Content deleted Content added
Tassedethe (talk | contribs) m v2.05 - Repaired 1 link to disambiguation page - (You can help) - Michael Jeffery |
Citation bot (talk | contribs) Add: website. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | #UCB_CommandLine |
||
Line 107:
In Howard's third term in office, Australia contributed troops to the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]] and the [[Iraq War]], and led the [[International Force for East Timor]]. The Coalition would be re-elected once more at the [[2004 Australian federal election|2004 federal election]]. In his final term in office, his government introduced industrial relations reforms known as [[WorkChoices]], which proved controversial and unpopular with the public. The Howard government was defeated at the [[2007 Australian federal election|2007 federal election]], with the Labor Party's [[Kevin Rudd]] succeeding him as prime minister. Howard also lost his own seat of Bennelong at the election to [[Maxine McKew]], becoming only the second prime minister to do so, after [[Stanley Bruce]] at the [[1929 Australian federal election|1929 election]]. Following this loss, Howard retired from politics, but has remained active in political discourse.
Howard's government presided over a sustained period of economic growth and a large "[[Mining in Australia|mining boom]]", and significantly reduced government debt by the time he left office. He was known for his broad appeal to voters across the political spectrum, and commanded a diverse base of supporters, colloquially referred to as his "[[Battler (underdog)|battlers]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/howards-battlers-a-broad-church-20040519-gdxvk8.html|title=Howard's battlers a broad church|work=[[The Age]]|date=19 May 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-06/labor-greens-or-liberal-nationals-explore-disadvantage-politics/9600250|title=Labor, the Greens or still Howard's battlers: Explore Australia's politics of disadvantage|work=ABC News|date=6 April 2018}}</ref> Retrospectively, ratings of Howard's premiership have been polarised. His critics have admonished him for involving Australia in the Iraq War, his policies regarding asylum seekers, and his economic agenda.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/australia-still-plagued-by-destructive-policies-of-john-howard-our-worst-prime-minister-20170317-gv08hi.html|title=Australia still plagued by destructive policies of John Howard, our worst prime minister|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=17 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/john-howards-legacy-is-one-of-rising-inequality-20160716-gq79m8.html|title=John Howard's legacy is one of rising inequality|work=[[The Age]]|date=17 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2017/12/23/its-all-john-howards-fault/15139476005689|title=It's all John Howard's fault|work=[[The Saturday Paper]]|first=Mike|last=Seccombe|authorlink=Mike Seccombe|date=23 December 2017|accessdate=23 May 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Nonetheless, he has been frequently [[Historical rankings of prime ministers of Australia|ranked within the upper-tier]] of Australian prime ministers by political experts and the general public.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/02/who-was-australias-best-prime-minister-experts-rank-the-winners-and-dunces | title=Who was Australia's best prime minister? Experts rank the winners and dunces | Australian politics | the Guardian | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-02/barnes-john-howard:-the-greatest-pm-of-our-time/7212668 | title=John Howard: The greatest PM of our time | newspaper=ABC News | date=March 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://smh.com.au/national/howard-voted-best-pm-in-newspoll-20060228-gdn22o.html | title=Howard voted best PM in Newspoll }}</ref>
==Early and personal life==
| |||