The best Prime Minister of Australia in the past 50 years?
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  Political Debate (Moderator: Torie)
  The best Prime Minister of Australia in the past 50 years?
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Poll
Question: Who was the best Prime Minister, of those listed below?
#1
Robert Menzies (Liberal) (1939–1941, 1949–1966)
 
#2
Harold Holt (Liberal) (1966–1967)
 
#3
John McEwen (Country) (1967–1968)
 
#4
John Gorton (Liberal) (1968–1971)
 
#5
William McMahon (Liberal) (1971–1972)
 
#6
Gough Whitlam (Labor) (1972–1975)
 
#7
Malcolm Fraser (Liberal) (1975–1983)
 
#8
Bob Hawke (Labor) (1983–1991)
 
#9
Paul Keating (Labor) (1991–1996)
 
#10
John Howard (Liberal) (1996–2007)
 
#11
Kevin Rudd (Labor) (2007–2010, 2013)
 
#12
Julia Gillard (Labor) (2010–2013)
 
#13
Tony Abbott (Liberal) (2013–Present)
 
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Partisan results

Total Voters: 26

Author Topic: The best Prime Minister of Australia in the past 50 years?  (Read 1284 times)
Mordecai
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« on: October 29, 2014, 01:42:30 PM »

Who was the best Prime Minister, of those listed?
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politicus
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« Reply #1 on: October 31, 2014, 01:40:35 AM »

Gough Whitlam made some fundamental reforms and was the most historically important along with Menzies, but Bob Hawke was a very capable man and a better politician.

So best as in "good at his job and had a policy I broadly agree with" would be Hawke.
 
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Wake Me Up When The Hard Border Ends
Anton Kreitzer
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« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2014, 09:03:40 PM »

Menzies, with Howard in 2nd place.
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Marnetmar
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« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2014, 12:33:49 PM »

Tony Abbott 4 life
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MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!
Kalwejt
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« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2014, 01:19:37 PM »

John McEwen obviously.
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RogueBeaver
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« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2014, 02:38:14 PM »

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Dr. Cynic
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« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2014, 03:18:16 PM »

Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke are 1 and 2.
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CrabCake
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« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2014, 01:00:02 PM »

I think Rudd really had the potential to be, but alas, he soon realised he was LITERALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN AUSTRALIA THE WORLD and it all went to pot.

I've often thought the Rudd/Gillard duo would have been best served as  President / Prime Minister respectively in a semi-presidential system.
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Mordecai
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« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2014, 03:12:23 AM »

From best to worst:

Whitlam: Universal healthcare and community health clinics, increased access to university education and student financial assistance for the non-elite, no-fault divorce, the Australia Council, the Federal Court, the Order of Australia, federal legal aid, the Racial Discrimination Act, needs-based school funding, diplomacy with China, the Law Reform commission, abolished conscription, FM radio, the Heritage Commission, non-discriminatory immigration rules, Aboriginal land rights, paid maternity leave for public servants, lowered the voting age to 18, Senate representation for the territories and fair electoral boundaries.
Hawke: Floated the dollar, lowered tariffs, continued diplomacy with China, could scull a beer.
Keating: Compulsory super and the Prices and Incomes Accord, decentralisation of wage fixing and introduction of enterprise bargaining, the six pillars policy preventing the big four banks from merging, killed the inflation problem, Redfern speech.
Fraser: Was a dick, but continued Whitlam's reforms and protected the Great Barrier Reef, allowed Vietnamese immigration and introduced multiculturalism.
Gillard: Carbon tax and National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Rudd: Apologised for the Stolen Generation, kept Australia out of recession with stimulus and infrastructure programs.
Menzies: Ran away from leadership of Australia during WWII, got Australia involved in Vietnam, and was basically twenty years of nothing. Let the Australian economy go to waste and was happy for it to remain dependent on the U.S. and U.K.
Howard: Was racist. Refused to increase minimum contribution for super, which was dumb. Only good thing I can think of is GST.
Abbott: Just terrible.

Holt, McEwen, Gorton and McMahon didn't really do anything.

I think Rudd really had the potential to be, but alas, he soon realised he was LITERALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IN AUSTRALIA THE WORLD and it all went to pot.

I've often thought the Rudd/Gillard duo would have been best served as  President / Prime Minister respectively in a semi-presidential system.

Combined into one person, they would've been the perfect candidate. Rudd had the panache but not the parliamentary skill and Gillard had the parliamentary skill but no panache.
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