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John Dawkins

The Honourable
John Dawkins
AO
John-Dawkins-1984.jpg
Treasurer of Australia
In office
27 December 1991 – 22 December 1993
Prime Minister Paul Keating
Preceded by Ralph Willis
Succeeded by Ralph Willis
Minister for Employment, Education and Training
In office
24 July 1987 – 27 December 1991
Prime Minister Bob Hawke
Paul Keating
Preceded by Susan Ryan
Succeeded by Kim Beazley
Minister for Trade
In office
13 December 1984 – 24 July 1987
Prime Minister Bob Hawke
Preceded by Lionel Bowen
Succeeded by Michael Duffy
Minister for Finance
In office
11 March 1983 – 13 December 1984
Prime Minister Bob Hawke
Preceded by Dame Margaret Guilfoyle
Succeeded by Peter Walsh
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Fremantle
In office
10 December 1977 – 4 February 1994
Preceded by Kim Beazley
Succeeded by Carmen Lawrence
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Tangney
In office
18 May 1974 – 13 December 1975
Preceded by New seat
Succeeded by Peter Richardson
Personal details
Born (1947-03-02) 2 March 1947 (age 69)
Perth, Western Australia
Nationality Australian
Political party Australian Labor Party
Alma mater University of Western Australia
Occupation Economist

John Sydney "Joe" Dawkins, AO (born 2 March 1947), Australian politician, was Treasurer in the Keating Labor government from December 1991 to December 1993. He is notable for his reforms of tertiary education as Minister for Employment, Education and Training, his period as Treasurer when he attempted to increase taxes in order to balance the budget and his abrupt exit from politics.

Dawkins was born in Perth, Western Australia. He attended Roseworthy Agricultural College in South Australia, gaining a Diploma in Agriculture, and then went on to the University of Western Australia, where he graduated in economics.

In 1974, aged 27, Dawkins was elected to the House of Representatives for the marginal seat of Tangney. He was defeated at the 1975 election by Liberal Peter Richardson.

In 1977 Dawkins returned to the House as member for the safe Labor seat of Fremantle, succeeding Kim Beazley (senior), and defeating his son, Kim Beazley, for the Labor preselection. In 1980 he was promoted to the Opposition front bench and was Shadow Education Minister from 1980 to 1983. He became Minister for Finance following the election of the first Hawke government in 1983. In the second Hawke Ministry (1984–1987) he was Minister for Trade. From 1987 to 1991 he was Minister for Employment, Education and Training. It was in this position where he brought in a series of reforms of the higher education sector, which included expansion of Australian universities, the forced mergers of universities and colleges of advanced education, and the re-introduction of university fees (abolished by Kim Beazley senior in 1973) in the form of the HECS. This later became known as the Dawkins Revolution and aroused bitter opposition among academics and university administrators.


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