Bob Carr

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The Hon. Bob Carr
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The Hon. Bob Carr

Robert John Carr (born September 28, 1947), Australian politician, was Premier of New South Wales from 25 March 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as Premier of New South Wales. Only Sir Henry Parkes has served longer, but he held the office on five separate occasions.

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Early career

The son of a train driver, Carr was born in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, and was educated at the University of New South Wales, from which he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in history. Unusually for an Australian politician, he is an intellectual and writer; in a recent example of his recognition as a writer, he appeared on stage at the 2004 Sydney Festival in conversation with Tom Stoppard.

Before entering politics, Carr was a journalist for the ABC Radio's AM current affairs program, wrote for The Bulletin and spent a period working for the Labor Council of NSW.

A member of the Australian Labor Party, Carr entered the New South Wales Legislative Assembly at a by-election as the member for Maroubra in October 1983.

In December 1984 he was appointed Minister for Planning and the Environment in the Wran government. He held this position until March 1988, when the ALP lost government. In February 1986 he also took on the consumer affairs portfolio, which he held until he became Minister for Heritage In July 1986.

Leader of the Opposition

Carr's long-term ambition was to enter federal politics and be Minister for Foreign Affairs in a federal Labor government. But following the defeat of the New South Wales Labor government, Carr was pressured by the party organisation and his own Right faction to stand for the leadership. Carr reluctantly agreed, and became Leader of the Opposition. His diary entries from the time reveal "I spent today like a doomed man, taking phone calls and drafting a statement, still saying to the press I wasn't shifting. I feel a jolt in my stomach about what I'm getting myself in for. I will destroy my career in four years. Everything's altered. It's my fate … So, for better or for worse, I become leader of the party next week."

Despite this reluctance, Carr performed well as opposition leader and only narrowly lost a tight election to Nick Greiner's coalition government in 1991, an election in which no one expected Labor to come close to victory.

Premier of New South Wales

In 1995 he became Premier at another close election and won comfortably again in 1999 and 2003.

His centrist, cautious government has been characterised by conservative financial management and the encouragement of market forces, and latterly pursued a "tough on crime" policy. Carr occasionally ventured into national policy issues, particularly issues concerning the environment and population growth. A keen bushwalker, he created numerous national parks in NSW over his decade-long term as Premier. During his term, he worked towards improving literacy standards in NSW schools.

In August 2004, Carr faced criticism due to his alleged involvement in the Orange Grove affair, and also from the Commissioner of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, due to his remarks that a minister under investigation by the ICAC would be "vindicated" before the release of that body's findings on the matter; this resulted in an allegation of contempt, which was subsequently dropped.

After 10 years as Premier, Carr announced his resignation both as Premier and as the member for Maroubra on 27 July 2005 to be effective from 3 August. This immediately prompted speculation that the resignation was a prelude to a move into federal politics, but Carr denied this. He cited the desire to spend more time with his wife, Helena Carr, as the main motivation for his resignation. His successor as Premier is former health minister Morris Iemma. Carr's resignation triggered further resignations, namely those of Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge and Planning Minisiter Craig Knowles.

Unusually for a Labor leader, Carr has opposed Australian republicanism if it entailed public election of the President (he supported a President appointed by Parliament). He also opposes a Bill of Rights, because it would merely lead to increased litigation.

Literature

Bob Carr is the author of several books, the best-known being Thoughtlines (Viking, 2002). He is an acknowledged expert on certain aspects of the political history of the United States, especially Abraham Lincoln, whose second inaugural he quoted in his resignation speech. He is a charter member of the Chester A. Arthur Society, a US political trivia group named for one of the most obscure US presidents.

In May 2003, a biography by Marilyn Dodkin, Bob Carr: the reluctant leader, was published to acclaim, partly because it was based on Carr's private diaries and included his often uncomplimentary thoughts on various political personalities. A second biography, Bob Carr—a self-made man, by Andrew West and Rachel Morris, was published in September 2003 by Harper Collins.

Family

In 1972, Carr met the Malaysian economics student Anne Helena John (now the Australian businesswoman Helena Carr) on a vacation in Tahiti, and the couple was married on 24 February 1973. They have no children.

After Politics

Bob Carr became a part-time consultant for Macquarie Bank, an Australian investment bank, in October 2005. Macquarie's media announcement declared he would advise on policy and strategic issues with a focus on his specialist knowledge of the United States, China and Europe.

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Preceded by:
John Fahey
Premier of New South Wales
1995-2005
Succeeded by:
Morris Iemma


Premiers of New South Wales
Donaldson | Cowper | Parker | Forster | Robertson | Martin | Parkes | Farnell | Stuart | Dibbs | Jennings | Reid | Lyne | See | Waddell | Carruthers | Wade | McGowen | Holman | Storey | Dooley | Fuller | Lang | Bavin | Stevens | Mair | McKell | McGirr | Cahill | Heffron | Renshaw | Askin | Lewis | Willis | Wran | Unsworth | Greiner | Fahey | Carr | Iemma


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