terrie Ryan, Rebecca Rough, Kate Hogg, Kay Gilchrist, Natalie Jarrett, Nicole Chant, Kylie Jacobson, Katherine McFarlane, Stephen Copeman, Dominique James, Sue Cox, Vanessa Kimpton, Danielle Collins (nee Kerr), Michelle Perry, David Gazard, Jodie Doodt, Tim James, David Elliott and Stephen Galilee.
Many others worked on my staff in the various positions I held in my career. They include Fiona McKenna, Jan Saunders, Jenny Hungerford, Mark Veyret, Liz McCabe, Peggy Hailstone, Sue Fife, Bill Kerley, Tim Stewart, Chris Jordan, Martin Riordan, Adele May, Kay Vollett, Kerry Bamford, Dick White, Jackie Jurd, David Pigott, Joan Linklater, Richard Turnley, Pat Hutchinson, Jon Powis, Greg Bright, John Wells, Nicola Davis, Suzanne Johannsen, Lucille Kerslake, Susan Kay, Helen Blake, Anita Simmons, Mary McKeown, Charmain Lorch, Jacquelin Chalker, Kerry Warner, Nikki Storey, Kaylie Stuart, Jenny Anderson, Terry Crane, Allison Brown, Samantha Lindsay, Alex Staples, Carolyn Ireland, Katrina Edwards, Scott Bolitho, Suzanne Ferguson, Kimberly Hopkins, Gary Dawson, Sarah Casey, Kirsty Haylock, Diane Balke, Kathryn Muldoon, Rebecca Roberts, Kate McQuestin, Carolyn Jack, Andrew Hirst, Kathryn McFarlane, Rhys Turner, Katrina Tesoreiro, Kristin May, Raelene Green, Trish Tragear, Jodie Williams, Sarah Considine, Victoria Davies, Helen Schloss, Sheila Duncan-Mullaney, Lousie Mulcahy, Erika Cevallos, Andrew Hale, Sue Hollins, Georgina Jassonos, Natalie Todd, Leonie Stewart, Vanessa Kimpton, Elizabeth O’Rourke, Fiona Brown, Genevieve Hughes, Mondana Scott, Lee-Anne Dean, Robin Lewis-Quinn, Julie Roberts, Tim Moore, Chantal Sydenham, Clair Dace, Estee Fiebiger, Tony Rutherford, Bronwyn Morris, John Burston, Darren Brown, Jamie Fox, Peter Langhorne, Jenny Howse, Mark Henderson, Stephanie Collins, David Quilty, Peter Jennings, Emma Heales, Mark Baker, Jo-Anne Ashley, Christopher Pearson, Maxine Sells, John Robertson, Marina Kislitsa, Di Perry, Sue Nixon, Kim Logan, Carolyn Pascoe, Kilner Mason, David Stevens, David Piggott, Paula Matthewson, Fiona Brown and (the late) Gerri Ashmore.
I fought six elections as Leader of the Liberal Party: 1987, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2007. Four federal directors of the party worked with me in those campaigns, starting with Tony Eggleton in 1987, who commenced his association with Liberal leaders when he was Menzies’ press secretary just before his retirement, and became a familiar face to Australians as principal spokesman for the Government and the Holt family in the frantic hours and then days which followed Harold Holt’s disappearance in December 1967. Tony was ever calm and always ready with sensible political advice.
Good advice also came from his successors: Andrew Robb in the 1996 campaign, Lynton Crosby in 1998 and 2001 and Brian Loughnane in 2004 and 2007. They were all devoted servants of the Liberal cause and worked closely and cooperatively with my staff in all of the campaigns. Different in style and temperament, I enjoyed working with each of them.
Tony Staley was federal president of the Liberal Party when I won government, having worked assiduously for my return as Leader. He had a good political brain and has given years of effort to our cause. Shane Stone then occupied the position for seven years. He was an active president whose Darwin residency brought a different and helpful perspective to certain issues. We developed a close relationship. Chris McDiven, previously NSW president, held the post during our last challenging months in government.
Over the years hundreds, if not several thousands, of Liberal supporters assisted my many campaigns to win the seat of Bennelong. I cannot name them all. I have mentioned Chris Stone’s liaison work; to that should be added my expressions of gratitude to my 2007 campaign director, Rod Bosman; conference president, Michael Beinke; and secretary, Gloria Martin whose unflinching loyalty is of the stuff of any successful volunteer organisation. I remain humbled that so many worked so hard to help me win public office. A special thank you is owed to those who ran my earlier campaigns stretching back more than 30 years. They were Andrew Davis, Bert Richards, the late Philip King, Donald Magarey, Tony Scotford, Michael Murray, Victor Moran, Ian Hardwick, Stephen Sim, Stephen Peoples and Peter Bardos. Dick White, for years an electorate assistant, gave invaluable support in numerous campaigns.
There is another person, not ever on my staff, who I want to mention. Tony Clark, a close friend and regular golfing partner, gave remarkable support to me before and after I became PM. A gifted and successful accountant, he was a prodigious fundraiser, regular sounding board and always able to provide timely and frank advice when the Government encountered heavy weather. He was the epitome of a true believer. I remain grateful for his deep friendship and loyalty. Likewise Malcolm Irving, former banker and company director, businessman Michael Crouch, a most successful Australian manufacturer, and Paul Ramsay were people who remained supporters through the hard times as well as the good ones.
Our close personal friends Donald and Janet McDonald shared the rollercoaster political ride of the past 25 years. Contributors to the community in their own special ways, Donald as chairman of the ABC for 10 years following a distinguished career as director of the Australian Opera, and Janet in many charities and particularly the fight against breast cancer; they remained constant in their friendship and support.
Finally I thank my present staff; they have done so much to help in the compilation of this book. My tireless research assistant, Troy Daniel, has spent countless weeks and months, unquestionably the equivalent of several PhD theses, digging and fossicking for material from my own records, archives, journals and other publications. His efforts have been invaluable, and without them the enterprise would not have been possible. Ruth Gibson and Sally Murphy, my two personal assistants, have not only typed various versions of the manuscript but as long-time Coalition staffers, their corporate knowledge has either corrected or placed in better context some of my intended utterances. I am much in the debt of Troy, Ruth and Sally for their dedication and also my driver, Stuart Stephens, for ferrying transcripts and photographs to and from my publisher.
Shirley Sullivan of the National Archives and Janet Wilson of the Parliamentary Library have willingly provided helpful responses to the many requests made of them in the course of the book’s compilation. I thank both of them for their invaluable assistance.
I have really enjoyed working with the HarperCollins team on this book, especially Anne Reilly, my editor. That is not to diminish the great work of others, including the CEO, Michael Moynahan, Shona
Martyn, Christine Farmer, Jim Demetriou, Amruta Slee, Sandy Weir, Jennifer Blau and Ian Hancock, who played a valuable fact-checking role. Alan Walker produced a very fine index. I also thank the many others who contributed expertise in proofreading, typesetting, fact-checking, production, marketing, promotion and sales.
CREDITS
Text
Philip Flood AO, Report of the Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies, Canberra, July 2004, copyright Commonwealth of Australia, reproduced by permission.
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, East Timor in Transition 1998–2000: An Australian Policy Challenge, Canberra, 2002, copyright Commonwealth of Australia, reproduced by permission.
Tony Wright, ‘Howard’s coming home of the heart’, Age, 30 April, 2000, © Tony Wright, National Affairs Editor, Age, reproduced by permission.
The author and publisher have made all reasonable attempts to locate and acknowledge owners of copyright material. If you believe you have further information in relation to copyright material, please contact the publishers.
SEARCHABLE TERMS
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.
Note: Page numbers in bold type, e.g. 560-85, indicate the most detailed discussion of the topic. Photographs and captions are identified by Plate numbers.
11 September 2001 (“9/11”)
Howard family’s experience, 376–92, 466–67, Plates 12–13
Howard Government response, 373–74, 385–87, 389–92, 419, 539, 545, 605
international responses, 357, 442
Iraq invasion as response to, 423–26, 428, 430, 459–60, 474
A
A New Tax System. see goods and services tax (GST); tax reform
Abbotsford, NSW, 39
Abbott, Tony
career before Parliament, 200–201
election to Parliament, 201–2, 207
as parliament secretary, 79
as minister, 363, 497, 575, 624–25, 644
as leader of the opposition, 200, 495, 497, 556, 651–54, 662–67
family, 200
republican debate, 321, 330
ABC. see Australian Broadcasting Commission/Corporation
ABCC. see Australian Building and Construction Commission
Abe, Shinzo, 458, 528
Abeles, Sir Peter, 186
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), 256, 272–74
Aboriginal Australians. see Indigenous Australians abortion, 65–66
ABS. see Australian Bureau of Statistics
ACCC. see Australian Competition and Consumer Council
Access Economics, 301
ACCI. see Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
accountants, 108, 190
Aceh, 283, 519, Plate 23
ACIL Economics, 288–90
ACM. see Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy
ACOSS. see Australian Council of Social Services
ACTU. see Australian Council of Trade Unions
Adams, Dick ‘Grizzly’, 480–81
Adams, Glenda (earlier, Felton), 36
Adelaide (federal electorate, SA), 172
Adelaide, SA
1998 federal election, 311
2007 federal election, 623
Bali bombings, 419–20
Downer family, 208, 211, 314
Liberal federal council (1986), 153
Liberal leadership meeting (1994), 208
McLachlan, 159
water policy, 557
administrative services, Jull as minister, 237
Admiralty House, Sydney, 100, 253, 506
advertising, market research & public relations
1972 election, 54
2001 election, 374
Bronwyn Bishop, 199
Downer, 204
Hawke, 188, 227
Howard, 481
industrial relations, 575–76, 578, 580, 582
Iraq policy, 438
‘Joh for PM’ campaign, 166
Keating, 189, 192, 227
Peacock, 141
public suspicion of public relations, 258
republican debate, 334
tax reform, 306
waterfront reform, 290
advisors. see staffers and advisors
AEC. see Australian Electoral Commission
Afghanistan, 349, 355, 382, 384–85, 387–92, 408, 420, 424–25, 429, 460, 464, 635
AFL. see Australian Rules football
AFP. see Australian Federal Police
Africa, 435, 523–26
African-Americans, 450
Age (Melbourne), 6, 118–19, 224, 259, 305, 350, 449, 577, 611, 621–22, 632
aged pension. see assets test
ageing population. see older Australians
agriculture
Anderson as minister, 501
China trade, 509
drought, 124, 132
European trade, 96
Howard Government, 543, 556–59
industrial relations, 142, 563, 581
US trade, 377
see also National Farmers Federation; pastoralists; rural Australia
Ahern, Bertie, 442
aid. see overseas aid
air force. see Royal Air Force (RAF); Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
AIRC. see Australian Industrial Relations Commission
airports, 56, 106
Al Jazeera TV, 424
al Qaeda, 357, 382, 384, 387–89, 391, 411, 420, 424–25, 455–56, 635
Alatas, Ali, 340, 348, 516
Albright, Madeleine, 253, 346–47
alcohol
Bush, 472
drugs compared, 489
excise duties, 106
Howard’s family, 8, 10
Liberal Party functions & celebrations, 33, 46, 100–101, 131, 146, 195
parliamentary bar, 70
Aldred, Ken, 179
Alexander, David, 621
Ali Imron, 421
ALP. see Australian Labor Party
Alston, Richard, 208, 237, 321, 366
Amcor, 265
American Chamber of Commerce (Sydney), 427
American Enterprise Institute, 429, 473
America’s Cup, 159
Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, 420–21
Anderson, John (National Party)
as acting Prime Minister, 380–81, 386
as Deputy Prime Minister (1999–2005), 176, 235, 363–64, 366, 378, 416–17, 419, 557–58, Plate 24
as Minister for Primary Industries, 501
as National Party deputy leader, 249–50
Anderson, Sir John ‘Bill’, 179–80
Andren, Peter, 446
Andrews, Kevin, 566, 572, 575–76, 578, 582–83, 633, 641
Angas (federal electorate, SA), 82
Anglican Church, 9, 15, 50, 191, 227, 243, 323, 419, 648
Anglicare, 488
Anglo-Celtic tradition, 174, 324
ANL. see Australian National Line
Annan, Kofi, 343, 345, 349, 356, 437–38, 451
ANOP. see Australian National Opinion Polls
Ansett receivership, 378–79, 386–87
ANSTO. see Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
Anthony, Doug, 56, 92, 95, 105, 116, 126, 134, 140, 143, 160, 162, Plate 18
Anthony, Larry, 479
ANTS. see goods and services tax (GST); tax reform
Antwerp (port), 287
Anwar Ibrahim, 515
ANZ Bank, 267, 503, 530, 617
Anzac Day, 6–7, 19, 673
ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand and United States) treaty, 377, 386, 466
APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), 587
1996 Manila meeting, 501–3, 505
1998 Kuala Lumpur meeting, 465
1999 Auckland meeting, 347–48
2000 Brunei meeting, 359, 506
> 2001 Shanghai meeting, 505
2003 Bangkok meeting, 499
2004 Santiago meeting, Plate 29
2006 Hanoi meeting, 474, 635
2007 Sydney meeting, 473–74, 528, 610, 623–24, 641–42, Plate 32
apologies, 166, 190, 352, 366, 420, 464, 466, 579, 594, 671. see also Indigenous Australians