Bert Kelly

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.

The Honourable Bert Kelly CMG
Minister for the Navy
In office 28 February 1968 – 12 November 1969
Prime Minister	John Gorton
Preceded by	Don Chipp
Succeeded by	Jim Killen
Minister for Works
In office 28 February 1967 – 28 February 1968
Prime Minister	Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton
Preceded by	John Gorton
Succeeded by	Reg Wright
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	22 December 1912 Tarlee, South Australia
Died	17 January 1997 (aged 84)
Nationality	Australian
Political party	Liberal
Occupation	Farmer

Early life

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. As navy minister he dealt with the aftermath of the Melbourne–Evans collision in June 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.

Later life

Kelly renamed his column "Modest Farmer" and it was published successively in the Australian Financial Review, The Bulletin and The Australian. He was invested as a 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

1. "Members of the House of Representatives since 1901". Parliamentary Handbook. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
2. Chapman, Grant (5 February 1997). "Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
3. Howard, John (4 February 1997). "Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
4. "The Stan Kelly Memorial Lecture". The Economic Society of Australia (Victoria). 9 August 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
5. Colebatch, Hal. "The Modest Member: The Life and Times of Bert Kelly". connorcourt.com. Connorcourt Publishing. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
6. Hill, Robert (5 February 1997). "Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2008.
7. Beazley, Kim (4 February 1997). "Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG". Hansard. Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2008.