The first days of Jeff Kennett
February 1, 2011
Here we track the opening days of the Kennett Government.
Sunday, October 4, 1992
Announces same 22-person shadow cabinet as cabinet with 4 National Ministers as per Coalition agreement. Needed to amend the constitution for such a large team and the only major responsibility change was Roger Pescott being scaled back to "industry services".
Kennett claims is "desperately concerned" with financial position with projected budget deficit of $1.36 billion blowing out to $2.2 billion.
Confirmed wouldn't be taking a $750 million dividend out of the TAC and that John "Darcy" Dugan would be sacked as head of the Gaming Commission for taking a free flight.
A three week parliamentary sitting is scheduled to begin on October 27 with key legislation identified including industrial relations, workers compensation changes and 24-hour trading in the CBD.
Sledged The Age for an election day story suggesting senior public servants would be put on individual contracts. See transcript of Sunday post-election press conference.
Monday, October 5, 1992
Cabinet met for first time at 2pm and departmental briefings commended at 4pm. The Age reported that Don Nicholls, the former NSW Treasury Secretary who did an independent financial review for the Kirner Government, would head Treasury in the short term.
Tuesday, October 6, 1992
Cabinet sworn in. Michael Roux revealed as public servant to run privatisation division of Treasury.
Wednesday, October 7, 1992
Honoured 10-year commitment to make the gold-minign community of Sebastopol his first official visit as Premier and met with Trades Hall Secretary John Halfpenny.
Sweeping changes unveiled to bureaucracy with Ken Baxter recruited from NSW to head Premier's department, Peter Kirby shifted from Premiers to Education and George Brouwer brought back from Frankfurt to head Industry deparment and sacked WorkCare boss Michael Roux resurrected as head of privatisation division in Treasury. Contracts of top brass to be kept secret.
Thursday, October 8, 1992
Friday, October 9, 1992
Saturday, October 10, 1992
Sunday, October 11, 1992
Monday, October 12, 1992
Tuesday, October 13, 1992
Wednesday, October 14, 1992
Thursday, October 15, 1992
Friday, October 16, 1992
Saturday, October 17, 1992
Sunday, October 18, 1992
Monday, October 19, 1992
Tuesday, October 20, 1992
Announced closure of 20 primary schools and 35 secondary schools, axing 2,175 teaching jobs and 830 administrative staff with voluntary redundancy packages in the next week. 4000 cleaning jobs were also cut and one of the schools closed was where the husband of then opposition leader Joan Kirner worked.
Victorians also struggled to get to work as 18,000 public transport workers walked off their jobs for 24 hours as part of the union campaign to force the Government to back down on its industrial reforms.
Wednesday, October 21, 1992
Thursday, October 22, 1992
Friday, October 23, 1992
Saturday, October 24, 1992
Sunday, October 25, 1992
Monday, October 26, 1992
Tuesday, October 27, 1992
Wednesday, October 28, 1992
Thursday, October 29, 1992
Friday, October 30, 1992
Saturday, October 31, 1992
Sunday, November 1, 1992
Sunday, November 8, 1992
Tuesday, November 10, 1992
More than 100,000 marched through the streets of Melbourne protesting against the Kennett Government and listening to John Halfpenny speak. For the Premier there was a 3AW radio interview to be done, some paperwork in the office, a party meeting and then State Parliament. He dined for 15 minutes in the Parliamentary Dining Room.
Thursday, November 12, 1992
Kennett launches first big attack on The Age, telling Question Time it was "extremist" and one of the ``agents of destruction in this state".
They should understand that the industrial action that the state was being threatened with would be absolutely destructive.
``It is important for Mr Halfpenny (secretary of the Trades Hall Council) and `The Age' to understand right now that the industrial action that they are threatening the state with both in the public and private sector is absolutely destructive," he said in the parliamentary question time yesterday.
``Those opposite (the Opposition) together with those who lead the Trades Hall Council, supported with those down at `The Age' are very much the agents of destruction in this state
``I don't know what motivates this great big broadsheet to prove itself day after day to be the smallest paper in Australia." Mr Kennett also criticised church leaders who had expressed concern about his Government's approach. ``Whether they be politicians, journalists, trade union leaders, or church leaders, there is no turning back," he said.
Mr Kennett said the coverage of the rally and strike by workers against his Government's industrial changes showed `The Age' to be ``a partner of the destruction". ``Their contribution to Victoria's future is a dismal record of journalism," Mr Kennett said.
Mr Kennett, outside of Parliament, yesterday also questioned how journalists who went on strike could be apolitical and professional in articles written about the issue.
He attacked a journalist from `The Age', Mr Kevin Childs, for his alleged comments at a journalists' union meeting which voted on Monday to strike for 24 hours. ``The journalists went on strike after a lot of haranguing from a journalist at `The Age', Mr Kevin Childs, who not only argued that they should go on strike and that's fine, but was also, based on reports I've had, fairly vitriolic in terms of his comments about me," he said.
In response, Mr Childs said last night: ``Mr Kennett ... appears to fail to understand that individuals, even journalists, still have the right to act according to their beliefs, a move which in no way conflicts with their professional activities in reporting, analysing and commenting on the news." Mr Childs said that remarks he made at the journalists' stopwork meeting were about his dismay at proposals for separate industrial action by suburban journalists, those at the Herald and Weekly Times and `The Age' staff.
Mr Kennett said `The Age' should put forward an alternative agenda ``rather than simply criticising".
Friday, November 13, 1992
Employee Relations Bill was passed by the Legislative Assembly about 4am, enabling the government to end automatic deduction of union dues from public sector workers, something it did promptly.
Saturday, November 14, 1992
Bill Kelty's tells ALP state conference that Kennett's program represents " a savage attack on working people".
Sunday, November 15, 1992
Kennett fires back at Bill Kelty claiming he was an agent of the Prime Minister, Mr Keating, who was ``prepared to hold people to ransom in order to gain a political end".
Sunday Age reports that Kennett hired former Hewson staffer John Griffin as his new chief of staff.
Monday, November 16, 1992
John Hewson said Kennett-style industrial reforms would be a "top priority" of his government but did draw the line and unilaterally abolishing leave loading like Jeff tried doing.
Bill Kelty claims Kennett has failed to respond to a proposal to get cracking on a range of new building projects. Kennett read this on the front page of The Age and called Kelty to talk it through given his love of big building jobs.
Tuesday, November 17, 1992
Kennett meets privately with opposition leader John Hewson and his mate Andrew Peacock who both urged the Victorian premier to wind back all the changes which are hurting them in the polls.
The Age editorialises as follows:
The Kennett Government has been hasty, insensitive and unnecessarily provocative in pushing through its program. But it has a mandate to govern, including a mandate to curb the power of trade unions to wreak havoc in defence of their monopolist privileges in the labor market and immunities from the normal rule of law. If it comes to the crunch _ which could still be averted, and should be, for the sake of all Victorians _ then the Government must prevail. There is room for further consultation and compromise on detail, but not on the essential thrust of the reform program
Wednesday, November 18, 1992
Kennett rules out invoking Vital Industries Act to attack striking unionists.
Thursday, November 19, 1992
250 schools in Melbourne's western suburbs closed as part of rolling strikes by teachers opposing the closure of 55 schools.
Friday, November 20, 1992
Saturday, November 21, 1992
Sunday, November 22, 1992
Tuesday, November 16 0r 17
Thursday, November 19, 1992
Kennett addresses National Press Club in Canberra and cites Sir Joh Bjelke Petersen as an inspiration whilst conceding Federal Liberal poll weakness was only "to a small degree" connected to his revolution.
Friday, November 20, 1992
Last week, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Sir Frank Little, felt compelled to publish a defence of workers' fundamental rights in the wake of the Kennett Government's industrial relations reforms. For example, the right to strike was ``in certain circumstances, within clearly defined limits and as a last resort, one of the most basic rights of every worker". Affirming the encyclical of Pope John Paul II, he added: ``In the workplace, the worker has priority over capital." ``I think you relate in terms of religions very much to individuals," Mr Kennett told `The Age' in September. ``I think Archbishop Little is a very good religious leader ... I don't think he tries to pontificate."
November 25
Now, Sir Frank's Anglican counterpart, Dr Keith Rayner, has added his voice, lamenting the Government's ``lack of adequate consultation" and warning it of the dangers of abusing its parliamentary majority.
Sunday, November 29, 1992
Unions hold a Fair Go Jeff Fare
December 1, 1992
100,000 Victorians march on state parliament complaining about a whole raft of changes.
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