‘Courage to change the nation’: tributes flow for Bob Hawke

Paul Keating, a political partner and rival, led tributes for the late former Labor PM.

Paul Keating — Bob Hawke’s former treasurer and political rival — last night led tributes to Labor’s longest-serving prime minister, declaring he “never lacked the courage to do what had to be done” to transform the nation.

Mr Keating celebrated the pair’s “great partnership” in leading major economic and social reforms during Mr Hawke’s eight-year prime ministership, from 1983-91.

“What remains and what will endure from that partnership are the monumental foundations of modern Australia. Bob possessed a moral framework for his important public life, both representing the workers of Australia and, more broadly, the country at large,” Mr Keating said.

“He understood that imagination was central to policymaking and never lacked the courage to do what had to be done to turn that imagination into reality. And that reality was the reformation of Australia’s economy and society and its place in the world.”

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Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating speak before the 1986 budget speech. Picture: Alan Porritt/File

r Hawke’s wife, Blanche ­d’Alpuget, confirmed his passing at 7.40 last night, releasing a statement confirming he had “died peacefully at home”.

Bill Shorten, standing alongside former Hawke staffer Craig Emerson, said Labor had lost a “favourite son”.

“Australia loved Bob Hawke. But his legacy will endure forever,” the Opposition Leader said.

“He brought people together, he brought Australia together, he modernised our economy, he transformed our society, he protected our environment.”

Mr Hawke’s final public act was writing an open letter endorsing Mr Shorten to become Australia’s next prime minister, in which he said the Labor leader’s trade union background was an asset. Mr Shorten said he “last had the privilege of seeing Bob last week”.

“On his back veranda, sitting out there with his beloved Blanche, supported by Craig. He had the sun on his face, a crossword in front of him, a cup of tea.

“He didn’t speak about himself to me. He did, as he always does, ask about the ALP and the ­election.”

Bob Hawke’s life in pictures

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Scott Morrison paid tribute to Mr Hawke as a “conviction politician who became a political legend” and called on Australians to “rejoice in the life of Bob Hawke”.

“It was Bob Hawke who changed our national anthem to say ‘Australians all let us rejoice’ and … I think we can all say as Australians that we rejoice in the life of Bob Hawke,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Morrison celebrated Mr Hawke’s electoral success, winning four successive elections, and becoming the longest-serving Labor PM. He described him as one of Australia’s great prime ministers, and argued he was Labor’s best prime minister.

“His achievements will be ­spoken of in the days ahead but the thing Australians will remember most about him was the bloke,” he said.

“He made Australia stronger through his contribution to public life. He had a great intellect. He had enormous passion and he had courage. That was able to sustain him in being the longest-serving Labor prime minister of all time.

“But it was his ability to connect with everyday Australians: with a word, with that larrikin wit, with that connection and an understanding of everyday Australian life that we will most remember Bob Hawke.”

Ms d’Alpuget described her husband as a “great Australian”.

“Many would say the greatest Australian of the post-war era,” she said.

“I and Bob’s children, Sue, Stephen, Rosslyn and stepson, Louis, and his grandchildren, will hold a private funeral. A memorial ­service will be held in Sydney in coming weeks.

“Bob Hawke and Paul Keating and their governments modernised the Australian economy, paving the way for an unprecedented period of recession-free economic growth and job creation.

“Bob’s consensus-style approach of bringing together the trade union movement and the business community boosted job opportunities while increasing the social wage through Medicare and extra financial support for low-­income families.”

A special 8-page tribute to Bob Hawke.

She also cited his proudest achievements as being overseeing large “increases in the proportion of children finishing high school, his role in ending apartheid in South Africa, and his successful international campaign to protect Antarctica from mining”.

Former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard described Mr Hawke as the “greatest peacetime leader Australia has ever had”.

“As a teenager, Bob inspired me, as a PM he guided me. I will miss him. I wish so very much that Bob had been able to see one more election day,” Ms Gillard said. “Up to his very last days, he remained both an inspiration and a friend.

“Bob did not lead Australia through a golden age of consensus and progress. He led Australia through a dramatic era of external crisis and economic change, coming after decades of national complacency.”

She described Mr Hawke as a “nation builder and a reformer”.

Kevin Rudd celebrated the Hawke-Keating partnership as ­internationalising the “Australian economy”.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus and ACTU president Michele O’Neil said Mr Hawke was a “hero to working people” and millions owed their health, prosperity and dignity in retirement to him.

Additional reporting: Rosie Lewis, Joe Kelly