Bert Kelly

The Honourable Bert Kelly CMG
Member of the Australian Parliament for Wakefield
In office 22 November 1958 – 10 November 1977
Preceded by	Philip McBride
Succeeded by	Geoffrey Giles
Personal details
Born	(1912-12-22)22 December 1912 Tarlee, South Australia
Died	17 January 1997(1997-01-17) (aged 84)
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Occupation	Farmer

Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly CMG (22 December 1912 – 17 January 1997),^[1] was an Australian politician and government minister. He was influential in moving Australian political parties away from support for high-tariff policies.

Kelly was born in Tarlee, South Australia and educated at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide. His father, Stan Kelly was a part-time Commissioner of the Commonwealth Tariff Board from 1929 to 1940, and supported its opposition to the high-tariff policies of successive Australian governments. He was a farmer before entering politics and in 1951, he was granted a Nuffield Fellowship to study farming in the United Kingdom.^[2][3][4]

Political career

Kelly was elected as the Liberal Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Wakefield at the 1958 election. He was a passionate supporter of free trade, when this was very much a minority opinion in Australia. Kelly was Minister for Works from February 1967 to February 1968 in the Holt and Gorton ministries and then Minister for the Navy until November 1969. His period as minister may have been limited by his free trade views.^[4]

After Kelly's departure from the ministry, he wrote a column in the Australian Financial Review, Modest Member, supporting free trade.^[5] When the seat of Angas was abolished in 1977, its member Geoffrey Giles beat Kelly for preselection for Wakefield.

Kelly renamed his column "Modest Farmer" and it was published successively in the Australian Financial Review, The Bulletin and The Australian. He was made Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1980. Survived by his wife, Lorna and three sons, Kelly's funeral was attended by former Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and Ray Evans, the former head of Western Mining Corporation and president of the right-wing H. R. Nicholls Society.^[2][3][6]

Bert was opposed to protectionism … because it created a situation in which governments, in the person of ministers or officials, granted arbitrary and capricious favours to some, who were thus greatly enriched, at the expense of others, who were at best impoverished and at worst, ruined.

—Ray Evans^[2]

No private member has had as much influence in changing a major policy of the major parties.

—Gough Whitlam^[7]

Notes

Political offices
Preceded by John Gorton	Minister for Works 1967–68	Succeeded by Reg Wright
Preceded by Don Chipp	Minister for the Navy 1968–69	Succeeded by James Killen
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Philip McBride	Member for Wakefield 1958–77	Succeeded by Geoffrey Giles

Authority control VIAF: 72672484

Persondata
Name	Kelly, Charles Robert
Alternative names	Kelly, Bert
Short description	Australian politician
Date of birth	22 December 1912
Place of birth	Tarlee, South Australia
Date of death	17 January 1997
Place of death	Adelaide