Keating, PJ

Paul Keating was Australia's Treasurer (1983-91) and Prime Minister (1991-96). He championed a clutch of seminal changes to the country, including the reorientation of Australia's strategic and trade relationships with Asia, promoting Australia's shift to a republic and the development of a major legal structure to return lands to Australia's indigenous people. His domestic economic reforms included the dismantling of a centralised wage fixing system in favour of an enterprise bargaining model, floating the Australian dollar, establishing universal superannuation and setting up a competition policy to lower prices, with the aim of lifting disposable incomes. His reforms underpinned twenty years of low inflationary economic growth.Paul Keating maintains his interest in politics, economics and foreign policy and contributes occasionally to the public debate. He is committed to aesthetic interests in architecture, the decorative arts and the romantic repertoire in classical music.;