36 Facts About Peter Reith

Peter Keaston Reith was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1982 to 1983 and from 1984 to 2001, representing the Liberal Party.

Peter Reith was the party's deputy leader from 1990 to 1993, and served as a minister in the Howard government.

Peter Reith settled in Cowes, Victoria, and served on the Phillip Island Shire Council from 1976 to 1981.

Peter Reith was elected to parliament at the 1982 Flinders by-election.

Peter Reith lost his seat at the 1983 federal election, but won it back the following year.

In 1990, Peter Reith was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party under John Hewson.

Peter Reith was replaced by Michael Wooldridge after the 1993 election.

Peter Keaston Reith was born in Melbourne on 15 July 1950.

Peter Reith then practised as a solicitor first in Melbourne and then at Cowes, a small town on Phillip Island.

Peter Reith was the key proponent for the establishment of the penguin research facility.

Peter Reith lost the seat only three months later at the March 1983 general election.

Peter Reith regained the seat at the December 1984 election, which saw a substantial swing towards the Liberals, and he continued to hold the seat for the next 17 years.

Except for a few months in 1993, Peter Reith was a shadow minister from 1987 until 1996.

Peter Reith's posts included Shadow Minister for Housing, Shadow Minister for Sport and Recreation, and then Shadow Attorney-General in 1988.

Peter Reith was Shadow Minister for Defence and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Peter Reith was Shadow Treasurer when the 1990,1991 and 1992 Budgets were delivered and each by a different Treasurer.

Peter Reith resigned as Shadow Treasurer after the Liberals were defeated in the 1993 election.

Peter Reith lost the deputy Liberal leadership in the post-election ballot, and was replaced by Michael Wooldridge.

Peter Reith was one of the best-known and most influential members of Howard's cabinet.

Peter Reith's responsibilities involved drafting and implementing the government's industrial relations policy, and he is perhaps best known for the significant productivity reforms which followed the 1998 Australian waterfront dispute.

Peter Reith's handling of the dispute, which included the failed attempt to use Australian Armed forces personnel, trained in Dubai to take over waterfront jobs and later the use of balaclava clad hired security guards with dogs, to remove working waterside workers from the work site.

Peter Reith strongly supported Patrick Corporation in its contest with the Maritime Union of Australia, which led to bitter opposition from the unions and the Australian Labor Party.

Peter Reith introduced and implemented reforms to the Commonwealth public service, a significant package of reforms for small business, and an innovative employment programme for indigenous Australians.

In 1994 when in Opposition, Peter Reith supported the idea of citizen-initiated referendums but found no support with his Coalition colleagues with National Party leader Tim Fischer describing it as a "law-making cancer".

In 2000, Peter Reith was embroiled in an investigation over the use of his phone card, which had incurred charges totalling A$50,000.

Peter Reith admitted that about $1,000 of phone calls were the result of his son's access to the PIN associated with the card.

Peter Reith defended his actions, and made public statements about the matter in the documentary series The Howard Years, which screened in Australia in November and December 2008, in Leaky Boat in July 2011, and in the 2012 Logie Award-winning documentary Go Back to Where You Came From.

Peter Reith was succeeded as MP for Flinders by fellow Liberal Greg Hunt, and as Minister for Defence by Senator Robert Hill.

In that contest, Peter Reith lost to Stockdale by just one vote: 56 to 57.

In 2013 Peter Reith was Chairman of the Victorian Gas Market Review which concluded with the presentation of his report to the Napthine Government.

From 2014 Peter Reith has been writing weekly for The Sydney Morning Herald and was a political commentator for Sky News Australia, appearing regularly on AM Agenda and The Cabinet.

Peter Reith represented two clients in that jurisdiction: Bechtel Infrastructure Australia and G4S Custodial Services Pty Ltd.

In March 2017, Peter Reith was hospitalised after suspected bleeding on the brain and was unable to go through with his challenge to Michael Kroger for the Liberal party presidency.

State Opposition Leader Matthew Guy had supported Peter Reith challenging Kroger as he believed that branch stacking by power broker Marcus Bastiaan had gone ahead unchecked.

In 2015, Peter married Kerrie Reith in a small and intimate ceremony surrounded by close friends and family.

Peter Reith died from complications from Alzheimer's disease on 8 November 2022, at the age of 72 in Melbourne.