| The Honourable Peter Walsh AO |
|
|---|---|
| Senator for Western Australia | |
| In office 18 May 1974 – 30 June 1993 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 March 1935 Doodlakine, Western Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Peter Alexander Walsh AO (born 11 March 1935) is a former Australian senator and Labor politician from 1974 to 1993.
Walsh grew up in Doodlakine, Western Australia, where he was a wheat and sheep farmer. He was elected to the Australian Senate in 1974, and served as Minister for Resources and Energy from 1983 to 1984 and Finance Minister from 1984 to 1990.[1] He was noted for his pro-free market views.[2]
In his 1995 memoirs, Confessions of a Failed Finance Minister, Walsh was critical of his colleagues and of political processes in general for failing to curb what he saw as wasteful government expenditure, and unnecessary government intervention.[3]
After leaving politics, he was a columnist for the Australian Financial Review and was particularly critical of environmentalism. He was one of the founders of the Lavoisier Group which opposes the Kyoto protocol on global warming. In a speech given in Adelaide on 20 February 2006, Clive Hamilton (director of The Australia Institute) identifies Walsh as one of his list of Australia's climate change "dirty dozen", a group of climate change sceptics with considerable influence over Australian Government policy.[4] Walsh has also expressed criticism over Rudd's National Broadband Network scheme.[5]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Doug Anthony |
Minister for Resources and Energy 1983–1984 |
Succeeded by Gareth Evans |
| Preceded by John Dawkins |
Minister for Finance and Administration 1984–1990 |
Succeeded by Ralph Willis |