Peter Keaston Reith

Peter 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. He was the party's deputy leader from 1990 to 1993, and served as a minister in the Howard government. Reith was born in Melbourne on 15 July 1950. He was educated at Brighton Grammar School and at Monash University, from which he obtained bachelor's degrees in economics and law. He then practised as a solicitor first in Melbourne and then at Cowes, a small town on Phillip Island. He also served on the Phillip Island Shire Council from 1976 to 1981, including as shire president for a period. Reith was elected to parliament at the 1982 Flinders by-election. He lost his seat at the 1983 federal election, but won it back the following year. In 1990, Reith was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party under John Hewson. He was replaced by Michael Wooldridge after the 1993 election. In the Howard government, Reith served as Minister for Industrial Relations (1996–1997), Minister for Small Business (1997–2001), Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (1998–2001), and finally Minister for Defence from January 2001 until his retirement at the 2001 election. He was a key figure in the 1998 Waterfront dispute, one of the most significant moments in Australian industrial relations history. He also became embroiled in the "Children Overboard affair" in 2001, where the government made false claims that asylum seekers had thrown their children overboard. After leaving politics, Reith worked as a company director and political commentator. He also wrote a report for the Liberal Party on the 2010 election and challenged Alan Stockdale for the presidency of the party in 2011, but lost by one vote. In April 2016, he registered as a political lobbyist in South Australia. Reith died on 8 November 2022 at the age of 72 after a battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was survived by his wife Kerrie and his four sons Paul, Simon, David, and Robert. Former prime minister John Howard paid tribute to him as "a great warrior for the Liberal cause" and "a tireless champion of what it believes in".