John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an
Australian politician and the 25th Prime
Minister of Australia. He is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies, and is the leader of the Liberal Party
of Australia.
Howard served as Treasurer in the government of Malcolm Fraser from 1977–1983. He was Leader of the Liberal
Party and Coalition Opposition from 1985–1989, which included the
1987 federal election against Bob
Hawke. He was re-elected as Leader of the Opposition in 1995.
Under his leadership, the Liberal-National Party Coalition won the
general election of 2 March
1996, defeating Paul Keating's Labor government and ending a record 13 years of Coalition opposition. Howard was sworn in as
Prime Minister on 11 March 1996. Howard's government was re-elected in the 1998,
2001 and 2004 elections. Howard is running for a fifth term in the 2007 election on Saturday 24 November, against
the opposition Australian Labor
Party led by Kevin Rudd.
Early life
John Howard is the fourth son of Lyall Howard and Mona (nee Kell). His parents were
married in 1925. His eldest brother Stanley was born in 1926, followed by Walter in 1929, and Robert (Bob) in 1936.
Howard grew up in the Sydney suburb of Earlwood. His mother was an office worker. His father and his paternal grandfather, Walter
Howard, were both veterans of the First AIF in World War I. They also ran two Dulwich Hill
petrol stations where John Howard worked as a boy.[1] Lyall Howard died in 1955 when John was sixteen, leaving his mother to
take care of John [2] (or "Jack" as he was also known).
[3]
Howard suffered a hearing impairment in his youth, leaving him with a slight
speech impediment.[4] It also influenced him in subtle ways, limiting his early academic performance;
encouraging a reliance on an excellent memory; and in his mind ruling out becoming a barrister
as a likely career.[5]
Howard attended the publicly funded state schools Earlwood Primary School and Canterbury Boys' High School.[6] Howard won a citizenship prize in his final year at Earlwood (presented by local
politician Eric Willis), and subsequently represented his secondary school at debating as
well as cricket and rugby.[7] In his final year at school he took part in a radio show hosted by Jack Davey, Give It a Go broadcast on the commercial radio station, 2GB,
and a recording of the show survives.[8] After gaining his Leaving Certificate, he studied law at the University of Sydney,[6] later becoming a solicitor.
Howard married fellow Liberal Party member Janette Parker in 1971, with whom he now has three children.[9]
Political provenance
Howard joined the Liberal Party in 1957.
He held office in the New South Wales Liberal Party on the State Executive and served
as President of the Young Liberals (1962–64), the party youth
organisation.[10] Howard supported
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War, although has since said there were "aspects of it that could have been handled and explained
differently".[11]
At the 1963 Federal Election, Howard acted as campaign manager in his local seat of Parkes for the successful candidacy of Tom Hughes who defeated the 20 year Labor incumbent.
In 1967 with the support of party power brokers, John Carrick and Eric Willis, he was endorsed
as candidate for the marginal suburban state seat of Drummoyne, held by
the ALP. Howard's mother sold the family home in Earlwood and rented a house with
him at Five Dock, a suburb within the electorate. At the election in February 1968, in which the incumbent state Liberal
government was returned to office, Howard failed to defeat the sitting member, despite campaigning vigorously.[12] Howard and his mother subsequently
returned to Earlwood, moving to a house on the same street where he grew up.
Member of Parliament
Howard's next attempt to enter parliament was at a Federal level and was successful. He was elected to the House of Representatives as the Member of Parliament for the Sydney suburban seat of
Bennelong at the Federal election in May 1974. When
Malcolm Fraser's government came to power in December 1975,
Howard was appointed Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs.
Federal Treasurer (1977–1983)
In December 1977, at the age of 38, Howard was appointed Treasurer, for which he became known as
"the boy Treasurer".[13] In this role, he was a
strong adherent of monetarism and favoured cuts to personal income tax and business tax, lower government spending, the
dismantling of the centralised wage-fixing system, the abolition of compulsory trade
unionism, and the privatisation of government-owned enterprises.
In April 1982, Howard was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. That same year, Howard
nearly resigned in protest at Fraser's big-spending pre-election budget.
During Howard's tenure as Treasurer, the 90-day cash rate peaked at 21% on 8 April
1982, while home loan mortage rates were capped at 13.5%, and inflation peaked at 12.5% in
September 1982.[14] Peter
Costello commented, in 2007, that "The Howard treasurership was not a success in terms of interest rates and inflation...
he had not been a great reformer."[15]
Opposition years (1983-1996)
Following the 1983 defeat of the Fraser government and Fraser's
subsequent resignation from parliament, Howard contested the Liberal leadership, but was defeated by Andrew Peacock. He remained Deputy Leader and became Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Peacock was
defeated by Hawke at the 1984 election, and although he had lost by
less than most commentators expected, Peacock began to worry that Howard was planning to challenge for the leadership. In
September 1985 he tried to remove Howard from the Deputy Leadership position, expecting him to challenge for the Leadership. The
plan backfired when Howard stood again for the deputy's position, and won. This put Peacock in an untenable position and he
resigned, leaving Howard to take the leadership unopposed.[16]
Howard said in 1986 that "the times will suit me."[17]
In addition to his economic views, he became known as a strong social conservative,
and was also sceptical of the promotion of multiculturalism at the expense of a shared
national identity.
Howard's chances of winning the 1987 election were destroyed when the arch-conservative Premier
of Queensland, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, launched
a populist "Joh for Canberra" campaign, temporarily splitting and discrediting the
conservative forces. Hawke won the 1987 election comfortably.
John Howard officially launched his immigration and ethnic affairs policy, titled One Australia, on 22 August 1988. The policy
detailed a vision of "one nation and one future", which included the rejection of Aboriginal land rights, and opposition to
multiculturalism . The title "One Australia" was a term personally chosen by Howard.[18]
In August, 1988, Howard created controversy with the following comment about Asian immigration into Australia:
I do believe that if it is - in the eyes of some in the community - that it's too great, it would be in our immediate-term
interest and supporting of social cohesion if it were slowed down a little, so the capacity of the community to absorb it was
greater.[19]
In September 1988, John Howard elaborated on his opposition to multiculturalism: "To me, multiculturalism suggests that we
can't make up our minds who we are or what we believe in."[18] He again spoke out about the concept of an Aboriginal treaty: "I abhor the notion of an
Aboriginal treaty because it is repugnant to the ideals of One Australia."[18]
During that same month,Howard said:
I don't think it is wrong, racist, immoral or anything, for a country to say 'we will decide what the cultural identity and
the cultural destiny of this country will be and nobody else'.[20]
Howard's stance on Asian immigration caused divisions within the Liberal
Party.[21] On August 25, 1988,
Prime Minister Bob Hawke sought to exploit those divisions by introducing a motion to the parliament, stating that no Australian government would use race or ethnic origin as a criteria for immigration. Four members of the
Liberal Party crossed the floor of parliament to vote with Labor: Hon Dr Peter Baume (Senator), Steele Hall,
Ian Macphee and Philip Ruddock. Two others,
Ian Wilson and Michael MacKellar
abstained from the vote.[22]
Some political commentators believe the dissent within the Liberal Party over Asian immigration weakened Howard's leadership
position.[21] In February 1989,
John Elliott approached Andrew
Peacock and encouraged Peacock to launch a leadership challenge against Howard.[23] In May 1989 Andrew Peacock made his move, and launched a surprise
leadership coup, ousting Howard as Liberal leader.
After a brief stint on the backbench, Howard returned to the Coalition front bench, but his leadership career seemed to
be over, particularly when Peacock lost the 1990 election and the
Liberals turned to a new, younger leader, former Howard staffer Dr. John Hewson. Asked
whether he would try again to attain the Liberal leadership, Howard himself
compared the possibility of a political comeback to "Lazarus with a triple bypass".[24]
Howard was an enthusiastic supporter of Hewson's economic program, with a Goods and Services Tax (GST) as its centrepiece. After Hewson lost the "unloseable"
1993 election to Paul Keating,
Howard unsuccessfully challenged Hewson for the leadership. In 1994, he was again passed over for the leadership, which went to
Alexander Downer. Downer failed to dent Keating's dominance and in January
1995 he resigned as leader. The party's Deputy Leader, Peter
Costello was unwilling to step up to the leadership, and Howard became leader for the second time.
Prime Minister
The 1996 election campaign
- See also: Australian federal
election, 1996
As Opposition Leader, Howard adopted a more pragmatic position than he had done during his first term in the leadership. He
repudiated his earlier statements against Medicare and Asian immigration.[19] During the campaign Howard outlined his
vision of Australia in 2000 to the ABC:
I want to see an Australian society that sees this country as a unique intersection of Europe, North America and Asia.
Australia is incredibly lucky to have a European heritage, deep connections with North America, but to be geographically cast in
the Asian/Pacific region and if we think of ourselves as that strategic intersection, then I think we have a remarkable
opportunity to carve a special niche for ourselves in ... in the history of the next century.[11]
When asked whether he would follow the failed John Hewson tax model and introduce a
Goods and Services Tax (GST), Howard replied:
There's no way that GST will ever be part of our policy.... Never ever. It's dead.[25]
In a "small target" strategy, he attacked the "arrogance" and the "elitist" nature of Keating's "big picture" politics—issues
like foreign relations with Asia, Australian republicanism, multiculturalism and reconciliation with indigenous Australians—which, Howard believed, were irrelevant to ordinary voters. He also
promised workers would be no worse off under industrial relations changes.[26]
Winning over many traditional Labor voters, a group termed the "Howard battlers",
Howard scored a sweeping victory at the 1996 elections; at the age of
56, he was sworn in as Prime Minister on 11 March
1996, ending a record 13 years of Coalition
opposition.[13]
In the lead up to the 1996 election, Pauline Hanson, the
Liberal candidate for Oxley in Queensland was disendorsed because of comments she made
to The Queensland Times. Howard was slow to express views on Hanson, but said:
Well, I certainly believe in her right to say what she said. I thought some of the things she said were an accurate reflection
of what people feel.[27]
First term: 1996–1998
John Howard in the
USA in 1997
Heralded by the prompt announcement that a $10-billion "budget black hole" left by the previous Labor government would
necessitate considerable reduction in many areas of government expenditure, prudent economic management became a major emphasis
of Howard's government.[28]
Training and education programs developed under the Keating government were scrapped, infrastructure investment was scaled
down, funding for indigenous bodies was reduced, and a "work for the dole" system was
introduced that required able-bodied social security recipients to seek work. Thus began
a trend of budget surpluses which would be maintained most years (excepting the 2001-2002 financial year where a cash deficit of
$1.3 Billion was recorded).[29][30]
Following the Port Arthur massacre in April 1996, Howard coordinated action by the state
governments to heavily restrict the private ownership of semi-automatic
rifles, semi-automatic shotguns and pump-action shotguns.
The Howard government did not have a majority in the Senate, instead facing a
situation where legislation had to be negotiated past either the Australian
Democrats or the Independents. The Senate modified much of the Government's more controversial legislation, including the
partial privatisation of the government-owned telecommunications company, Telstra; the
modification of industrial relations laws to promulgate individual contracts;
increases in university fees; large funding cuts in the
1996 and 1997 budgets; a 30% private health insurance rebate; and the Wik 10 Point
Plan, giving extinguishment of native title on pastoral leases.
Howard had come to office promising to improve standards of integrity among ministers and politicians, introducing a strict
"Code of Ministerial Conduct"[31] at the start of his term. The strictness of his code was enforced when a
succession of seven of his ministers (Jim Short, Geoff
Prosser, John Sharp, David
Jull, Brian Gibson, Bob
Woods, and Peter McGauran) were required to resign following breaches of the code,
concerning a variety of "travel rorts" (misuse of the ministerial travel allowance) and conflicts of interest between ministerial
responsibilities and share ownership. Prosser had attempted to use his ministerial office to further his own business interests.
Another two ministers (John Moore and Warwick Parer) were discovered to have breached the code.
The 1998 election campaign
- See also: Australian federal
election, 1998
The 1998 election campaign was dominated by two issues. One was
reform of the tax system, including the introduction of the Goods and
Services Tax (GST; a broad-based value-added tax).[32] At the October 1998 election, the Liberal-National Coalition, suffered a large
swing, largely driven by an opposition campaign against the Goods and Services Tax. Labor leader Kim Beazley won 51% of the national two-party preferred
vote, but the Liberals ran an effective marginal electorate campaign and were
returned with a comfortable majority in parliament.
During the campaign, Howard changed the Coalition's preferencing policy. The coalition had been heavily criticised for placing
One Nation ahead of Labor on its how-to-vote cards at the Queensland election earlier in the year. Critics charged that this
meant Howard was tacitly approving One Nation's policies towards Aborigines and immigration, which was viewed as xenophobic. From
the federal election onwards, One Nation was placed last on Coalition voting cards.
Second term: 1998–2001
Despite Howard's essentially domestic focus, external issues intruded significantly into Howard's second term when the people
of East Timor voted for independence in a United Nations sponsored referendum. Indonesian militia, covertly backed by Indonesian troops, began a brutal campaign of repression. After
enormous public pressure, Howard (with bi-partisan support) broke with the long-standing Australian policy of unquestioning
support for Indonesia, and Australia lead a peacekeeping/policing force to protect the inhabitants against pro-Indonesian
militias, attracting praise domestically and in several countries, but angering some Indonesians and Islamists. A side effect of these actions was that Osama Bin Laden
later called Australia a "crusader force", and that the Bali bombings were retribution for leading the action.[33][34][35][36]
John Howard's government also considered the issue of a national apology to Aboriginal Australians for their treatment by
previous governments following the European settlement of the country. Howard refrained from making a national apology (although
all State and Territory Governments did so) and instead personally expressed "deep sorrow" while maintaining that "Australians of
this generation should not be required to accept guilt and blame for past actions and policies."[37]
The other major issue during Howard's second term was the implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST), replacing a
range of taxes on specific goods with a flat rate on almost all goods and services. In accordance with an Intergovernmental
Agreement, the Australian Government would administer the GST on behalf of the States and Territories, to whom all GST revenue is
paid. This was intended to give the States responsibility for their own finances and end annual funding squabbles between them
and the Federal Government. The Federal Government determines the share of GST revenue received by each using a formula
recommended by the Commonwealth Grants Commission.
Howard was only able to pass the GST legislation through the Senate after making a deal with Australian Democrats' leader Senator Meg Lees to exclude a number
of items from the GST, most notably fresh food such as fruit and vegetables. As a partial offset for the GST, a $7,000 "first
home buyers grant" was introduced in 2000.[38]
Enforcement of the Code of Ministerial Conduct, introduced during the prior term, was less stringent this term and hereafter,
with Howard said to take a "rather more relaxed attitude to ... apparent breaches or misdemeanours and ... far fewer
sackings".[39]
The Howard government was trailing in the polls in 2001. It lost a by-election in the normally
safe electorate of Ryan in Queensland and Labor
governments were elected in all the States and Territories except South Australia (which
fell to Labor in 2002). In response, a number of policy changes were made, including the abandonment of petrol excise indexation and increased government benefits to self-funded
retirees.
The 2001 election campaign
- See also: Australian federal
election, 2001
In August 2001, the government refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying a group of asylum seekers picked
up in international waters, to enter Australian waters. Howard ordered the ship be boarded by Australian special forces. This brought censure from the government of Norway for Australia's failure to meet obligations to distressed mariners under
international law at the United Nations.[40]
The government introduced "border protection" legislation. Kim Beazley and the Labor
opposition offered half-hearted support to the legislation while opposing it on specific points. The issue, along with the shock
of the recent September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, saw the Howard government
portray itself as "tough" on border protection and national security. The Howard
government subsequently received a big lift in the polls[41] and many commentators cite the MV Tampa as the decisive issue in
the 2001 election.[42][43][44]
At the launch of the Liberal Party election campaign on 28 October 2001, Howard asserted "We will decide who comes to this
country and the circumstances in which they come."[45][46][47][48] That
month, during the election campaign, pictures released by the Royal Australian
Navy sparked the Children Overboard Affair. A small vessel of
asylum seekers, designated SIEV-4, attempted
entry into Australian waters and was intercepted by HMAS Adelaide. Despite
salvage efforts, mechanical failure ultimately saw the vessel take on water and sink rapidly.[49] Sabotage was implicated during a later Senate inquiry.[50] The passengers were rescued by Adelaide's crew. Howard and Defence
Minister Peter Reith announced that photographs and video footage from the crew of
Adelaide showed asylum seekers had thrown their own children into the sea to compel their rescue by Adelaide; a
claim that was refuted by naval and intelligence sources after the election (see Children Overboard Affair).
At the November 2001 elections, the Coalition was re-elected with a
larger majority than in 1998 and achieved the biggest swing to an incumbent government since 1966.
Third term: 2001–2004
In the two years after the 2001 election the Howard government continued its tough line on
national security and "border protection" issues, while seeking to further its agenda
of conservative social policies and pro-business economic reforms. Despite its victory in 2001, the
government did not have a Senate majority, and its ability to pass planned legislation was restricted.
Howard faced a difficult issue in the allegations that his choice as Governor
General, Dr. Peter Hollingworth, in his previous job as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, had refused to
investigate Anglican priests who were accused of paedophilia in various churches. Eventually
Hollingworth was forced to resign the governor-generalship amidst a storm of controversy that threatened to damage the
credibility of his office.
The seat of Bennelong became home to many Asian immigrants, and in May, 2002, Howard
admitted that his 1988 Asian remarks were incorrect:
My instinct is that Asian-Australians are very much part of the community now. I think it (their integration) has been
quicker. I just don't hear people talking about it now, even as much as they did five years ago, and I have an electorate which
is very Asian.[19]
Howard retained a clear political advantage over his opponents. Throughout 2002 and
2003 he kept his lead in the opinion polls over the then Labor leader, Simon Crean. Following the October 2002 Bali bombing, Howard placed a renewed emphasis on his government's approach to national security.
In March 2003, Howard joined 40 countries including the United Kingdom and the United States, in sending troops and naval
units to support in the invasion of Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein from power. He told parliament:
Full disclosure by Iraq of its chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs and immediate and total cooperation by Iraq
with the provisions of resolution 1441 of the Security Council will remove the need for military action.[51]
Australian opinion was deeply divided on the war and large public protests against the war occurred.[52] Several senior figures from
the Liberal party, including John Valder, a former president of the Liberal Party, and
Howard's former friend and colleague, former Opposition Leader John Hewson and former Prime
Minister Malcolm Fraser publicly criticised Howard over Iraq.[53][54][55] John Valder's
criticism was particularly strong, claiming that Howard should be tried and punished as a war
criminal.[56]
On Anzac Day 2004, Howard made a surprise visit to Australian
defence personnel in Iraq. This came amid a bitter debate in Australia over the war following opposition leader Mark Latham's promise to return Australian troops by Christmas. Howard
portrayed Latham as a threat to the U.S.-Australia alliance.
On 6 May2004, Howard convened a meeting with a group of energy
industry representatives called the Lower Emissions Technology Advisory Group (LETAG). Although it met with the renewable energy
sector separately, the Government was later criticised for not inviting them to this meeting. According to leaked minutes from
the meeting, Howard would conclude that technology would be the long-term solution to greenhouse issues and his focus should be
on ways to accelerate introduction of technology for reducing greenhouse gases, but that he was not looking for the establishment
of public policy. Concerns about the cost and effectiveness of the current Mandatory Renewable
Energy Targets (MRET) were also raised.[57][58]
In August 2004, Howard's proposed amendment to the Marriage Act—to prevent foreign and domestic same-sex unions from being
recognised as marriages within Australia—was passed with the support of the Australian
Labor Party, although several Labor Left MPs had expressed their opposition to the
amendment, as did Premier of Western Australia Dr. Geoff Gallop. The Greens and Democrats opposed the amendment. Howard has since ruled out recognising
same-sex marriages.[59]
The 2004 election campaign
- See also: Australian federal
election, 2004
On 29 August 2004, Howard called an election for
9 October. The Labor opposition, after the resignation of Simon
Crean and the election of Mark Latham as leader in December 2003, had established a large lead in some opinion polls by March 2004, and the
government entered the election campaign behind Labor in all published national opinion polls. Howard himself still had a large
lead over Latham as preferred Prime Minister in those same polls and most commentators regarded the result as being too close to
call.
During the campaign, Howard attacked Latham's economic record as Mayor of Liverpool City Council. Howard also attacked Labor's economic history.
It is an historic fact that interest rates have always gone up under Labor governments over the last 30 years, because Labor
governments spend more than they collect and drive budgets into deficit ... So it will be with a Latham Labor
government... I will guarantee that interest rates are always going to be lower under a Coalition government.[60]
In the closing period of the election campaign, Howard promised a large spending program on health, education, small business
and family payments with the aim of trumping Labor's policy strengths.
The election result was an increased Coalition majority in the House of Representatives and the first, albeit slim, government
majority in the Senate since 1981. On a two party preferred basis, the Coalition achieved 52.74% of the vote to Labor's
47.26%.
Fourth term: 2004–present
Political Situation
On 21 December 2004, Howard became the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies.[61]
The new Senate came into effect on 1 July 2005, giving the
Howard government control of both houses for the first time. Not since Fraser had a government been able to pass legislation
without approval from other parties. However, due to the slenderness of its Senate majority, internal Coalition discipline and
dissent significantly influenced legislative outcomes on certain issues.
The government took this opportunity to revisit and pass previously blocked legislation, including industrial relations changes, the abolition of compulsory
university student union fees and liberalisation of media ownership laws (namely, the lowering of restrictions on media
companies owning multiple different media). It also overruled a legislation, the ACT
Civil Unions Act.
In July 2006, as part of a redistribution of New South Wales electoral divisions, the Australian Electoral Commission proposed, and later proceeded with, changes to the
boundaries of Howard's electorate of Bennelong on Sydney's Lower North Shore.
Some commentators suggested these changes made Bennelong one of the most marginal seats in the state with only a 3% majority,
although others argued that the impact of the changes would be minimal.[62][63][64]
On 4 December 2006, Kevin Rudd replaced Kim Beazley as leader of the opposition.[65]
Howard chaired APEC Australia 2007, culminating in the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Sydney during September.[66] The meeting was at times
overshadowed by leadership speculation following further poor poll results[67] and public criticism of security arrangements.[68]
Economic management
- See also: Economy of
Australia
In April 2006, the government announced it had completely paid off the last of $96 billion of Commonwealth net debt inherited
when it came to power in 1996.[69] Economists generally welcomed the news, while cautioning that some
level of debt was not necessarily bad, and that some of the debt had been transferred to the private sector.[70] [verification needed]
Industrial relations
-
In 2005, Howard announced significant changes to industrial relations laws. These became
the subject of a national publicity campaign by the government and pronounced opposition from community groups, the union
movement and state Labor governments.
On 15 November 2005, public rallies were held to protest against
the industrial relations changes. An estimated 100,000-175,000 people attended rallies in Melbourne and around 300 other meetings
and rallies, held concurrently around the country, were also well attended.[71][72] These meetings were organised by various unions and
community organisations with the help of Labor and the Greens.
Due to the Coalition's slim majority in the Senate, the passage of the proposed laws was put in doubt following criticisms
from Queensland National Party Senator Barnaby Joyce, although he later voted in support
of the legislation. The industrial relations laws were passed without substantial change.
Iraq
On 22 February 2005 Howard announced that Australia would
increase its military commitment to Iraq with an additional 450 troops,
telling John Laws, "I’m openly saying that some small adjustment at the margin might
happen".[74]
Terrorism
In mid 2005, John Howard and his cabinet began discussions of new anti-terror legislation which includes modification to the
Crimes Act 1914. In particular, sections relating to sedition are to be modified. On 14 October 2005, Jon Stanhope (Chief Minister of the ACT) took the controversial step of
publishing the confidential draft of the Federal Anti-Terrorism Bill 2005 on his website.[75][76] This action was both praised and
criticised.[77][78] Citing concerns about
civil rights raised by the Australian National University as well as
concerns over the speed of the legislation's passage through parliament, he later refused to sign off on a revised version of the
legislation, becoming the only State and Territorial leader not to sign.[79][80] The House of Representatives passed the anti-terrorism
legislation which was debated in the Senate before its final implementation in December 2005.
On 2 November 2005 Howard held a press conference to
announce that he had received information from police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) that indicated an
imminent terrorist attack in Australia. Within a week, on 8 November, anti-terrorist raids
were held across Melbourne and Sydney, with 17 suspected
terrorists arrested, including Abdul Nacer Benbrika. These raids, according to
Howard, demonstrated the need for his Anti-Terrorism Bill.[81] According to the Greens and Democrats, the raids demonstrated that no further legislation was
needed as even the current legislation was sufficient to allow ASIO and the Australian Federal Police to act in some cases. Critics have also said that the press
conference was held on the same day as the changes to industrial relations laws were
introduced to Parliament.
Since Mohamed Haneef spent 12 days in jail without charges (he was suspected to have
supported the perpetrators of the foiled terror attacks in London and Glasgow in July 2007), the anti-terrorism bill and its
impact for the separation of powers in a democracy became more publicly discussed.
When a judge found insufficient evidence for the charges against Haneef, Minister of Immigration Kevin Andrews withdrew his working visa. While the Howard government unequivocally backs Kevin Andrews
decision, members of the judicial community in Australia raised their concern about the interference of the government in
judicial proceedings.[82]
Mandatory detention of asylum-seekers
-
Throughout the first half of 2005, the Howard government faced pressure regarding the controversial mandatory detention program, introduced in 1992 by the Keating ALP government. It was revealed in February that a
mentally ill German citizen and Australian resident, Cornelia
Rau, had been held in detention for nine months. The government then established the closed non-judicial Palmer Inquiry promising that the findings would be made public. In May, it was revealed that another
Australian, subsequently identified as Vivian Solon, had been deported from Australia and
that the department responsible was unable to locate her. By late May, it was revealed that an additional 200 cases of possible
wrongful detention had been referred to the Palmer Inquiry.[83] Also at this time Howard faced backbench revolt from small numbers of his own party
demanding that reforms be made.[84] On
9 June Australia's longest serving detainee, Peter Qasim,
was moved to a psychiatric hospital.[85]
Environment
On 6 June 2006, Howard announced a task force to conduct the
"Uranium Mining, Processing, and Nuclear Energy Review", the terms of reference of which include "the extent to which nuclear
energy will make a contribution to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions"
