| The Honourable John Kerin AM |
|
|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Macarthur |
|
| In office 2 December 1972 – 13 December 1975 |
|
| Preceded by | Jeff Bate |
| Succeeded by | Michael Baume |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Werriwa |
|
| In office 23 September 1978 – 22 December 1993 |
|
| Preceded by | Gough Whitlam |
| Succeeded by | Mark Latham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 November 1937 |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Residence | Canberra |
| Occupation | Economist |
John Charles Kerin, AM (born 21 November 1937) is an Australian economist and former Australian Labor Party (ALP) politician.
Kerin worked at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) before being elected to the Commonwealth Parliament as the Labor member for Macarthur in the 1972 federal election. He lost his seat in the Labor defeat in the 1975 election and returned to the ABARE. He was re-elected as the ALP member for Werriwa in 1978 following the retirement of former prime minister Gough Whitlam as the member for Werriwa.
Kerin served as Minister for Primary Industries (1983–1987), Minister for Primary Industries and Energy (1987–1991), Minister for Transport and Communications (1991), and Treasurer (1991) in the Labor government of Bob Hawke and later Minister for Trade and Overseas Development (1992–1993) in the Labor Government of Paul Keating.
Kerin replaced Paul Keating as Australian Treasurer in June 1991 after Keating resigned following an unsuccessful challenge to Hawke as Labor leader and Prime Minister, although Bob Hawke himself was treasurer for a day after Paul Keating resigned.[1] Kerin was highly regarded as Minister for Primary Industry but his period as Treasurer was a difficult one, not least because of the ongoing tension between Bob Hawke and Paul Keating. Kerin resigned as Treasurer shortly before Keating's second, successful, bid for leadership in December 1991. Keating later appointed Kerin as Minister for Trade and Overseas Development.
After leaving politics in 1994, Kerin held senior positions with the Australian Meat and Livestock Corporation and numerous other bodies. Kerin remains active across a range of activities in public policy in Australia. In October 2008 he was appointed to the board of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. In October 2010 he was appointed Chair of the Crawford Fund which aims to increase Australia's engagement in international agricultural research, development and education.
In 2011 he resigned from the ALP in protest at what he saw as the increasingly highly-centralised nature of control over the operations of the organisation. He said that the administrative arm of the ALP had become increasingly involved in policy formulation leaving little room for meaningful participation by rank and file members of the ALP.[2]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Peter Nixon |
Minister for Primary Industry Minister for Primary Industries and Energy 1983–1991 |
Succeeded by Simon Crean |
| Preceded by Bob Hawke[3] |
Treasurer 1991 |
Succeeded by Ralph Willis |
| Preceded by Kim Beazley |
Minister for Transport and Communications 1991 |
Succeeded by Graham Richardson |
| Preceded by Kim Beazley, Neal Blewett |
Minister for Trade and Overseas Development 1991–1993 |
Succeeded by Peter Cook |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by Jeff Bate |
Member for Macarthur 1972–1975 |
Succeeded by Michael Baume |
| Preceded by Gough Whitlam |
Member for Werriwa 1978–1994 |
Succeeded by Mark Latham |