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Bob Hawke dies aged 89: Blanche d'Alpuget leads tributes to former Australian PM – rolling coverage
Bob Hawke: tributes flow after death of former Australian PM – rolling coverage
(32 minutes later)
Bob Hawke and Blanche d’Alpuget voting yes in the same-sex marriage postal survey in 2017:
❤️ pic.twitter.com/eDWkUs1mtS
Vision of Hawke’s speech after Tiananmen Square in 1989
30 years ago he granted asylum to all #Chinese students in Australia after #Tiananmen Sq massacre. My mum was one of them. My family are forever grateful for this opportunity to live and thrive in this beautiful and democratic country. #BobHawkeRIP pic.twitter.com/y0WF90GLAL
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair:
Bob Hawke was a huge figure and someone I deeply admired, liked and learned from, a genuine giant in anyone’s politics.
He was an immensely successful leader of Australia but he also impacted all of us round the world who were looking for a sustainable model of government which combined strong economies with high levels of social justice and investment in the most disadvantaged sections of society.
Sharp, with a marvellous strategic political mind, and concealing a first class intellect behind that friendly and ‘good bloke’ exterior, he was wonderful and warm company, and from the first time I met him back in 1982 always willing to reach out and help younger politicians. A true model for so many of us. He will be greatly missed.
More on Hawke’s dedication to anti-racism:
Vale #BobHawke. Will be drinking at the Carlisle tonight. My parents were able to stay in Australia after he offered asylum to Chinese students post-Tiananmen Square. Many Chinese-Australians will be saluting him tonight, see this message from my mum: pic.twitter.com/4c1KisSQjd
Bob Hawke, 1990 - "We are a richer, more diverse, better country now because we have been a country of large immigration" https://t.co/SqHWAkj1kb pic.twitter.com/uU8eMq2e3O
And perhaps the most keenly anticipated tribute of them all, from John Bertrand – who won the America’s Cup in 1983.
On the famous Hawke quote about any employer not giving workers the day off being “a bum”, he says it was “typical of Bob Hawke’s ability to seize the moment.”
“That was a perfect thing to say...Years later Bob would often say that of all the great things he achieved..people would always remind him of that.”
As many may have noticed on Twitter, there has been a strong backlash to Tony Abbott’s tribute to Hawke, which claimed that the former PM “had a Liberal head” and “went against the Labor grain”.
'Pea for a heart': Tony Abbott criticised over partisan tribute to Bob Hawke
More from Greens founder Bob Brown, who just spoke over the phone to the ABC:
We’ve lost a great PM, who notched up the best environmental record of any PM since federation.
He began with the saving of the Franklin River. He went to the election in 1983 saying that he would stop the dam if elected ... And after a battle through the High Court he did just that.
Then he went on of course to have a brace of other great places from Uluru to the Daintree, Shark Bay and more, inscribed in the World Heritage list. He added more of Kakadu and forests in northern New South Wales. And then took a role with Paul Keating in leading the protection of Antarctica through the Madrid Protocol in 1997.
“He took on Joh Bjelke-Petersen over the Daintree Rainforests in North Queensland and using the World Heritage power, he protected the rainforests which were about to be ripped to bits by real estate exploitation and so on...And Hawke empowered [environment minister] Graeme Richardson in a way we’ve never seen before or since to protect Australia’s environment. And I think that will be an enormous legacy for which Australians will be thanking him as PM for centuries to come.”
Former treasurer Joe Hockey:
Former treasurer Joe Hockey:
So very sad to hear my mate and former constituent,and my parents neighbour,Bob Hawke has passed away. He was a legend in so many ways. Our love to Blanche and the family. Australia has lost a bloody good guy today.
So very sad to hear my mate and former constituent,and my parents neighbour,Bob Hawke has passed away. He was a legend in so many ways. Our love to Blanche and the family. Australia has lost a bloody good guy today.
More front pages:
More front pages:
Tomorrow's front page. Vale Bob Hawke, the fearless reformer pic.twitter.com/auibUrZQgO
Tomorrow's front page. Vale Bob Hawke, the fearless reformer pic.twitter.com/auibUrZQgO
More tributes from current Labor MPs and senators. Penny Wong:
More tributes from current Labor MPs and senators. Penny Wong:
My words are not enough to express who Bob Hawke was to our movement, and our country. A Labor giant, a beloved Australian. Labor governments change the country. None more so than his. pic.twitter.com/wtDPQHFKau
My words are not enough to express who Bob Hawke was to our movement, and our country. A Labor giant, a beloved Australian. Labor governments change the country. None more so than his. pic.twitter.com/wtDPQHFKau
Kristina Keneally:
Kristina Keneally:
To think of Bob Hawke is to smile. He always lifted spirits. Bob inspired awe - he changed Australia, modernised our economy; created Medicare, superannuation; protected our environment. Bob always stood up for working people, always. He is a hero & legend. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LQxt0IU6cx
To think of Bob Hawke is to smile. He always lifted spirits. Bob inspired awe - he changed Australia, modernised our economy; created Medicare, superannuation; protected our environment. Bob always stood up for working people, always. He is a hero & legend. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/LQxt0IU6cx
Tony Burke:
Tony Burke:
The Bob Hawke I admired was the man who saved the Franklin, the Daintree, Kakadu and protected Antarctica from mining. The Bob Hawke I befriended and laughed with every New Year’s Eve was a fellow music fan with Blanche every summer at Woodford Folk Festival. What a life! pic.twitter.com/vcmEajMY6F
The Bob Hawke I admired was the man who saved the Franklin, the Daintree, Kakadu and protected Antarctica from mining. The Bob Hawke I befriended and laughed with every New Year’s Eve was a fellow music fan with Blanche every summer at Woodford Folk Festival. What a life! pic.twitter.com/vcmEajMY6F
John Ah Kit was Director of the Northern Land Council (NLC) when Aboriginal leaders of the NT presented Bob Hawke with the Barunga statement, on Jawoyn country east of Katherine in 1988.
The Barunga statement was an historic declaration of demands and aspirations – carefully-worded, hand-crafted, painted and written on a bark – and presented by the chair of the NLC, Galarrwuy Yunupingu, and the chairm of the Central Land Council, Wenten Rubuntja.
A beaming Bob Hawke co-signed the statement and set a deadline for a treaty as the end of 1990, but a major obstacle was the increasingly strident and dramatic statements of hard-right politicians in the Liberal party, in particular the president, John Elliott and Opposition leader, John Howard.
John Ah Kit met Bob Hawke again in 1991, while fighting to stop uranium mining at Guratba – the Jawoyn name for Coronation Hill.
Hawke refused to allow the mine to go ahead and override the deeply held religious beliefs of the Jawoyn traditional owners. It was a decision which he later said cost him the prime ministership.
John Ah Kit told Guardian Australia Hawke was a “remarkable man.”
Bob was a legend in his own right, but he had a special relationship with the Katherine region that in some ways transcended, for us, the mere fact of being a prime minister.
Back in ’88, the 200th anniversary of the Invasion, he was more than willing to come to the Barunga Festival in June that year and talk to the land councils at that historical event.
And he listened to us, he was patient and listened to us. He clearly wanted to do something which is why he was happy to sign the Barunga Statement which called for a Treaty. There was no doubt about his genuineness.
As history tells us, of course, he could not muster support in his party at the time to pursue the goal of a Treaty. That’s something we are still waiting for, four decades later.
But it was over the issue of Guratba—the Jawoyn name for Coronation Hill—a time when the mining companies were bashing us at a hundred miles an hour, that he stood firm by the custodians of that country. He believed those old men and refused to back away. He and Gerry Hand pushed for the protection of the Sickness Country of which Guratba was a focus. Guratba was saved.
I heard an interview with him much later when he said that Coronation Hill was the thing that brought him down, but Bob stood by us.
And on his last day in office, he welcomed Jawoyn and other Aboriginal people to the official hanging of the Barunga Statement in Parliament House. To me, that was a symbol of his legacy to us as Aboriginal people.
John Ah Kit later served as the first Aboriginal minister, in the Northern Territory Labor government.
This portrait, of Hawke enjoying a strawberry milkshake, is fast becoming one of the favourite photo tributes to the PM.
Taken in 2017 by Harold David, it won the National Photographic Portrait Prize that year.
Says David: “All the planning in the world went out the window the moment Bob Hawke walked into the room, sipping through a pink straw....a take-away cup, a glint in the eyes, a life well-lived.”
Thankful for Bob Hawke. A man who balanced visionary leadership with a deft common touch and changed the course of the nation.Truly a man of the people. He will be missed.#BobHawkeRIP #RIPHawkie pic.twitter.com/AnDBlyv4zy
Former PM Malcolm Turnbull has tweeted his condolences:
Farewell Bob Hawke a great Australian, Labor leader and reforming Prime Minister. Australia is a better place because of him. Lucy and I send our love and condolences to Blanche and all of his family.
As has former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce:
Well, we will all miss him. Have to admit it, we were all proud of him as he was one of us. Vale Bob
Gumatj leader and Yothu Yindi Foundation chair Galarrwuy Yunupingu worked with Hawke towards an Indigenous treaty, and presented him with the Barunga statement in 1988.
In a statement, he expressed his “deep sorrow” at Hawke’s passing.
Mr Hawke was a very popular leader, and a friend of the Yolngu people.
His efforts to bridge the gap between black and white Australia were always sincere, and continued after the end of his prime ministership.
We did not achieve all that was set out in the Barunga Statement, but it remains in parliament, and we continue to pursue its aspirations.
We will remember Mr Hawke fondly, a smile on his face.
I send my sincere condolences to his family on this sad occasion.
Former PM Julia Gillard: “Without question, Bob was the greatest peacetime leader Australia has ever had. And up to his very last days, he remained both an inspiration and a friend.
“In many ways the true measure of Bob’s incredible ability is that he made the difficult look easy. Now more than thirty years after he smashed an old model and remade a country, everyone thinks they supported him at the time.
“I will never forget his passion and and generosity in launching my campaign in Brisbane in 2010....Today is a very sad day for me, for Bob’s many friends, for the nation. But it’s an especially sad day for Blanche and for his children and grandchildren. My thoughts go to them now and in coming days.”
Bob Hawke was 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.My condolences to Blanche, his children and grandchildren. pic.twitter.com/4wPHdIeBUZ
Tomorrow evening there will be a celebration of Hawke’s life at Victorian Trades Hall
Join with us tomorrow to celebrate the life of Bob Hawke - Prime Minister, Great Australian and friend of the worker. Everyone is welcome - please share this with your friends, family and workmates. pic.twitter.com/vYAe3h6VGe
And another tribute from Bob Brown, who says tonight’s aurora australis is “Antarctica beaming back its thanks for Bob Hawke”.
Tonight’s Southern Aurora is Antarctica beaming back its thanks for Bob Hawke.
Scott Morrison is speaking now, on the tarmac, holding an umbrella in the pouring rain:
His achievements will be spoken of in the days ahead, but the thing Australians will remember most about him was the bloke. He made Australia stronger, through his contribution to public life.
He had enormous passion and he had courage. And that was able to sustain him in being the longest serving Labor PM of all time. It was his ability to connect with everyday Australians with a word, with that larrikin wit, with that connection and understanding and everyday Australian life that we will most remember Bob Hawke.
It was Hawke who changed our national anthem to say ‘Australians all let us rejoice’, and tonight, while I’m sure I extend to the labour movement and to Bill Shorten and his party, my deep sympathies on behalf of our political movement, I think we can all say as Australians all, that we rejoice in the life of Bob Hawke.
We thank him for his service to our nation and we pray now that he rest in peace. Thank you, Bob.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews:
More than any other, Bob Hawke was the people’s prime minister. Australians saw themselves in him, and he saw himself in us. The son of a school teacher and a minister, he grew up in the most ordinary of circumstance.
And yet that boy from Bordertown would leave us with the most extraordinary legacy. In the coming days, that legacy will be remembered in a multitude of different ways.
Rhodes Scholar. Yard Drinker. Staunch Unionist. Member for Wills. Labor’s longest serving Prime Minister.
But for so many in our movement, he was and will always be the father of Medicare. The man who made sure that most fundamental right - healthcare - was afforded to every Australian. The man who created the foundation of fairness on which our modern nation was built.”
The front pages tomorrow will all be tributes. The NT News starts us off with this:
TOMORROW’S FRONT PAGE pic.twitter.com/pPInAwi1z5
And these recollections from Barrie Cassidy:
Popular forever: the intellectual larrikin that was Bob Hawke | Barrie Cassidy
And these from Susan Ryan:
'Women of Australia, be grateful for what Bob Hawke did': Susan Ryan, Labor's first female minister
