Malcolm Fraser: A reappraisal

A new monograph of Australia’s 22nd prime minister is intended to start an overdue conversation on the legacy of Malcolm Fraser. By Nick Cater.

The following is the introductory note to Fraser in Office by Denis White.

Malcolm Fraser served as Prime Minister of Australia for seven years and 122 days, ranking him third in the pantheon of Liberal leaders in government, and the fourth longest serving prime minister of any political party. It was a prime ministership of substance. At the start of Fraser’s first term, the nation was deeply divided over the misjudgements of an impetuous, ideologically driven leader and the manner of his departure. Fraser relinquished the prime ministership in more conventional circumstances having set the stage for 23 years of stable, reforming government by a largely centrist Labor administration and a Liberal-led Coalition that governed firmly in the national interest.

Fraser’s part in restoring order to government and reviving the fortunes of liberalism has received far less attention than it deserves. The events that preceded his appointment and controversies in his retirement have compromised the assessment of his legacy by obscuring its undoubted achievements. Six years after Fraser’s death, a fresh appraisal is overdue, one unclouded by the political arguments in his post-parliamentary years or the extraordinary dismissal of his predecessor by the governor-general. It is time for a discussion unsullied by the wisdom of hindsight, that calibrates his achievements according to the condition of the country he inherited and the one he left behind.

Denis White’s monograph is intended to start a conversation that is long overdue. Our hope is that it will broaden our perspective not just on Fraser, but on the purpose of the Liberal Party and how it can better serve the people it wishes to govern. If the Howard government showed us how to manage a good economy, the Fraser government helps us understand why we should, since Liberalism, as Robert Menzies conceived it, regards economic prosperity as the means to a greater end. A strong economy was the foundation on which to build a country that is just and fair, in which the provision of material needs goes hand in hand with enhancing human dignity.

The monograph will have served its purpose if it deepens appreciation of Fraser’s legacy, and broadens our understanding of what the Liberal Party should aspire to be.

Former minister for foreign affairs Alexander Downer AO will be launching Fraser in Office by Denis White in Melbourne on 11 May. Click here to register and here to buy the book.