Shane Malone - Eureka Street

THE NATION: 4
Ross M cMuLLI
The view from
TcHSuCTom•"'c'NmmRm!!:~ hH~a!!n Cunin both became ptomincnt in
of the most remarkable in Australian political history. the broader labour movement before entering parlia-
Since the First World War there has been only one ment. Both had a dual base in Victoria and Western
other occasion, in 1949, when Australian voters have Australia. Both had to overcome a personal battle with
removed a national government without there being the bottle before leading their country. Both were
demonstrable ineptitude or scandal, usually with unusually popular Prime Ministers. Both led governmajor
financial ramifications, and unless there was ments that made national cohesion a priority.
an opposition presenting itself as a compelling The similarities between these most successful
alternative.
Labor eras extend further. It may seem bizarre to link
Only the most one-eyed detractors of the Keating Ben Chifley, who tried to nationalise the banks, with
Government, or conservative economic commenta- Paul Keating, who deregulated them, but they do have
tors, would claim that it had governed incompetent- plenty in common. As Treasurers in the governments
ly since 1993. There has been, since 1993, no major led by their predecessors, both Chiflcy and Keating
scandal or demonstrable incompetence on any matter were significant figures (and after they took over the
of major significance. According to many Prime Ministership probably did not have the benefit
commentators, the explanation for the result is that of a senior colleague of equivalent influence). Both
the electors' collective decision was not based on how were from New South Wales. Both led governments
the government had performed since the last time they that differed from the Curtin and Haw kc
had delivered their verdict.
Governments in that they were more self-conscious-
Voters, they argue, were really delivering a retro- ly activist about pursuing ALP policy objectives, and
spective rebuke for the recession and for Labor's
K
less concerned about the impact on national
prolonged leadership contest. With the benefit of hind-
consensus.
sight this seems a compelling conclusion. It also helps
to explain the remarkable popularity initially attained
EAT! c HAS BEEN I'RE-EMINE T in the realm of strikby
Alexander Downer as Opposition Leader.
ing political vernacular, but Chiflcy was no slouch
The election result on March 2 has some parallels either. (He attributed the 1949 election result to the
with the change of government in 1949. Liberal fact that people who could not afford a bus ticket when
enthusiasts have often portrayed the 1949 election as Labor came to office in 1941 were up in arms eight
if the Menzies-led Opposition was an irresistible force years later about petrol rationing.)
that brushed aside an inferior ALP government with Chifley and Keating also shared an unwillingness
glorious inevitability and ushered in the halcyon years to be overly fussed about image, which made it easier
of Menzies hegemony. This is fanciful.
for opponents to portray them to the electorate as
It is true that the 1946-49 Chiflcy Labor Govern- ogres. (Those closest to both men described them as
ment was prone to controversy, but this did not derive amiable, charming companions.) There was a signififrom
political scandal or incompetence. Rather, the cant revelation in a little-noticed C hannel 10 docugovernment
became controversial because it imple- mentary on Keating during the recent campaign. A
mented party policy in controversial spheres. The feature of the documentary was an interview with
Chifley Government, like the Keating Government, Keating's sister Anne. She admitted that she would
was vigorous, purposeful and presented the Austral- often cringe when she saw h ow her brother was
ian people with an array of reformist achievements. depicted on television-acknowledging that while it
Nevertheless, to the amazement of some of its most was a reflection of the media's obsession with gladiapromincn
t identi tics, it was defeated in 1949 (largely to rial politics, it was also substantially his own faultbecause
of lacklustre campaigning and some ordinary and that she had unsuccessfully tried to persuade him
political judgment.
to allow the real Paul Keating to get through to the
There are interesting parallels between Labor's electorate. If he had done so, she contended, the 1996
most successful federal eras, 1941 -49 and 1983-96. election would have been a pushover.
Awareness of the similarities between the Prime In the same documentary Ros Kelly revealed that
Ministers who led Labor into government in 1941 and Keating would sometimes terminate cabinet delibcr-
1983 has been increased because Bob Hawke drew ations because he had another engagement, which
attention to them.
turned out to be something like a daughter's dentist
24 EUREKA STREET • APRIL 1996