John Howard
| John Winston Howard | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | 26 July 1939 |
| Wife | Janette Howard |
| Party | Liberal Party of Australia |
| Prime Minister | |
| From | 11 March 1996 |
| To | 24 November 2007 |
| Succeeded | Paul Keating |
| Preceded | Kevin Rudd |
| Liberal Party leader | |
| From | 1995 |
| To | 2007 |
| Succeeded | Alexander Downer |
| Preceded | — |
John Winston Howard was the Prime Minister of Australia, and leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, from March 1996 to November 2007, making him the second-longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia. He became Prime Minister when the Liberal Party won a majority in the House of Representatives at the general election in 1996 (in coalition with the smaller National Party), succeeding Paul Keating.
John Howard married Janette Parker in 1971, and they have a daughter and two sons.
Political life
Howard had been a parliamentarian for 22 years before becoming the Prime Minister, and for 21 of those years he was on the front bench, including roles as Treasurer and Opposition Leader.
During his term as Prime Minister, he began privatisation of the national communications provider, Telstra, introduced a 10% Goods and services tax to replace various other taxes, and brought in new industrial relations laws that alter some protections for employees, particularly those in small businesses. He has also tightened controls on firearms, with widespread public support. Although opposed to the idea, he also introduced a referendum on Australia becoming a republic, which was defeated.
Howard was very supportive of the war in Iraq, and the Australian government has been a steadfast supporter of the coalition of the willing, although this has also brought much opposition against him from the public and from the liberal media, many of whom supported the war in the first place.
Recent political controversies
The prosecution of David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay was a political issue for Howard.
Other controversies in mid-2007 centred around such issues as the Federal Government's desire to take control of what was originally state rights to decide upon water usage in the Murray-Darling River System, the taking over of direct funding of a state hospital in Tasmania, and stepping in to alleviate problems in some aboriginal communities.
The arrest and eventual charging of Dr Haneef on suspicion of consorting with terrorists led to the eventual dropping of charges, allowing Dr Haneef to return to his native India. Questions remained regarding the government's handling of the case, and it was reported in September 2007 that applications from overseas doctors seeking to work in Australia fell 80% in the months since the incident [1].
John Howard hosted the 2007 APEC meeting in Sydney. The security measures that were taken were criticised domestically, and included a 3 mile security fence in Sydney's Central Business District, and a call for Sydneysiders to leave the city over the APEC weekend.
The decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates several times has also caused problems for Howard, who was under fire for advertisements in which he featured in 2004, where it was claimed that his government would keep interest rates at "record lows". He later attempted to disown the advertisements.
The popularity of Howard was at an all-time low since Kevin Rudd became the opposition leader. The gap in the polls lessened slightly during the second half of 2007, although the ALP enjoyed a winning lead right up to the November 2007 election.
Future
Howard tried to win a fifth term in office at the federal election held on 24 November 2007. He had pledged to resign late into his next term if he was re-elected, and hand over office to his government's Treasurer Peter Costello. In practice, the choice of successor would be made by a vote of all the Liberal Party's MPs.
As well as losing the election to the ALP, Howard has also come under pressure in his own parliamentary electorate where former ABC journalist Maxine McKew is standing against him for the ALP. Counting is still continuing, with Howard now in serious danger of losing his electorate - he would be only the second Prime Minister (after Stanley Bruce) in history to lose his seat. Counting so far has detected a swing of around 5.2% against him.
Sources
- National Museum of Australia, John Howard
| Australian Prime Ministers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Edmund Barton (1901) Alfred Deakin (1903, 1905, and 1909) |
Stanley Bruce (1923) James Scullin (1929) |
Francis Forde (1945) Joseph Chifley (1945) |
Malcolm Fraser (1975) Robert Hawke (1983) |