Peter Reith - Political Life

Political Life

Reith joined the Liberal Party in a by-election in December 1982, caused by the resignation of Sir Phillip Lynch. He was elected to the House of Representatives to represent the seat of Flinders. Reith lost his seat at the March 1983 general election. He was elected again in December 1984 and remained the Member for Flinders until he resigned in 2001.

Reith was a shadow minister in various portfolios from 1987 until 1996 (except for a few months in 1993), including Shadow Attorney-General in 1988 (when he led the successful "no" campaign at the 1988 referendum). Peter Reith nominated for the Liberal party leadership ballot otherwise the opposition leadership after the Coalition lost the 1990 federal election, Reith lost to John Hewson 62 votes to 13. After this he was elected deputy opposition leader and appointed Shadow Treasurer by John Hewson which Reith ended up holding from 1990 to 1993. Along with John Hewson, Reith was one of the architects of the Liberal Party's "Fightback" policy, including the Goods and Services Tax. He resigned as Shadow Treasurer after the loss of the 1993 election as well as losing the Deputy Leadership in the post-election ballot and was replaced by Michael Wooldridge.

Following the election of the Howard government at the 1996 election, Reith became Minister for Workplace Relations. In that role, Reith was responsible for implementing the government's industrial relations policy, although he is said to have been frustrated in this by the government's lack of a majority in the Senate. Reith's handling of the 1998 Australian waterfront dispute, in which he openly supported Patrick Corporation in its efforts to defeat the Maritime Union of Australia, led to criticism from unions and the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

In 2000 Reith was embroiled in an investigation over the improper use of a phone card with a bill totalling $50,000 AUD. Reith admitted that about $1,000 of phone calls were attributed to his son's access to the PIN associated with the phone card.

Prime Minister Howard transferred Reith to the Defence portfolio in 2000. In 2001 Reith announced his impending retirement, and did not contest the 2001 election. Late in the election campaign Reith became embroiled in the "children overboard" controversy, in which the government made unsubstantiated claims that seafaring boat people (possibly asylum seekers) had thrown children overboard in a presumed ploy to secure rescue and passage to Australia. Reith defended his actions. He made public statements about this matter in the documentary series The Howard Years, which screened in Australia in November and December 2008, and in Leaky Boat in July 2011. Reith was succeeded as Liberal MP for Flinders by Greg Hunt and as Minister of Defence by Senator Robert Hill.