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FORGOTTEN HISTORY: Bob hawke | History Defined

Reform is hard. Albanese and Chalmers need to stay the course

Do Australians really want reform? It’s a reasonable question to ask as the Albanese government weathers trenchant attacks on its recent federal budget.

The Conversation

Australia has had 7 prime ministers this century. For incumbents it’s been like riding a tiger

How do we sum up the performance of the seven individuals who have led Australia this century? At least two preliminary observations are relevant.

The Conversation

Australia has had ‘game-changer’ budgets before. How does Chalmers’ stack up?

Of the many budgets delivered since the Second World War, four stand out as having ushered in or consolidated significant economic reform.

The Conversation

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The times seem to suit Anthony Albanese. So why isn’t he more popular?

The times might be bad, but they have suited Anthony Albanese. The explosions on the political right since the 2025 election have, in electoral terms, resulted so far mainly in a rearrangement of debris between the Coalition and One Nation.

The Conversation

While it wasn’t his idea, Medicare helped make the mythos of Bob Hawke

It was the big-picture reform that defined the Labor prime minister Bob Hawke and infuriated his opponents with its radical promise of a fairer, healthier society.

The Conversation

Human Rights roadshow to push for landmark federal act

The federal government still won't commit to a human rights act, but the Human Rights Commission has pledged to keep pushing the barrow out.

AAP

Built to last? History shows us the art of reform that’s both bold and enduring

Reform, while never an easy task, is probably more difficult now than it used to be. Not only is declining trust a problem, belief in governments’ ability and willingness to affect real change is also in decline.

The Conversation

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Five Great Reads: Behind the sewage door, the Iran war’s biggest loser, and the case that stumped a London coroner

Guardian Australia’s weekend wrap of essential reads from the past seven days, selected by Imogen Dewey

The Guardian - AU

Six reasons why Bob Hawke was Australia’s gold standard prime minister

Former attorney general Gareth Evans outlines the factors that created an unparalleled reformist momentum – and the crucial role Paul Keating played

The Guardian - AU

A feud ‘straight out of Succession’, a rental thriller and an ‘absolute ripper’: the best Australian books out in April

Each month Guardian Australia editors and critics pick the upcoming titles they have devoured – or can’t wait to get their hands on

The Guardian - AU

As Albanese celebrates 30 years in parliament, what would the leftwing warrior of 1996 think of today’s PM?

He was once a ‘scrappy’ young firebrand and is now the longest-serving member in the Labor caucus. But Anthony Albanese’s journey to the top was not always a sure thing

The Guardian - AU

New research shows Australians support buying local for different reasons – and not all will pay more

We have now passed the annual Australia Day peak of calls urging us to “buy Australian” – especially lamb. The iconic green-and-gold “Australian Made, Australian Grown” logo, launched by then-Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1986, turns 40 this year.

The Conversation

Friday essay: how hard is it to govern?

Is governing harder in the 2020s than in earlier decades? The instinctive, and popular, answer would be “of course it is”. While that’s also a correct answer, we should insert some qualifications.

The Conversation

Australian books to look forward to in 2026: from a 278-page sentence to a memoir about a ‘cursed vagina’

It promises to be a marvellous year ahead for OzLit, with new books from the likes of Kate Grenville, Siang Lu, Antoinette Lattouf, Shaun Micallef, Judith Lucy and more

The Guardian - AU

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The Guardian - AU

Former Labor senator Nick Bolkus, minister in Hawke and Keating governments, dies aged 75

The Adelaide-born senator is remembered for his role in ‘shaping modern multicultural Australia’

The Guardian - AU

PM farewells ‘colourful’ Graham Richardson at state funeral as Labor chooses to forgive and forget

Anthony Albanese says controversial Labor powerbroker was ‘a man of many facets’ as politicians from both sides of aisle pay tribute

The Guardian - AU

Fifty years after Bruce Haigh resisted apartheid, South Africa honours fearless Australian diplomat

Haigh’s name to be added to Wall of Names at Freedom Park in Pretoria, alongside former Australian PMs Bob Hawke and Malcolm Fraser

AAP

Labor warned against being gun-shy after voice defeat

Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has outlined an ambitious agenda he thinks the Labor government should pursue instead of being static and playing it safe.

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The Conversation

The ‘golden tonsils’ of John Laws fall silent, aged 90

John Laws was one of the most influential, commercially successful yet polarising figures in the history of Australian radio broadcasting. He has died at the age of 90.

AAP

Richardson farewelled as a man who did whatever it took

Former Labor senator Graham Richardson has been remembered as a controversial, contrary but well-liked figure who leaves behind a complex legacy.

The Conversation

Kingmaker, Labor warrior and no stranger to scandal: Graham Richardson dies at 76

There is no modern Australian politician whose name is as synonymous with a certain way of doing politics as that of Graham Richardson, who has died at 76 after a long battle with cancer.

AAP

Labor pollie Richo a factional warlord and eco-warrior

Graham Richardson was a key factional leader in the Hawke-Keating years who had a Damascene conversion in the Tasmanian bush.

The Guardian - AU

Albanese leads tributes to ‘larger-than-life’ former Labor powerbroker Graham ‘Richo’ Richardson

Former NSW senator and factional enforcer has died aged 76 after a long period of ill health

The Guardian - AU

Graham Richardson, hard-nosed former Labor minister and numbers man – obituary

Renowned for wrangling factions in the Hawke government, and as an effective environment minister, the politician made ‘whatever it takes’ his mantra

The Guardian - AU

In a world with democracy in decline, we have much to learn from those who rallied against Whitlam’s dismissal

In 1975, few Australians believed the dismissal of a democratically elected government was business as usual

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