Reaction to former PM Bob Hawke's death

High profile Australians have reacted to the death of former prime minister Bob Hawke.

HAWKE CABINET PAPERS

Bob Hawke is being remembered as a great Australian and prime minister by both sides of politics. (AAP)

WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT BOB HAWKE:

* "I think he will go down in our history as one of the great prime ministers, certainly since the Second World War. Not only the best Labor leader, I think probably the best prime minister. He understood Australians, he had a very genuine sense of the national interest, he made a lot of significant changes to the Australian way of life but he was a leader." - Former Liberal leader John Hewson on Sky News

* "I've known nobody like him in my life and I'm devastated that his is over. For me he was everything." - former Hawke cabinet minister Kim Beazley speaks to The West Australian

* "My parents had been a real love story, that is what they had in their time. My dad was just lucky enough to have a second great love story with my step mum Blanche, who I can't thank enough for her love and care for Bob in this last period of timing, his frailty. She's just been superb and outstanding." - daughter Sue Pieters-Hawke on ABC Radio Melbourne

"He brought to the office of prime minister and also to the position of leader of the Labor Party a great deal of authority, and in politics, the greatest commodity a leader can have is authority." - former prime minister John Howard

* "Bob Hawke had a remarkable ability to reach across party lines. A lot of the things that he did in the early 80s were things which many people felt might have been done by the Fraser government." - former prime minister and Warringah MP Tony Abbott on Macquarie Radio

* "Bob changed our country and transformed our economy; he turned Australia into a world-leader, full of hope and bold ideas. He loved people and genuinely cared about their futures." - Western Australian Labor premier Mark McGowan

* "There's no doubt that Bob Hawke was a political legend... He'll be remembered for being a bit of a larrikin but also a consummate professional." - Tasmanian Liberal premier Will Hodgman

* "He was Australia's greatest environmental prime minister ever. He of course began on election night on the 5th of March 1983 by stating the Franklin Dam will not go ahead. It was an extraordinary moment in environmental history." - former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown

* "Bob Hawke changed the perception of environmental protection from a fringe issue, to a centrepiece of what good governments do. He set the benchmark for all future prime ministers." - World Wide Fund for Nature-Australia CEO Dermot O'Gorman


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3 min read
Published 17 May 2019 12:40pm
Source: AAP


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