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The Honourable Jeff Kennett AC
43rd Premier of Victoria
In office 6 October 1992 – 20 October 1999
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Deputy	Pat McNamara
Preceded by	Joan Kirner
Succeeded by	Steve Bracks
Constituency	Burwood
Personal details
Born	Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (1948-03-02) 2 March 1948 (age 65) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Spouse(s)	Felicity Kellar (m. 1972)

Jeffrey Gibb Kennett AC (born 2 March 1948), a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999 and a current media commentator. He was the President of Hawthorn Football Club from 2005 - 2011. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.

Early life [edit]

Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March 1948, and educated at Scotch College.^[1] Kennett was an unexceptional student academically, but did well in Scotch's Cadet Corps Unit. His failure to rise above the middle band academically almost led him to quit school in Fourth Form (Year 10 – 1963), but he was persuaded to stay on. His Fifth and Sixth Forms were an improvement, but he was still described in school reports as "[a] confident and at times helpful boy. Sometimes irritates. Sometimes works hard" (1964), and "[a] keen, pleasant, though sometimes erratic boy" (1965).^[2]

After leaving school, Kennett was persuaded by his father Ken to attend the Australian National University in Canberra, but lost interest and left after one year of an economics degree. He returned to Melbourne and found work in the advertising department of the retail giant Myer – kindling an interest for advertising that would one day earn him his living.^[3]

Kennett's life in the regular workforce was cut short when, in 1968, he was conscripted into the Australian Army.^[4] Kennett was singled out as 'officer material' early in his career, and graduated third in his class from the Officer Training Unit, Scheyville (OTU) Scheyville, near Windsor, New South Wales, outside Sydney. He was posted to Malaysia and Singapore as Second Lieutenant, commander of 1st Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR).^[5] This military career (and his earlier experience in the Scotch College Cadet Corps) has been noted by many biographers as an essential formative influence on the adult Kennett's character. His sense and regard for hierarchical loyalty, punctuality, and general intolerance of dissent or disobedience may be traced to this period.^[6]

Kennett returned to civilian life in 1970, reentering a divided Australian society, split by the Vietnam War, of which Kennett was a firm supporter. Having returned to Myer, Kennett became impatient with his work, and so with Ian Fegan and Eran Nicols, he formed his own advertising company (KNF) in June 1971.^[7] Thereafter, in December 1972, Kennett married Felicity Kellar, an old friend whom he had first met on a Number 7 tram on the long trips to school. Their first son, Ed, was born in 1974, followed by a daughter Amy, and two more sons, Angus and Ross.

Political career [edit]

Interested in local politics since the early 1970s, Kennett was elected as a Liberal Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Burwood in 1976.^[8] His preselection for the seat reportedly irritated then Premier Dick Hamer, who disliked Kennett's campaigning style, and had endorsed the sitting member, Haddon Storey.^[8] Entering Hamer's government, Kennett was soon appointed Minister for Housing, Immigration and Ethnic Affairs in 1981. He retained this post when Hamer was replaced as Liberal leader and Premier by Lindsay Thompson in June of that year.^[8] Following the defeat of the longstanding Liberal government in 1982, Kennett was the leading candidate to replace Lindsay Thompson, and on 26 October, he was elected Leader of the Liberal Party, despite being the youngest member of the outgoing Cabinet. He was an aggressive Leader of the Opposition, and was criticised for his "bull-in-a-china-shop" style and his anti-government rhetoric.^[9]

Kennett's performance as Opposition Leader is a subject of debate. Economou sees his 1985 and 1988 election campaigns as weak,^[10] while Parkinson believes he was a significant asset in pushing the Labor government of John Cain in several key seats.^[11] Kennett soon faced a challenge to his leadership of the party from Ian Smith. Kennett survived easily, but increasingly, he was seen as an erratic and unapproachable leader. He faced two more challenges to his leadership in 1986 and 1987 respectively.^[10] In 1987, in one notable incident Kennett referred to the Federal Liberal leader John Howard using colourful language in a mobile telephone conversation with Howard rival Andrew Peacock.^[12] The car-phone conversation damaged both Howard and Kennett politically, but aided Peacock in his push to return as Federal Liberal leader (1989).^[13]

Toward the end of its second term the Cain government had endured some loss in support and the Liberals were expected to win the 1988 election. When Cain was returned with a small but workable majority, Kennett was again criticised within his own party, and in 1989 he was deposed as leader and replaced by Alan Brown, a little-known rural Member of the Legislative Assembly. A furious Kennett described Alan Hunt, the instigator of the coup, as "a man never to be trusted"^{[citation needed]}. He publicly pledged never to attempt a return to the Liberal leadership, but when Brown proved unable to challenge the government effectively, he allowed his supporters to organise a party-room coup and restore him to the leadership, unopposed, in 1991.

First term as premier [edit]

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Given that Victoria's finances were in billions of dollars of debt, Kennett was seen from the beginning of his second leadership period as 'Premier-in-waiting'. The Liberals (in coalition with the National Party of Australia) won the October 1992 election in a landslide. In the second-largest landslide in history, the Liberals and Nationals attained a 34-seat majority in the Legislative Assembly. The Liberals actually won 52 seats, enough for a majority in their own right. However, the Coalition was retained.

In office, Kennett immediately instituted a budget-cutting and privatisation program, in an effort to improve the State's economy. Having assumed office, the need for such action was self-justified when Kennett and his new Treasurer Alan Stockdale discovered that the outgoing government had left them with $2.2 billion budget deficit, a net public sector debt of $33 billion and budget sector debt of $16 billion. To resolve this debt, some 50,000 public servants were retrenched between 1992 and 1995.

Moreover, in the first three years of the 'Kennett Revolution' (as the Premier himself came to term it), government funding for the public school system was substantially reduced, with 350 government schools closed, and 7,000 teaching jobs removed. Other controversial moves included the sacking of 16,000 public transport workers in a major technological upgrade of the system, and the initiation of a major scheme for privatisation of state-owned services, including the electricity (SECV) and gas (Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria) utilities, the ambulance service, as well as several prisons and other minor services. The sale of the Totalisator Agency Board raised $609 million. Between 1995 and 1998, $29 billion of state assets in gas and electricity alone were sold to private enterprise (for statistics, see Parkinson, Jeff, 1999).^[14] In the wake of these changes, investment and population growth slowly resumed, though unemployment was to remain above the national average for the duration of Kennett's premiership. While the benefits to the State budget figures were indisputable, the social and longer-term economic cost of the Kennett reforms have been questioned by many commentators, academics and those who suffered economically through the period of reform.^{[15][16][17][18]} This campaign of privatisations and cutbacks led to governmental acts of privatisation or budget-cutting becoming popularly known as being "Jeffed".^[19][20]

The largest public protest in Melbourne since the Vietnam War occurred on 10 November 1992, with an estimated 100,000 people marching in opposition to the retrenchment of many workers and the large State budget cutbacks. Kennett was undeterred by this protest, and famously commented that though there were 100,000 outside his office at Parliament that day, there were 4.5 million who stayed at home or at work.^[21][22]

It was difficult to assess the merits or otherwise of Kennett's 'Revolution' in his first term at the time, as many including Auditor-General Ches Baragwanath) claimed that the true value of the reforms will not be apparent until well into the 21st century.^{[citation needed]} However, as time has passed, Kennett's policies have been widely criticised and used by ideological opponents as examples of poor governmental decision making.^{[15][16][17][18]}

The Kennett government also embarked on a series of high-profile capital works projects, such as the restoration of Parliament House (never completed), construction of a new $250 million Melbourne Museum and IMAX theatre, and a new $130 million Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (still known colloquially as 'Jeff's Shed'). Other projects, made possible in monetary terms by the early cutbacks and budget restructuring, included a $160 million expansion of the National Gallery of Victoria; $100 million for refurbishment of the State Library of Victoria; $65 million for a new Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC); and $130 million for the construction of a new civic square on the site of the old Gas and Fuel Buildings, to be known as Federation Square.

The relocation of the Formula 1 Grand Prix from Adelaide in 1993 was a particular coup for Kennett, who had worked hard with his friend Ron Walker, the Chairman of the Melbourne Major Events Company, helped deliver Melbourne the hosting rights for the event from Adelaide in 1993.^[23]

The most controversial project of the Kennett era was the $1.85 billion Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, a gambling and entertainment centre on Melbourne's Southbank. Initial plans for a casino had been made under the Labor government, however the tendering process and construction occurred under Kennett. Allegations of financial inconsistencies in the tendering process (which eventually saw longtime Kennett supporters Ron Walker and Lloyd Williams successful) were to dog the Kennett government for many years, despite the verdict of an enquiry which found no wrongdoing on its behalf.^{[citation needed]}

A $2 billion project to redevelop Melbourne's derelict Docklands area to include a new football stadium was also undertaken, in addition to the large CityLink project, a project resurrected from the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan, aimed at linking Melbourne's freeways, easing traffic problems in the inner city, and reducing commuting times from the outer suburbs to the CBD.^{[citation needed]}

Second term as premier [edit]

Kennett's personal popularity remained high through his first term, though that of the government as a whole went through peaks and troughs. Without a by-election in the previous four years, the 1996 election shaped up as the first test of the 'Kennett Revolution' with the electorate. Though expected to win, the scale of the victory was unanticipated. On 30 March 1996, Kennett was reelected with a 32-seat majority.

Kennett was influential in Melbourne bidding for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Three cities initially expressed interest in hosting the event; Melbourne, Wellington and Singapore. Singapore dropped out before its bid was officially selected by the Commonwealth Games Federation, leaving only two candidate cities. In the weeks prior to the announcement of the 2006 host, Wellington withdrew its bid, citing the costs involved with matching the bid plan presented by Melbourne, which became the default host without members of the Federation going to vote.^[24]

Several negative trends (for the Liberals) were obscured somewhat by the euphoria of victory. The government's sharp cuts to government services were particularly resented in country Victoria, where the Liberals and their coalition partners, National Party held almost all the seats. The loss of the Mildura seat to an independent Russell Savage was an indication of this disaffection, and when in February 1997 independent Susan Davies was elected to the seat of Gippsland West, this trend seemed set to continue.

However, the verdict of many was that the 'Kennett Revolution' was far from over – indeed it was seemingly set in stone with the opening of the Crown Casino in May 1997. Kennett's profile continued to grow as he became a major commentator on national issues, including urging the new government of John Howard to introduce tax reform, and actively opposing the rise of the One Nation Party of Pauline Hanson. In this last case, Kennett did not shy away from criticising the media, but also the decision of the Howard government to not actively oppose Hanson's agenda.^[25]

The government lost ground over the next few years, with high-profile disagreements with the Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Bongiorno, and Auditor-General Ches Baragwanath fuelling criticism of Kennett's governmental style. Kennett's perceived antipathy to Baragwanath led to 1997 legislation to restructure the office of the Auditor-General and set up Audit Victoria. While Kennett promised the independence of the office would be maintained, many saw his government's actions as an attempt to curb the Auditor-General's power to criticise government policy.^[26] Widespread community debate and substantial public dissent from Liberal MPs and Party members ensued, with MLA Roger Pescott resigning from Parliament at the height of the debate; citing his disagreement with this Bill and Kennett's style in general. The Liberal Party lost the by-election in Mitcham.

Further scandals involving the handling of contracts for the state emergency services response system damaged the credibility of Kennett in 1997–1998, while rural dissent continued to grow.

Personal difficulties also began to affect Kennett and his family. The strains of public life led to a trial separation between Felicity and Jeff in early 1998 (patched up by the end of the year), while earlier in Kennett's first term, public scrutiny had led to the forced sale of the KNF Advertising Company, despite all Kennett's involvement having been transferred to his wife's name. There were rumours in 1998 that Kennett might retire from politics; these were mostly centred around Phil Gude, a longtime minister (as Industry and Employment Minister, 1992–1996, and Minister for Education, 1996–1999). These eventually came to nothing.

In July 1998, Liberal MP Peter McLellan, Member for Frankston East, resigned from the party in protest over alleged corrupt Liberal Party Senate preselection, changes to WorkCover and the auditor-general’s office. Again, Kennett failed to pick up the warning signs of declining support for his style of leadership.

Labor leader John Brumby took care to capitalise on each of Kennett's mistakes over this period, though his absences in rural electorates were misunderstood by many Labor MPs, and led to his replacement by Steve Bracks in early 1999. Bracks, who came from Ballarat, was popular in rural areas and was seen as a fresh alternative to Brumby, who nevertheless remained a key figure in the shadow Cabinet. Despite the appeal of Bracks, Kennett entered the 1999 election campaign with a seemingly unassailable lead, and most commentators and opinion polls agreed that he would win a third term. On the morning of the election a leading political journalist, Ewen Hannan, predicted that 'Labor supporters will be crying into their beers tonight'.^{[citation needed]}

1999 election loss [edit]

The Liberals lost 13 seats to Labor, led by Steve Bracks, at the 1999 election, most of them in regional centres such as Ballarat and Bendigo. The final result in the Legislative Assembly was: Labor, 42 seats; the Liberals and Nationals, 43; with three independents holding the balance of power. Independents Russell Savage and Susan Davies were joined by a third Independent, Craig Ingram. Negotiations began between Kennett's Liberal Party and the three independents. While Kennett acceded to their demands, his perceived poor treatment of Savage and Davies in the previous parliament meant that they held a position that they would never agree to support a Liberal Party minority government while Kennett remained leader. The Liberal negotiators did not reveal this to their party and Labor was ultimately successful in winning their support to form a government, after signing a Charter of Good Government, pledging to restore services to rural areas, and promising parliamentary reforms.

The defeat of the Kennett government was unexpected. Kennett's supporters urged the Liberal Party to force a vote of 'no confidence' on the floor of the parliament in a last-ditch effort to force Savage, Davies and Ingram to support the Liberal government; however with the Liberal Party divided on Kennett's future role, Kennett resigned as Leader of the Liberal Party and from Parliament, saying he wished to have no further involvement in politics. The consequent Burwood by-election was won by the Labor Party.

Rumoured returns to politics [edit]

After the Liberals' second election defeat in 2002, rumours began that Kennett was planning a comeback to politics. The issue came to a head in May 2006 after the sudden resignation of the Liberal Party leader, Robert Doyle, when Kennett announced he would contemplate standing in a by-election for the seat vacated by Doyle and offering himself as party leader. His stance was supported by Prime Minister John Howard, who rated him as the party's best hope to win the November 2006 state election. But within 24 hours Kennett announced he would not return to Parliament rather than running against Ted Baillieu, whom Kennett had been grooming for the top post since 1999.^[27][28] John Howard was reported to have been "embarrassed" by having publicly supported Kennett before his decision not to re-enter politics.^[29]

In 2008, it was rumoured that Kennett was intending to stand for Lord Mayor of Melbourne. Despite endorsing future Lord Mayor John So in the 2001 mayoral elections, Kennett was quoted as saying "I think the city is ready for a change". Kennett claimed he had been approached by "a range of interests" to run for the position, but in the end did not do so.^[30] Former Liberal leader Robert Doyle ultimately won the election.

Life after politics [edit]

In 2000 Kennett became the inaugural chairman of beyondblue (the National Depression Initiative), a body that was largely formed by the efforts of the Victorian State Government. On 24 June 2008, he announced that he would be stepping down from his role at beyondblue at the end of 2010.^[31] This did not happen.^[32]

Kennett has previously served on the boards of Australian Seniors Finance,^[33] a reverse mortgage company, and SelecTV, which was a satellite television group.

On 14 December 2005 Kennett was made President of Hawthorn Football Club, taking over from Ian Dicker.^[34]

Mr Kennett said in an interview he rarely thinks anymore about the media or "bloody history", though he does still regret the "disastrous" introduction of the Metcard ticketing system for trains and trams.^[35]

Kennett angered gay rights groups in July 2008 when he supported the Bonnie Doon Football Club in their sacking of trainer Ken Campagnolo for being bisexual; and compared homosexuality to pedophilia.^[36] Anti-discrimination campaigner Gary Burns pursued an action in the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal against Kennett for making the following statement:

"The club felt that once this had been pointed out and you had this gentleman there who was obviously close to young men – massaging young men – it ran an unnecessary risk, and that's why it decided it was best that he not perform those duties again. So the club was trying to do the right thing," ^[37]

The case was dropped due to Gary Burns' lack of funds to pursue the case.^[37]

Following Hawthorn's 2008 AFL Grand Final victory over Geelong, Kennett claimed that the Cats "lacked the mentality to defeat Hawthorn", this being in reference to the Cats' inability to counter-attack the running game of the Hawks in the aforementioned Grand Final.^[38] Kennett's comments has since triggered a ten-match losing streak for Hawthorn against Geelong, a streak which is still active as of 2013. This has become what is now famously known as the "Kennett curse".

Honours [edit]

In the Australia Day Honours of 2005, Kennett received Australia's highest civilian honour, when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).^[39]

He was also awarded an honorary doctorate – Hon DBus (Honoris Causa) – by the University of Ballarat.

Media work [edit]

For a brief period during 2002, Kennett was a radio presenter for Melbourne station 3AK, continuing an interest in mass communication which was also a feature of his premiership.

Since 2010, Kennett has been a regular contributor to Neil Mitchell's 3AW radio program every Thursday, as a social commentator.^[40]

On 28 March 2013 it was announced that Kennett had joined the Seven television network as national political commentator which will involve him appearing on breakfast show Sunrise every Tuesday and on Seven news as required.^[41]

Publications [edit]

• Kennett, Jeff. Policies and principles for Victoria, Melbourne: Sir Robert Menzies Lecture Trust, Monash University, 1993.
• Kennett, Jeff. Victoria's Commonsense Revolution, Melbourne: Alfred Deakin Lecture Trust, 1995.
• Kennett, Jeff. Australia – defining a model for the new millennium, London: University of London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Sir Robert Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, 1998.

Further reading [edit]

• Aldford, John & O'Neill, Deirdre (eds), Contract State: public management and the Kennett government, Geelong: Centre for Applied Research, 1994. 192 pages. ISBN 0-7300-2111-4
• Costar, Brian & Economou, Nick (eds), The Kennett revolution : Victorian politics in the 1990s, Sydney: UNSW Press, 1999. 274 pages. ISBN 0-86840-545-0
• Donovan, Barry (2000). Steve Bracks and Jeff Kennett: My part in their rise and fall, Melbourne: Information Australia. 224 pages. ISBN 1-86350-304-8
• Parkinson, Tony (2000). Jeff: The Rise and Fall of a Political Phenomenon, Penguin: Melbourne. 471 pages. ISBN 0-670-88778-1
• Strangio, Paul & Costar, Brian (eds) (2006). The Victorian Premiers: 1856–2006, Annandale: Federation Press. ISBN 1-86287-601-0

References [edit]

	Australia portal
	Victoria portal
	Melbourne portal
	Biography portal
	Politics portal
	Australian rules football portal

External links [edit]

Find more about Jeff Kennett at Wikipedia's sister projects
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Travel information from Wikivoyage

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