Peter Costello
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Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the
treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia (or Federal Treasurer) is a high ranking official and senior minister of the Crown in the Government of Australia who is the head of the Ministry of the Treasury which is responsible for government expenditure and ...
in
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
of
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia's history. Costello was a
member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) of the
Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...
from 1990 to 2009, representing the
Division of Higgins The Division of Higgins is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria for the Australian House of Representatives. The division covers in Melbourne's inner south-eastern suburbs. The main suburbs include , , , , , , , , and ; along with part ...
. He also served as the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 2007. On 18 September 2008, Costello was appointed as chairman of the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
's new Independent Advisory Board (IAB) to provide advice on anti-corruption measures. Costello has served as Chairman of Nine Entertainment Co. since February 2016. Costello is Chairman of the Board of Guardians of Australian
Future Fund The Future Fund is an independently managed sovereign wealth fund established in 2006 to strengthen the Australian Government's long-term financial position by making provision for unfunded superannuation liabilities for politicians and other pu ...
.


Early life

Costello was born on 14 August 1957 in Melbourne into a middle-class family of practising Christians. He was the second of three children; his elder brother, Tim, is a prominent
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
minister and former CEO of
World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
Australia. Costello was educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School and
Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...
, where he studied arts and law, graduating with honours in 1982. Costello is a descendant of Irish immigrant Patrick Costello, who was expelled from the
Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and ...
in the 1860s for electoral fraud. During the 1980s, Costello was a solicitor at the law firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, then became a barrister and represented employers in some of Australia's best-known industrial relations disputes. In 1982 Costello married Tanya (née Coleman), daughter of writer and former Liberal politician
Peter Coleman William Peter Coleman (15 December 1928 – 31 March 2019) was an Australian writer and politician. A widely published journalist for over 60 years, he was editor of '' The Bulletin'' (1964–1967) and of '' Quadrant'' for 20 years, and publi ...
. In 1983 and 1984, Costello represented the
National Farmers' Federation The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) is an Australian non-profit membershipbased organization that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia. Historically, NFF was a key player in a number of industrial relations disputes, inc ...
in legal action against the
Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (also known as the Meatworkers Union) is an Australian trade union representing workers in the meat industry including in abattoirs, butchers, and smallgoods manufacturers. Structure The AMIEU h ...
(AMIEU). The AMIEU was seeking a unit tally system to be set up in abattoirs in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
. The dispute focussed on one abattoir, Mudginberri, which chose to fight the AMIEU claim. Ultimately the AMIEU claim was unsuccessful. Costello became counsel to organisations representing small business and rose to prominence in the 1985 Dollar Sweets case, as junior counsel assisting Alan Goldberg QC, successfully representing a confectionery company involved in a bitter industrial dispute.


Political background

In his student years, Costello was active in student politics. For a time, he was an office-bearer of the Social Democratic Students Association of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, an affiliate of the Balaclava Branch of Australian Young Labor. In 1977, Costello was assaulted by a left-wing student politician, receiving mainstream media attention for the first time in his career as a result. After graduating, Costello became more conservative but retained liberal views on some social issues. In 1984 he was a founding member of the
H. R. Nicholls Society The HR Nicholls Society is an Australian think tank that focuses on industrial relations. It advocates full workplace deregulation, contains some Liberal MPs as members and is seen to be of the New Right. It was created in March 1986 after John ...
, a
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
on
industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, ...
. In the late 1980s, he was identified as part of the
New Right New Right is a term for various right-wing political groups or policies in different countries during different periods. One prominent usage was to describe the emergence of certain Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Uni ...
movement, which was organised to some extent in the H. R. Nicholls Society.


Political career


Early political career

In 1990, Costello defeated sitting member
Roger Shipton Roger Francis Shipton (5 August 1936 – 18 January 1998) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Liberal Party and served in the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1990, representing the Melbourne seat of Higgins. Early life ...
in a preselection ballot for the comfortably safe Liberal electorate of Higgins, the seat once held by
Harold Holt Harold Edward Holt (5 August 190817 December 1967) was an Australian politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Australia from 1966 until his presumed death in 1967. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party. Holt was born in S ...
and
John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...
. He entered the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
at the age of 32. Costello made his maiden speech in May 1990 and mentioned "government should be subservient to the citizen; the Executive accountable to the representative parliament; and the monopoly give way in the face of the individual." Following the resignation of Andrew Peacock, Costello voted for John Hewson to replace Peacock as Liberal Leader and Costello was made shadow minister for Consumer affairs and later Shadow Attorney General. However Hewson despite launching Peter's local campaign in Higgins, despised Costello making it clear to him that he would not be appointed a Minister in a Hewson government and always maintained suspicion about Costello due to his admiration for John Howard. On one occasion Hewson accused Costello of bad mouthing him to journalist
Laurie Oakes Laurie Oakes (born 14 August 1943 in Newcastle, New South Wales) is an Australian retired journalist. He worked in the Canberra Press Gallery from 1969 to 2017, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections for print, radio, and ...
which Costello denied. Hewson's shock defeat at the 1993 election, Costello believes, can be attributed to Hewson lacking the experience to know which things to try to change and which things to avoid trying to change. Costello believed Hewson fought everyone from Churches and Welfare groups over the GST to the Supernnuation and Medicare organisations and recipients. Costello claimed he found it hard to promote the Liberal party's zero Tariff policy to the car industry. Costello's profile became higher following the 1993 election becoming Shadow Finance Minister after his failure to become deputy leader. After the " sports rorts affair" with Sport Minister
Ros Kelly Roslyn Joan Kelly AO (née Raw; born 25 January 1948) is a former member of the Australian House of Representatives, having represented the Division of Canberra from 18 October 1980 to 30 January 1995. She was a minister in the governments ...
: after revealing Kelly did not handle funding properly for the policy, Hewson and Costello demanded she resign, and she did, this and other factors made Costello be seen as alternative leader to Hewson. Hewson was deposed as Liberal leader in May 1994, Costello supported
Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United King ...
for the leadership, becoming his Deputy Leader and shadow Treasurer. What may have prevented Costello from challenging Hewson for the leadership himself was that it would have proven correct an accusation by Victorian Liberal Premier
Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, serving ...
that Costello and his friend, former Victorian Liberal party president
Michael Kroger Michael Norman Kroger (born 30 May 1957) is a former Australian lawyer. He was president of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1987 to 1992 and from 2015 to 2018, and is considered a member of the conservative faction. Early life Kroger was educ ...
, had undermined Hewson's leadership prior to Hewson calling the leadership spill that partly occurred because of Costello in the first place. However, Downer resigned in January 1995. Costello did not seek the leadership, instead supporting
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...
. It was revealed in July 2006 that this was due to a December 1994 meeting between Howard, Costello and
Ian McLachlan Ian Murray McLachlan (born 2 October 1936) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. He was Minister for Defence in the Howard Government from ...
during which Howard allegedly agreed to stand aside after one and a half terms as Prime Minister in return for Costello's agreement not to challenge for the leadership. Howard denied that this was a formal arrangement. Hewson noted with irony in 2009 that Costello's best chances of becoming leader were at the 1994 leadership spill or when Downer stood down, several months later. As Deputy Leader until 2007, he was the longest serving in that role, achieving that status in 2006 after breaking the record of the party's first Deputy Leader Sir Eric Harrison. He also spent all but the last two years of his career on the front bench.


Federal Treasurer (1996–2007)

The Liberal/National coalition headed by Howard won the 1996 election, defeating the Keating government on a 29-seat swing, and Costello became Federal Treasurer at age 38, the same age at which Howard himself had become treasurer in 1977. He oversaw the return to and maintenance of federal budget surpluses, which enabled significant reduction in government debt. Costello brought down twelve consecutive Federal Budgets, including ten surpluses. During this period he eliminated the Commonwealth Government net debt of $96 billion. He also sold 2/3rds of the Reserve Bank's substantial gold holdings at a record low price. Inflation, interest rates and unemployment all fell and remained generally low during Costello's term as Treasurer. Tax reform became a major policy focus for Costello. Although John Howard had promised during the 1996 election campaign that he would "never, ever" introduce a GST, it returned as Liberal Party policy for the 1998 election. It was passed through the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
with the help of the
Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Austral ...
. Until July 2005, Costello's own agenda of labour market deregulation remained blocked by the government's lack of a Senate majority. In 1998, Costello and his wife Tanya, along with
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...
and his wife Margaret, successfully sued author
Bob Ellis Robert James Ellis (10 May 1942 – 3 April 2016) was an Australian writer, journalist, filmmaker, and political commentator. He was a student at the University of Sydney at the same time as other notable Australians including Clive James, Germa ...
for false statements he made about them in his book ''Goodbye Jerusalem''. Costello advocated for change to a republic at the
Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 The 1998 Australian Constitutional Convention was a Constitutional Convention which gathered at Old Parliament House, Canberra from 2 to 13 February 1998. It was called by the Howard Government to discuss whether Australia should become a rep ...
. He rejected any suggestion that Australia was not already an independent nation and said that the Australian Constitution works "remarkably well". It was the institution of monarchy that was the crux of his argument for change: Costello supported the 1999 referendum on whether Australia should become a republic. After the 2001 election, he attracted criticism for not securing funding for a key election promise to extend the Medicare safety net. In 2002, The Baby bonus scheme was reintroduced by the Federal Government of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in the 2002 budget was aimed at offsetting the expenses associated with bearing a child. The scheme was also introduced as a means of increasing Australia's fertility rate and to mitigate the effects of Australia's
ageing population Population ageing is an increasing median age in a population because of declining fertility rates and rising life expectancy. Most countries have rising life expectancy and an ageing population, trends that emerged first in developed countries ...
. Costello famously had a slogan to encourage Australians to "have one for mum, one for dad and one for the country". In February 2006, Costello caused controversy during a lecture at the Sydney Institute when questioned about the government's refusal to legally recognise same-sex marriage. He stated, "I think we do recognise the rights of gay and lesbian people in Australia. We do not criminalise heirconduct or behaviour." He also pointed out that the law was changed in 2004 to recognise same-sex couples with regards to superannuation. He stated that marriage should only be recognised between
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
couples. Also during the same speech, Costello criticised "mushy misguided
multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
," warning immigrants that the acceptance of Australian values was "not optional."


Leadership aspirations


Under Howard

Costello expected to gain the Liberal leadership some time during Howard's second term as Prime Minister, as per Howard's alleged December 1994 offer. When this did not eventuate, it is alleged that Costello became frustrated, particularly when Howard announced, in July 2003, his intention to lead the government into the 2004 election. During the 2004 election campaign, Howard avoided saying whether he would serve a full term if re-elected, saying only he would remain as long as his party supported him. The government's subsequent success in winning control of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
raised further speculation that Howard would delay his retirement, and the prospect of a Costello leadership succession appeared to recede. In July 2006, the alleged Costello/Howard succession deal was made public by Ian McLachlan. Costello confirmed the incident had occurred and that he shared McLachlan's interpretation of events. Howard denied the claims repeatedly, stating the continued public drama displayed "hubris and arrogance" and that the leadership was the party room's to decide, not a prize to be handed over by leaders to successors. Press Gallery columnist
Michelle Grattan Michelle Grattan (born 30 June 1944) is an Australian journalist who was the first woman to become editor of an Australian metropolitan daily newspaper. Specialising in political journalism, she has written for and edited many significant Austr ...
described Costello's actions : Despite tensions between the Prime Minister and the Treasurer, nothing further came of those events. Neither Howard nor Costello took any action to remove the other from office, or resign. However, on 12 September 2007, amid renewed leadership tensions and a series of unfavourable public polls, Howard confirmed he would step aside well into the next term, if re-elected, and that Costello would be his "logical successor". A federal election was held on 24 November 2007. An exit poll of 2,787 voters by Auspoll, commissioned by Sky News, included a question on the statement "I don’t want Peter Costello to become Prime Minister". Fifty-nine per cent agreed, while 41 per cent disagreed. The
Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...
lost the election.


In opposition (2007–2009)

Costello was widely expected to assume the Liberal leadership after the 2007 election, but the day after the election, in a surprise announcement, he said that he would not seek or accept the leadership or deputy leadership of the Liberal Party. This was after John Howard, in his concession speech on the night of the election, specifically endorsed Costello as the next leader for the Coalition. A week later, he indicated that he would be unlikely to serve out in full his parliamentary term of three years. However, as opposition leader
Brendan Nelson Brendan John Nelson (born 19 August 1958) is a business leader and former Australian politician. He served as the federal Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2008, going on to serve as Australia's senior diplomat to the European Union and NA ...
struggled, speculation mounted that Costello would change his mind and seek the leadership. In August 2008, he ruled out challenging Nelson, but did not comment on the prospect of Nelson stepping aside in his favour. Finally in September 2008, just before the release of his memoirs, ''
The Costello Memoirs ''The Costello Memoirs'' is a collection of writings by Australian politician and long-standing treasurer and deputy Liberal leader Peter Costello and co-authored by former New South Wales Liberal Leader and Costello's father-in-law, Peter Colem ...
'', Costello specifically re-confirmed that he would not be seeking leadership of the party and would leave politics at a time that suited him. Media attention immediately shifted to whether Costello's decision cleared the way for a leadership challenge by
Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...
(who was the shadow treasurer at the time).
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...
described the decision as a great loss to Australia and to Costello himself, who might continue to have regrets for the rest of his life at what might have been. Media outlets capitalised on Costello's failure to categorically rule out any future leadership challenge. An incumbent-announced
leadership spill In Australian politics, a leadership spill (or simply spill) is a colloquialism referring to a declaration that the leadership of a parliamentary party is vacant and open for contest. A spill may involve all or some of the leadership positions (l ...
on the morning of Costello's book release saw Turnbull defeat Nelson. Costello remained as an opposition backbencher. On 18 September 2008, Costello was appointed to the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
's new Independent Advisory Board, (IAB), which will provide advice on anti-corruption measures. On 15 June 2009, Costello announced that he would retire from Parliament at the next Federal election. However on 7 October 2009, Costello announced he would be resigning from Parliament when it resumed later in the month. He resigned on 19 October 2009, triggering the 2009 Higgins by-election. Costello's departure came just prior to the ETS crisis that lead to Malcolm Turnbull losing the Liberal party leadership to Tony Abbott.


Post-political career

Costello is a member of the Board of Guardians of the
Australian Government Future Fund The Future Fund is an independently managed sovereign wealth fund established in 2006 to strengthen the Australian Government's long-term financial position by making provision for unfunded superannuation liabilities for politicians and other pu ...
since December 2009. Amidst some controversy it was announced that
David Gonski David Michael Gonski (born 7 October 1953) is an Australian public figure and businessman. In 2008, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' described Gonski as "one of the country's best-connected businessmen" and dubbed him "Mr Networks" for being "a ...
would succeed the inaugural Chairman, David Murray when Murray's term expired on 3 April 2012. Gonski's appointment was in spite of an independent review (that was conducted by Gonski). Gonski reported to the Australian Government that the existing Guardians favoured Costello to succeed Murray as Chairman. Costello is a managing partner of BKK Partners, a boutique corporate advisory run by former Goldman Sachs JBWere managers. He also chairs the advisory board of specialist corporate advisory firm ECG Advisory Solutions. In 2008, his best-selling memoir was published by Melbourne University Press. Costello writes a regular column for Fairfax newspapers. In October 2010, Howard published a memoir, '' Lazarus Rising'', that drew the ire of Costello and others. Howard used the memoir to settle some personal scores, calling Costello "an elitist, who's unable to connect to ordinary Australians" and accuses Costello of bungling the leadership handover issue. Costello responded by claiming that Howard "appears to be incapable of taking responsibility for the defeat of the government and for losing his seat of Bennelong." In May 2012, Michael Kroger accused Costello of being interested in returning to Federal Parliament, most likely by getting a Liberal MP to step aside, with the hope of becoming leader of the Liberal Party. Costello denied this, saying that Kroger had approached him asking to help preserve his ex-wife
Helen Kroger Helen Evelyn Kroger (née Madden; born 11 March 1959) is a former Australian politician. She was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Victoria from 2008 to 2014. She was the president of the Victorian division of ...
's Senate position. At around the same time, Helen Kroger was demoted on the Senate Liberal ticket for Victoria. Kroger believes Costello was targeting her along with others; Kroger also claimed Costello very often criticises past and present Liberal party MPs and officials. In February 2016, Costello was appointed chairman of the Nine Entertainment Co.


Honours

On 26 January 2011, Peter Costello was appointed a Companion of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
for "eminent service to the Parliament of Australia, particularly through the development of landmark economic policy reforms in the areas of taxation, foreign investment, superannuation and corporate regulation, and through representative roles with global financial organisations".


References


External links


Peter Costello – Official Website (www.petercostello.com.au)
nbsp;–
Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...
prominent alumni profile * *   {{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Peter Treasurers of Australia Members of the Cabinet of Australia Australian Anglicans Australian barristers Australian economists Australian investment bankers Australian people of Irish descent Australian republicans Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Higgins People educated at Carey Baptist Grammar School Lawyers from Melbourne Politicians from Melbourne 1957 births Living people Monash Law School alumni Converts to Anglicanism from Baptist denominations Companions of the Order of Australia Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 20th-century Australian politicians World Bank people Nine Entertainment 21st-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia Australian officials of the United Nations