Hawke, the longest serving Labor prime minister who remained a popular public figure, has passed away
Bob Hawke, Australia’s longest serving Labor prime minister and widely seen as a popular ‘larrikin’ figure even into his old age, has passed away.
Hawke led the Labor party to victory in four consecutive elections from 1983, leading a transformative period in Australia during which the government established Medicare, Landcare, and superannuation schemes, deregulated the financial industry and floated the Australian dollar. He set up the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and investigated but never managed a treaty with Indigenous Australia.
Continue reading...