Labor veteran Kim Beazley in the frame for Australian War Memorial council

Labor elder statesman Kim Beazley’s appointment to the council of the Australian War Memorial is being closely considered by the federal government, with a decision due after current member and outgoing chairman Brendan Nelson steps down in mid-November.

Beazley is a former Labor leader, defence minister, governor of Western Australia and ambassador to the United States and is seen by many in the parliamentary Labor Party as the perfect person to take the council spot.

Kim Beazley could replace Brendan Nelson on the council of the Australian War Memorial.Credit: AAP

And while Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh does not get to choose who will replace Nelson as chairman – the council chooses one of its own for elevation to the $80,000 per year role – federal government sources, who asked not to be named, told this masthead that Beazley was a strong contender for the top job, given his decades of public service and in-depth knowledge of military history.

Since stepping down as West Australian governor, Beazley has served on the board of Perth’s US Asia Centre and has had some involvement with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

The new chair will not be chosen until early 2023 after the new member of the council has been appointed and can join in the selection of the chair.

Beazley’s appointment would also head off a politically more contentious appointment of RSL National president and council member Greg Melick.

The move to expand the commemoration and recognition of the frontier wars between Indigenous Australians and British colonists was announced by Nelson last month, with the support of the minister, Keogh.

It marked of a reversal of Nelson’s previous position that the National Museum should document the frontier wars, not the War Memorial, and has been criticised by opposition veterans affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce and opposition spokesman for defence Andrew Hastie.

Melick last week criticised the War Memorial’s plan to commemorate the frontier wars between Indigenous Australians and British colonists. He is the council’s longest-serving current member and has support from some members to be elevated to the job Nelson will vacate.

If Beazley were selected for the council, Melick may choose not to put his name forward for the chairman’s job.

The council oversees the operation of the memorial and meets four times per year.

Keogh and Beazley both declined to comment when contacted by this masthead.

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