Biography

Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March 1983 to 20 December 1991.

He was awarded the A.C. (Companion of the Order of Australia) on January 26, 1979 for his services to industrial relations and trade unions in Australia.

Set a new world speed record for beer drinking; he downed 2 1/2 imperial pints (1.4 l) - equivalent to a yard of ale - from a sconce pot in 11 seconds as part of a college penalty.

Is to date Australia's longest serving Labor prime minister.

To date, he is the only Australian Prime Minister to be born in South Australia, as well as being the only one raised and educated in Western Australia.

Unless and until something concrete is done about addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue you won't get a real start on the war against terrorism.

The things which are most important don't always scream the loudest.

My point was that the war was intrinsically wrong, and as a result of our participation we haven't improved Australia's security but created a greater danger at home and abroad.

There is no doubt that this government and this country are benefiting from the reforms that we brought in the 1980s, and that couldn't have been done without the co-operation of the trade union movement.

I think it is just stupid economics for a government to approach economic management from a strand of thinking regarding unions as enemies.