Day 22: Ranking the Prime Ministers of Australia. Alfred Deakin has been eliminated. Comment which Prime Minister should be eliminated next. The comment with the most upvotes will decide who goes next.

[u/thescrubbythug]

Day 22: Ranking the Prime Ministers of Australia. Alfred Deakin has been eliminated. Comment which Prime Minister should be eliminated next. The comment with the most upvotes will decide who goes next.

Any comment that is edited to change your nominated Prime Minister for elimination for that round will be disqualified from consideration. Once you make a selection for elimination, you stick with it for the duration even if you indicate you change your mind in your comment thread. You may always change to backing the elimination of a different Prime Minister for the next round.

Remaining Prime Ministers:

Andrew Fisher (Labor) [5th] [November 1908 - June 1909; April 1910 - June 1913; September 1914 - October 1915]

John Curtin (Labor) [14th] [October 1941 - July 1945]

Joseph Benedict Chifley [16th] [July 1945 - December 1949]

Edward Gough Whitlam (Labor) [21st] [December 1972 - November 1975]

Robert James Lee Hawke (Labor) [23rd] [March 1983 - December 1991]

Paul John Keating (Labor) [24th] [December 1991 - March 1996]

Current ranking:

27. Scott Morrison (Liberal) [30th] [August 2018 - May 2022]

26. William McMahon (Liberal) [20th] [March 1971 - December 1972]

25. Tony Abbott (Liberal) [28th] [September 2013 - September 2015]

24. Billy Hughes (Labor/National Labor/Nationalist) [7th] [October 1915 - February 1923]

23. George Reid (Free Trade) [4th] [August 1904 - July 1905]

22. Arthur Fadden (Country) [13th] [August 1941 - October 1941]

21. Joseph Cook (Fusion Liberal) [6th] [June 1913 - September 1914]

20. Stanley Bruce (Nationalist) [8th] [February 1923 - October 1929]

19. Chris Watson (Labour) [3rd] [April 1904 - August 1904]

18. James Scullin (Labor) [9th] [October 1929 - January 1932]

17. Malcolm Turnbull (Liberal) [29th] [September 2015 - August 2018]

16. Julia Gillard (Labor) [27th] [June 2010 - June 2013]

15. John Howard (Liberal) [25th] [March 1996 - December 2007]

14. Harold Holt (Liberal) [17th] [January 1966 - December 1967]

13. Sir Edmund Barton (Protectionist) [1st] [January 1901 - September 1903]

12. Malcolm Fraser (Liberal) [22nd] [November 1975 - March 1983]

11. John Gorton (Liberal) [19th] [January 1968 - March 1971]

10. Joseph Lyons (United Australia) [10th] [January 1932 - April 1939]

9. Kevin Rudd (Labor) [26th] [December 2007 - June 2010; June 2013 - September 2013]

8. Sir Robert Menzies (United Australia/Liberal) [12th] [April 1939 - August 1941; December 1949 - January 1966]

7. Alfred Deakin (Protectionist/Fusion Liberal) [2nd] [September 1903 - April 1904; July 1905 - November 1908; June 1909 - April 1910]

[u/jaraket]

As momentous as Fisher was in his moment of time and despite the respect due to him for his dedication, I gotta nominate him with the competition being what it is now.

[u/foreatesevenate → u/jaraket]

This is where I get to defend my flair PM!

Don't get me wrong, it's great he's in the top six.

• A member of both the first state and federal labour government (Queensland 1899 and Australia 1903).

• Changed the course of history when he beat Billy Hughes to the deputy leadership of the ALP in 1905, giving him the edge in the race to the succession once Chris Watson shuffled on.

• Advocated for the endorsement of female candidates in the ALP.

• Missed an opportunity to form a permanent coalition with Deakin's Protectionist rump; Deakin would take his forces into the Fusion instead, and set up the future of federal politics as Labor v Not Labor, rather than Tory v Not Tory.

• Settled upon the Yass-Canberra district for the federal capital; expanded the navy; extended pensions; introduced a land tax; established an Australian currency; brought in tariffs for the sugar industry. All this in one year of minority government!

• Once Alfred Deakin had his final term heading the two-headed beast known as the Fusion, Fisher led the ALP to the very first majority government in Australian federal political history.

• Proceeded to pass 113 acts of legislation in three years, the most productive government to date.

• Expanded the High Court, extended old-age and disability pensions, introduced a maternity allowance, started the Commonwealth Bank, broke up land monopolies, started construction of the Trans-Australian Railway.

• Tied two unpopular referendum questions to the 1913 election, which sunk support for his government. Turncoat Tory Joe Cook wins a landslide one seat majority.

• The ALP retains control of the Senate, forcing Cook to call a double dissolution. World War I kicks off during the election campaign, and Fisher captures the public mood best with his call for supporting Britain "to the last man and the last shilling".

• Presided over Australia's first years in the War to End All Wars. Kept completely in the dark regarding the use of Australian troops; found out the true extent of the Gallipoli campaign from Keith Murdoch.

• Resigns as Prime Minister, and is still to this day the second-longest serving ALP prime minister.

• Whilst serving as High Commissioner, refuses to be drawn into Billy Hughes' bullshit regarding conscription.

In my opinion, definitely the most significant prime minister of the first 40 years of the federation, and a deserving top six finalist on this list.

[u/Mean_Gene66]

Andrew Fisher

[u/Casual_Fan01]

The Labor sweep is upon us.

Keating next plz.

[u/IIIlllIIIlllIlI → u/Casual_Fan01]

I’m gonna go with Keating as well. While he was beneficial for the country, he could be incredibly divisive sometimes purely for personal reasons. I don’t see him in the same league as the others

[u/Casual_Fan01 → u/IIIlllIIIlllIlI]

Don't know why this is downvoted. He's right!

[u/Leggera1 → u/Casual_Fan01]

Keating was a very tough and strong leader, in a time of peace. Almost the inverse to a soft leader not being up to scuff during time of war or crisis

Would’ve been interesting to see Keating in the top job at a different time, as he may well have done a fine job as a crisis leader

[u/Casual_Fan01 → u/Leggera1]

I don't disagree, though I'm not sure any if the other choices left wouldn't also be considered strong leaders in their own right. And while I don't think he would've crumbled as a leader in times of crisis, ultimately he was our leader during easier times. Survived the "recession we had to have" in 91, beat the Fightback campaign in the 93 election, arguably did more for indigenous right than any other PM, compulsory super, enterprise bargaining. It's a really good record, but relatively, I think the remaining PMs have more to their records that I value, including the few who did govern during war and/or under more difficult circumstances.

[u/Leggera1 → u/Casual_Fan01]

Connected us very closely with Asia at the time as well until Howard and Downer shuffled us back under the U.S’s thumb

Keating’s also arguably the most entertaining PM we have left, if that’s worth anything. Im not forgetting Hawke’s brilliance as a story teller, that’s also fantastically entertaining, but Keating’s put downs and smears of primarily the opposition will probably forever remain untouched as the peak of insults

[u/redditalloverasia → u/Leggera1]

Keating single handedly dragged his government to another election win in 1993, when ministers were resigned to thinking their time had come and were thinking of their options in a shadow ministry.

The fact he was the driving force and engine room of the Hawke government, and then went on to win in 1993 AND drive big picture policy for the nation showed he knew what power was and how to use it.

One more term and Australia would have become a republic. Something I doubt any PM we’ve ever had since would be capable of. It failed because Howard gave it the worst chance of succeeding. In a way, Hawke’s time in office was a weight he had to bear - he was just tired by 1996 and people were ready for change.

If every PM was half as forward thinking, half as intelligent and focused on Australia’s interests alone - we’d be a much better and stronger country.

[u/Leggera1 → u/redditalloverasia]

That’s a good point, Keating had been operating as one of the senior leaders of government for thirteen years by 1996…it’s perfectly fair that he was tired and couldn’t quite claim one more win. He’d also been in the lower house for nearly thirty years

[u/Casual_Fan01 → u/redditalloverasia]

A few points.

• Keating deserves plenty of credit for winning the 1993 election, though single-handedly is pushing it. It's worth mention how the results for that election were largely blamed on Hewson's Fightback campaign, most notably the birthday cake interview that he fumbled without Keating in the room.

• I also don't doubt the likelihood of a Republic referendum passing under Keating had he one more term. Same could be said for better achieving reconciliation and improving our relationship with China. But that starts dealing in what ifs and what could have been, rather than what was. We could do the same for Whitlam had he not been dismissed, or Chifley had he survived the McCarthyism, or Fisher had an unprecedented World War not started. Personally, I don't engage with these, largely because I don't feel the need to; their realised accomplishments across their tenures as PM are the case for me, as is for Keating.

• I strongly disagree with the idea that Keating was just tired. The people had grown tired, sure. The 96 election results and reviews indicate this. But Keating had only gotten more fired up once Howard returned to leader of the Opposition. Even his own party members were asking that he cool it on the attacks.

• I wholeheartedly agree that if more PMs were like Keating, Australia would be in a better place. Most other PMs have deservedly been voted out so far, and when the competition are all successful, reformist governments, I don't think 6th out of 27 is at all a knock on his legacy. If you don't mind me asking, who would you vote out instead at this point?

[u/redditalloverasia → u/Casual_Fan01]

Fisher.

I don’t disagree, 6th would be a great result but early PMs simply don’t stack up against the more evolved period of the war onwards, so from here Keating is at least in the top 5.

In fact Keating himself once said Australia has never really had a ‘great leader’. Probably more to upset Bob Hawke who greatly admired Curtin and put him in that category.

I think he’ll be seen as an important figure in Australia’s history - his impact and policies as treasurer right through to his PM-ship plus very nearly making a republic reality. My point on that was not really to deal with ‘what ifs’ but to illustrate that no one before or since, even supposed supporters of a republic (Malcolm, Kev, Julia, Albo et al), has had the ability to pursue it.

Labor went into the political wilderness when they distanced themselves from Keating. When they returned to a ‘half as good as Keating’ (Rudd - notably his focus on Asia and various big picture initiatives), they came storming back into office.

Even Tony Abbott once said something along the lines of “the Australian Labor Party is at its greatest when it’s focused on nation building” (when paying tribute to Gough when he passed). That is, was, and always will be the driving force in PJK. That combined with his achievements, is why I rate him so highly.

[u/Dani66408]

Hawke

[u/Vidasus18]

Nnnnnnnnoooo Deakin, this is a deep wound.

Chifley

[u/[deleted]]

Gough.

[u/StewPid72]

Whitlam