HAD Bob Hawke delivered the performance to which he treated the audience at the Big Ideas: Hawke: The Prime Minister session of the Melbourne Writers Festival on the campaign trail, it’s unlikely the nation would have hung Australian federal politics out to dry.

“He’s still got it,” a woman said to her partner as they made their way through the bustle of chattering people, towards the exit of the ornate RMIT Capitol Theatre.

He agreed. And it seems they’re not the only ones of this opinion. In the art deco foyer, 80-year-old Hawke flashed his trademark grin to the crowd jostling around a trestle table laden with copies of Hawke: The Prime Minister- his biography, penned by wife Blanche d'Alpuget. The queue for the book signings quickly became something of a photo shoot, as patrons vied for the opportunity to be photographed beside him. It captured the interest of the audience as they filtered out of the theatre, clotting the stream of traffic near the door. Neither Hawke nor his popularity have diminished with age.

Clad in a well-tailored black leather jacket, black trousers and a crisp white shirt, the only indication of Hawke’s age is the interference of a hearing aid. Younger men stand with less conviction, stride with less purpose, and shift in their seats with something more of discomfort than the confidence Hawke radiates as d’Alpuget and Barrie Cassidy open the discussion.

Not since 1975 have comparably dramatic events to those currently unfolding been observed in Australian politics, Cassidy said.

The respected Australian political journalist said the hung parliament was indicative of how difficult it is to win- and keep- the confidence of the Australian people. Especially so, it seems, for a Labor Prime Minister.

Hawke remains the sole leader of the Labor Party to achieve four terms in office.

Unsurprisingly, discussion soon turned to the downfalls of those who had recently failed to secure a single term.

d’Alpuget credited Hawke’s natural leadership abilities as the foundations of his political success, praising his strong fighting spirit, the power of his convictions and his skill in listening to his electorate.

Hawke, however, was quick to mention his commitment to keeping a team together; a contrast, he said, between his own style of leadership and that of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Hawke said consensus was not evident in Rudd’s style of government; a feature of his own he took great pains to develop.

“No denigration of Kevin,” he said.

“He had a different style.”

Hawke noted, however that Rudd’s individualistic approach to governance had cost him his leadership.

“It should not have developed to that point,” Hawke said.

Without consultation with one’s colleagues, he reasoned, there is no support; consensus is reached through discussion.

Thus, Hawke delivered his first pearl of wisdom: “don’t arrive at decisions until you get consensus from debate.”

“The Labor Party has to learn and remember to look at form,” he said.

“If you’re going to make an investment in something, you study form.

According to Hawke, the new government should learn from the successes of the past.

Using this principle, Hawke was also conscious not to repeat Whitlam’s mistakes during his own terms in office.

He promised his cabinet long meetings-if necessary- in which they could become involved in and resolve discussions, and limited interference in their individual portfolios, lest need be.  

The greatest strength of Hawke’s leadership, however, was his style of communication.

“I have faith in the Australian electorate,” he said.

“If the Australian electorate is dispassionately told the facts, I think the evidence is, historically, that they will respond.” 

d’Alpuget supported his confidence in leading by communicating.

She correlated understanding with public support.

“I believe that leadership does involve, and demand, the shaping of opinion,” Hawke said.

“Don’t let [the focus groups] be the determining factor of government,” he said.

According to Hawke, the secret to effective leadership is blending public opinion with knowledge.

“You won’t be a successful leader if you blindly ignore what people are thinking,” he said.

Nonetheless, Hawke said leaders need to shake it up at times, by virtue of their role in society.

“If you are in a leadership position, by absolute definition you know more about the facts than the electorate does because you have the information that they don’t have,” he said.

“If you’re intelligent enough you’ll know what needs to be done. The task then is to communicate your privileged knowledge and make it as common knowledge as you possibly can.”

Hawke referenced his success in doing so at the economic reform summit of April 1983.

His government provided representatives from key leaders of Australia’s economy a treasury brief, detailing all the information Hawke was privy to as Prime Minister regarding the issue.

“Now you’ve got all the facts,” Hawke recounted telling the representatives.

“You know as much as I do- I’ve shared all the information with you.

“It’s quite clear we can’t go on the way we are- we’ve got to change,” Hawke told them.

As a result of the summit, the Australian public showed they not only supported the government’s stance on the issue, they understood the issue itself and the reason for the government’s response.

d’Alpuget said the Australian public became more economically literate under the Hawke government than most publics anywhere else in the world.

According to Hawke, Gillard’s climate change citizen’s assembly concept was not foolish.

He said its presentation to the public was flawed.

Hawke also criticized the reluctance of both sides of government today to tackle big issues, such as foreign policy and population growth.

Much like Rudd, he does not support the vision of a small Australia.

“Australians do not do themselves justice in recognising the magnitude of what we’ve done in the period since the Second World War,” Hawke said.

During this period, a population of seven million boomed to 22 million.

He said the majority of the growth occurred due to immigration programs.

According to Hawke, Australia undertook one of the most massive immigration programs exercised anywhere in the world.

“And we did it more amicably and peaceably than has ever been done anywhere else before,” Hawke said.

“These great Australian people have been prepared to open their doors- and their hearts, to a very large extent- to people who made the big decision to leave their countries and come and make their new homes here,” he said.

“That’s something that we should we shouting from the bloody rooftops and saying ‘aren’t we bloody marvelous?!’”

He said the leaders of the future ought to identify areas where workers are most needed when distributing Australia’s future population to avoid Australians and immigrants developing antipathy toward one another.

“Our politicians from all sides should be just saying what I said,” Hawke said.

“If we were out there shouting from the rooftops the magnificence of the Australian achievement, this problem would come into perspective,” he said.

Hawke also expressed displeasure at the idea of Australia as a “meek, unquestioning followers of the United States.”

According to him, the strongest point in Australia’s relationship with the United States was when he told then President Ronald Regan there would be occasions when Australia would disagree with the United States, and assert its individuality.

“I wanted Australians to see themselves for what they were,” Hawke said.

“That is: an advanced economy in the Asian region, whose future destiny was going to be determined more than anything else by the quality of our relationship with Asia in general, and China in particular; and that it was possible to have a good relationship with Asia in general, and China in particular, white retaining a respectful and productive relationship with the United States.”

“I only wish that the conservative side of politics had learned the lesson,” he said.

d’Alpuget and Hawke defended Gillard’s reputation as leader of the Labor party.

Although d’Alpuget said Gillard should have rung Rudd while he was hospitalized early in her campaign, both she and her husband agreed Gillard had not been trying to snatch Rudd’s job from him as his deputy.

d’Alpuget described the situation Gillard was propelled into as “dire”.

“People say she stabbed him in the back,” Hawke said.

“The truth is that she took a hell of a risk in accepting the brief that was thrust upon her,” he said.

According to Hawke, Gillard was told the party faced certain defeat at the upcoming election with Rudd at its helm.

Gillard was allegedly told she was the party’s only hope to retain governance.

“I give her credit for being prepared to stand up to that challenge,” Hawke said.

“She rose to the occasion.”

Film footage of the Big Ideas: Hawke: The Prime Minister session of the Melbourne Writers Festival is available on Slow TV.