Former PM Bob Hawke hospitalised, condition unknown

The former is undergoing “minor tests” and keen to get home to his “cigar and crosswords” after being rushed to hospital.

Bob Hawke arrives to watch Kim Beasley be sworn into office as the new Governor of Western Australia. Picture: AAP.

Former prime minister Bob Hawke is undergoing “minor tests” and is keen to get home to his “cigar and crosswords” after being rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital.

“Hawkie is fine and anxious to get home and back to his cigar and crosswords”, a source close to the family said after the former Labor leader’s admission to hospital late on Monday.

The 88-year-old is undergoing “minor” tests, according to a Labor spokesman. “I can confirm on background that Bob is fine,” the spokesman said in a statement.

“(He’s) just in hospital for some minor tests, nothing serious.”

The former ALP leader served as Australia’s 23rd prime minister from 1983-1991 and led Labor to four consecutive election victories. Mr Hawke’s place in the Labor pantheon was formally acknowledged in 2009 when he became only the third person to be awarded national life membership of the party.

The 88-year-old’s condition is unknown but The Daily Telegraph reported initial suggestions he had suffered a stroke were incorrect.

The Australian understands there have been concerns over his health for some time and sources close to Mr Hawke said his illness was being treated seriously.

Mr Hawke was last week in Perth at the swearing in of new WA Governor and former federal Labor leader Kim Beazley. The pair was seen chatting with Mr Hawke in a wheelchair at the event, with a walking stick resting in his hands.

Australia’s third longest serving prime minister has had brushes with serious illness in the past decade. He suffered a severe bout of pneumonia in June 2011 and was treated at St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst.

In 2015, he nearly died from an illness he contracted while travelling overseas, which left him requiring regular doses of intravenous antibiotics and a year of medical appointments.

“Yeah, I was very crook,” Mr Hawke told the Weekend Australian Magazine last year.

“I was very sick. I picked up this awful thing in the Middle East.”

He added: “…they tell me I could have been on the way.”

Hawke said it was the love of wife Blanche D’Alpuget which saved him, saying she was absolutely “fantastic.”

The near death experience prompted Ms D’Alpuget to contemplate life alone and she put a deposit on an apartment in Sydney.

When contacted last night, Mr Hawke’s wife Blanche d’Alpuget chuckled at news reports that he was ill and told The Daily Telegraph her husband was “ok’’.