This article may document a neologism in such a manner as to promote it. Please add more reliable sources to establish its current use and the impact the term has had on its field. Otherwise consider renaming or deleting the article. (May 2011)

Indonesian Australians

Total population
50,975 (2006, by country of birth)[1] 35,941 (2006, by ancestry)[2]
Regions with significant populations
New South Wales 21,886 [3]  Victoria 12,606 [3]  Western Australia 7,883 [3]  Queensland 5,307 [3]  South Australia 1,531 [3]  ACT 773 [3]  Northern Territory 764 [3]  Tasmania 204 [3]
Religion
Christianity (59%), Islam (17%), Buddhism (11%)[3]
Related ethnic groups
Indonesians, overseas Indonesians

Indonesian Australians are Australian citizens and residents of Indonesian origin or descent.^{[citation needed]} The 2006 Australian Census found 50,975 Australian residents who stated their place of birth as Indonesia, and 35,941 who stated their ancestry as Indonesian.^[1][2] These comprise people who trace their roots to a variety of ethnic groups in Indonesia and elsewhere.

Migration history[link]

As early as 1750, seamen from the Indonesian island of Makassar had settled on Australia's northern coast, spending about four months per year there collecting sea cucumbers and taking them back home to trade. By the late 19th century, the pearl hunting industry was recruiting workers from Kupang, while sugar plantations had hired migrant labourers from Java to work in Queensland; Dutch colonial authorities estimated they formed a total population of about 1,000. However, after the federation of Australia and the enactment of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, the first part of a series of laws which collectively formed the White Australia policy, most of these migrants returned to Indonesia.^[4] Beginning in 1942, thousands of Indonesians fled the Japanese occupation of Indonesia and took refuge in Australia. Exact landing statistics were not kept due to the chaotic nature of their migration, but after the war, 3,768 repatriated to Indonesia on Australian government-provided ships.^[5] In the 1950s, roughly 10,000 Indo people (Eurasians of mixed Indonesian and European descent), who had previously settled in the Netherlands and held Dutch citizenship, remigrated to Australia, thus bypassing the White Australia policy.^[6][7] Large numbers of Chinese Indonesians began migrating to Australia in the late 1990s, fleeing the political and economic turmoil in the aftermath of the May 1998 riots and the subsequent fall of Suharto.^[8]

Religion[link]

Though Islam is the majority religion in Indonesia, Muslims are the minority among Indonesians in Australia.^[9] In the 2006 Australian Census, only 8,656 out of 50,975 Indonesians in Australia, or 17%, identified as Muslim.^[3] They lack their own mosques, but instead typically attend mosques established by members of other ethnic groups.^[9] In contrast, more than half of the Indonesian population in Australia follows Christianity, split evenly between the Roman Catholic Church and various Protestant denominations.^[10]

Notable people[link]

• Nadya Hutagalung, Sydney-born MTV VJ^[11]
• Jessica Mauboy, singer, born to an immigrant father from Kefamenanu, West Timor and an indigenous Australian mother^[12]

References[link]

Notes[link]

Sources[link]

• Coté, Joost; Westerbeek, Loes (2005), Recalling the Indies: Colonial Culture and Postcolonial Identities, Askant Academic Publishers, ISBN 978-90-5260-119-9 
• Ikegami, Shigehiro (2005), "A Profile of Indonesian People in Australia", Memoirs of the Shizuoka University of Art and Culture 6: 21–30, http://nels.nii.ac.jp/els/110006177736.pdf?id=ART0008148609&type=pdf&lang=en&host=cinii&order_no=&ppv_type=0&lang_sw=&no=1268201498&cp=, retrieved 2010-03-10 
• Lockwood, Rupert (October 1970), "The Indonesian Exiles in Australia, 1942-1947", Indonesia 10 (10): 37–56, DOI:10.2307/3350634, JSTOR 3350634 
• Penny, Janet; Gunawan, Tuti (2001), "Indonesians", in Jupp, James, The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People, and Their Origins, Cambridge University Press, pp. 439–441 
• Saeed, Abdullah (2003), "Who are Australia's Muslims?", Islam in Australia, Allen and Unwin, ISBN 1-86508-864-1 
• Willems, Wim (2001), De uittocht uit Indie 1945-1995: De geschiedenis van Indische Nederlanders, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, ISBN 978-90-351-2361-8 
• "20680-Country of Birth of Person (full classification list) by Sex - Australia", 2006 Census, Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?action=404&documentproductno=0&documenttype=Details&order=1&tabname=Details&areacode=0&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&javascript=true&textversion=false&navmapdisplayed=true&breadcrumb=POLTD&&collection=Census&period=2006&productlabel=Country%20of%20Birth%20of%20Person%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&producttype=Census%20Tables&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&topic=Birthplace&, retrieved 2009-02-27 . Total count of persons: 19,855,288.
• "20680-Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex - Australia", 2006 Census, Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006, http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?breadcrumb=POLTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence&subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables&documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details&collection=Census&javascript=true&topic=Ancestry&action=404&productlabel=Ancestry%20(full%20classification%20list)%20by%20Sex&order=1&period=2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true&, retrieved 2009-02-27 . Total responses: 25,451,383 for total count of persons: 19,855,288.
• "2914.0.55.002 2006 Census Ethnic Media Package" (Excel download), Census Dictionary, 2006 (cat.no 2901.0) (Australian Bureau of Statistics), 2007-06-27, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/5618AB4511347DC2CA257306000D44C2/$File/2914055002_2006%20(Reissue).xls, retrieved 2008-07-14 

Further reading[link]

• Da Costa, Hilary (September 1992), "Indonesians in Australia - Profile of a little-known community", Inside Indonesia 32, ISSN 0814-1185 
• Nonini, Donald M. (2004), "Spheres of speculation and middling transnational migrants: Chinese Indonesians in the Asia-Pacific", in Yeoh, Brenda S. A.; Willis, Katie, State/Nation/Transnation: Perspectives on Transnationalism in the Asia-Pacific, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-30279-X 
• Penny, J. (1993), Indonesians in Australia, 1947 to 1986, Working Papers, 84, Centre of Southeast Asian Studies, Monash University, ISBN 0-7326-0513-X 
• Siregar, Bahren Umar (1987), Language choice, language mixing and language attitudes: Indonesians in Australia, Ph.D. dissertation, Monash University, OCLC 34466563 

v t e Asian Australians East Asia Chinese Japanese Korean Mongolian Taiwanese South Asia Afghan Bangladeshi Indian Nepali Pakistani Sri Lankan Southeast Asia Cambodian Filipino Indonesian Laotian Malaysian Singaporean Thai Vietnamese West Asia Arab (Jordanian Lebanese Palestinian Saudi) Armenian Assyrian Iranian Israeli Turkish

v t e Overseas Indonesians Africa Egypt · South Africa Americas Canada · Suriname · United States Asia Hong Kong · Japan · Philippines · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · South Korea · Sri Lanka · Taiwan · United Arab Emirates Europe Netherlands Oceania Australia (Cocos (Keeling) Islands) · New Caledonia · New Zealand Others Overseas Acehnese · Overseas Minangkabau

v t e Ethnic groups in Australia Australia Australian · Anglo-Celtic · Australian Aboriginal · Torres Strait Islander · White Europe Northern Danish · Norwegian · Swedish Western English · Anglo-Celtic (Cornish · Scottish · Welsh) · Belgian · Dutch · French · Irish · Manx Central Austrian · Czech · German · Hungarian · Polish · Swiss Southern Gibraltarian · Greek · Italian · Maltese · Portuguese · Spanish Balkan Albanian · Bosnian · Bulgarian · Croatian · Kosovan · Macedonian · Montenegrin · Romanian · Serbian · Slovene Eastern Russian · Ukrainian Asia East Chinese (Hong Kong) · Japanese · Korean · Taiwanese South Afghan (Pashtun) · Bangladeshi · Indian (Malayali · Tamil) · Nepali · Pakistani (Pashtun) · Sri Lankan (Sinhalese · Tamil) Southeast Cambodian · Filipino · Indonesian · Laotian · Malaysian · Singaporean · Thai · Vietnamese West Arab · Armenian · Assyrian · Iranian · Iraqi · Israeli · Jewish · Jordanian · Lebanese · Palestinian · Saudi · Turkish Americas North American · Canadian Caribbean Jamaican · Trinidadian and Tobagonian Latin Argentine · Brazilian · Chilean · Colombian · Ecuadorian · Peruvian · Salvadoran · Uruguayan Africa Egyptian · Ethiopian · Somali · South African · Sudanese · Ugandan · Zimbabwean Oceania Fijian · Maori · New Zealander · Samoan (according to 2006 Australian census data: 20680 - Ancestry by Country of Birth of Parents)

Australian people
Australians

Donald Bradman · Hugh Jackman · Heath Ledger Kylie Minogue · Angus Young · Leigh Whannell · Nicole Kidman
Total population
23,400,000
Regions with significant populations
Australia 23,203,000
Greece 135,000+[1]  United Kingdom 96,900[2]  United States 89,210  Netherlands 78,927  New Zealand 62,700  China 51,900  Canada 42,000  Italy 30,000  Lebanon 25,000  Chile 23,305[citation needed]  El Salvador 18,000[citation needed]  Argentina 11,369  Uruguay 9,376  Brazil 7,491  Peru 6,322  Colombia 5,706

Australian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years. Colloquial names used to refer to Australians include Aussies, and Antipodeans.^[3][4]

The mainstream Australian culture (occasionally defined as the Anglo-Celtic culture), is a Western culture largely derived from the traditions of Western European migrants beginning with the early settlers from England, Scotland, and Ireland. The populations of Sydney, Melbourne and the other major cities are different from the demographics of rural Australia as a result of the differing migration patterns.

Australian people can refer to:

• The citizens of Australia, as defined by Australian nationality law
• People whose ancestors lived in Australia

Indigenous Australians[link]

The earliest accepted timeline for the first arrivals of indigenous Australians to the continent of Australia places this human migration to at least 40,000 years ago most probably from the islands of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.^[5]

These first inhabitants of Australia were originally hunter-gatherer peoples, who over the course of many succeeding generations diversified widely throughout the continent and its nearby islands. Although their technical culture remained static—depending on wood, bone, and stone tools and weapons—their spiritual and social life was highly complex. Most spoke several languages, and confederacies sometimes linked widely scattered tribal groups. Aboriginal population density ranged from one person per square mile along the coasts to one person per 35 square miles (91 km²) in the arid interior. Food procurement was usually a matter for the nuclear family, requiring an estimated 3 days of work per week. There was little large game, and outside of some communities in the more fertile south-east, they had no agriculture.

Australia may have been sighted by Portuguese sailors in 1701, and Dutch navigators landed on the forbidding coast of modern Western Australia several times during the 17th century. Captain James Cook claimed the east coast for Great Britain in 1770, the west coast was later settled by Britain also. At that time, the indigenous population was estimated to have been between 315,000 and 750,000,^[6] divided into as many as 500 tribes^{[citation needed]} speaking many different languages. In the 2006 Census, 407,700 respondents declared they were Aboriginal, 29,512 declared they were Torres Strait Islander, and a further 17,811 declared they were both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.^[7] After adjustments for undercount, the indigenous population as of end June 2006 was estimated to be 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population.^[6]

Since the end of World War II, efforts have been made both by the government and by the public to be more responsive to Aboriginal rights and needs. Today, many tribal Aborigines lead a settled traditional life in remote areas of northern, central, and western Australia. In the south, where most Aborigines are of mixed descent, most live in the cities.

Australian diaspora[link]

There is an estimated 1 million Australians (approximately 5% of the population) residing outside Australia. Hundreds of thousands of young Australians traditionally spend time living in Europe, but most return to Australia. The Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement facilitates open migration to and from New Zealand. Key factors affecting the Australian Diaspora are rise of a global labour market, more accessible and economical international transport, and increasingly sophisticated communication technologies along with a growing interest in broader global community.

Population[link]

The current Australian population is estimated at 23,203,000 (26 June 2012).^[8] This does not include an estimated 1 million Australians living overseas (see above), but it includes the estimated 24% of Australians born overseas (in various nations, but predominantly the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy, China, Vietnam, India, the Philippines, and Greece).^[9]

Historical[link]

The data in the table is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics^[10][11] Note that population estimates in the table below do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population prior to European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating a sustainable population of around 750,000.^[12]

Ancestry[link]

For generations, the vast majority of both colonial-era settlers and post-Federation immigrants came from the United Kingdom and Ireland, although the gold rushes also drew migrants from other countries. Since the end of World War II, Australia's population more than doubled, spurred by large-scale European immigration during the immediate post-war decades. At this time, the White Australia Policy discouraged non-European immigration.

Abolition of the White Australia Policy in the mid-1970s led to a significant increase in non-European immigration, mostly from Asia and the Middle East. About 90% of Australia's population is of European descent. Over 8% of the population is of Asian descent (predominantly Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino and Indian).^[13] The total indigenous population is estimated to be about 520,000 individuals, including people of mixed descent.^[6] The population of Queensland also includes descendants of South Sea Islanders brought over for indentured servitude in the 19th century.

In the 2006 Australian Census residents were asked to describe their ancestry, in which up to two could be nominated. Proportionate to the Australian resident population, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:^[13]

At the 2006 Census 455,026 people (or 2.3% of the total Australian population) reported they were of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.^[7]

Languages[link]

English, a West Germanic language, is the de facto national language of Australia and is spoken by the majority of the population, regardless of other languages spoken. Most Australians speak Australian English, however Australian Aboriginal English and Torres Strait English, along with various creoles and pidgins, are spoken by some Indigenous Australians. Australia is home to a great number of unique but endangered Indigenous Australian languages, as well as Australian Aboriginal sign languages. Australia's hearing-impaired community primarily uses Auslan, a member of the BANZSL language family.

The diverse backgrounds of Australians lead to a great number of community languages being spoken:

Religion[link]

Australians have various religions and spiritual beliefs. The Australian Bureau of Statistics gathers information on religious belief in the national census.^[14] As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in church worship is lower than would be indicated by the proportion of the population identifying themselves as Christian; weekly attendance at church services is about 1.5 million, or about 7.5% of the population.^[15]

Nationality[link]

Australians share Australian nationality, which is governed by Australian nationality law. Since there is no national identification card, commonly accepted proofs of Australian citizenship are the Australian passport, an Australian birth certificate (prior to 1986, when jus soli was abolished), or an Australian citizenship certificate. Australia permits dual citizenship with no restriction, but a more restricted qualification is imposed on people wishing to enter Parliament (see Sue v Hill).

References[link]

See also[link]

v t e Australia History Timeline Prehistory Archaeology Exploration 1606–1787 1788–1850 1851–1900 1901–1945 Since 1945 Constitutional Diplomatic Economic Federation Immigration Indigenous Military Monarchy Railway Geography States and Territories Capitals Cities Cities by population Climate Continent Deserts Environment Flora Fauna Forests Geology Islands Mountains Regions Protected Areas Rivers Governance Government Constitution Monarchy Australian governments Parliament Foreign relations Military Law Law Enforcement Courts Electoral system Public Service Intelligence and Security Federal Budget National debt Politics Political parties Elections Political donations Economy Agriculture Companies Energy Home ownership Homelessness Manufacturing Media Mining Poverty Taxation Telecommunications Tourism Transportation Australian dollar Reserve Bank Stock Exchange Household income Gross state product Welfare system Superannuation Society Crime Demographics Education Health care Human rights Immigration LGBT rights Culture Australians Architecture Arts Australian English Cinema Cuisine Wine Dance Indigenous Literature Music Public holidays Religion Sport Television Theatre Art Symbols Coat of arms Flags Honours States and Territories Other Australian of the Year Award Environmental issues Overviews Index Outline Book Category Portal WikiProject

v t e Ethnic groups in Australia Australia Australian · Anglo-Celtic · Australian Aboriginal · Torres Strait Islander · White Europe Northern Danish · Norwegian · Swedish Western English · Anglo-Celtic (Cornish · Scottish · Welsh) · Belgian · Dutch · French · Irish · Manx Central Austrian · Czech · German · Hungarian · Polish · Swiss Southern Gibraltarian · Greek · Italian · Maltese · Portuguese · Spanish Balkan Albanian · Bosnian · Bulgarian · Croatian · Kosovan · Macedonian · Montenegrin · Romanian · Serbian · Slovene Eastern Russian · Ukrainian Asia East Chinese (Hong Kong) · Japanese · Korean · Taiwanese South Afghan (Pashtun) · Bangladeshi · Indian (Malayali · Tamil) · Nepali · Pakistani (Pashtun) · Sri Lankan (Sinhalese · Tamil) Southeast Cambodian · Filipino · Indonesian · Laotian · Malaysian · Singaporean · Thai · Vietnamese West Arab · Armenian · Assyrian · Iranian · Iraqi · Israeli · Jewish · Jordanian · Lebanese · Palestinian · Saudi · Turkish Americas North American · Canadian Caribbean Jamaican · Trinidadian and Tobagonian Latin Argentine · Brazilian · Chilean · Colombian · Ecuadorian · Peruvian · Salvadoran · Uruguayan Africa Egyptian · Ethiopian · Somali · South African · Sudanese · Ugandan · Zimbabwean Oceania Fijian · Maori · New Zealander · Samoan (according to 2006 Australian census data: 20680 - Ancestry by Country of Birth of Parents)

This article may contain promotional material and other spam. Please remove any content which is not encyclopedic, and any promotional external links in accordance with the external links guideline. (May 2012)

Senator The Honourable Bob Carr
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 March 2012
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Kevin Rudd
Premier of New South Wales
In office 4 April 1995 – 3 August 2005
Preceded by	John Fahey
Succeeded by	Morris Iemma
Leader of the Opposition of New South Wales
In office 11 April 1988 – 4 April 1995
Preceded by	Nick Greiner
Succeeded by	Peter Collins
Senator for New South Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 March 2012
Preceded by	Mark Arbib
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Maroubra
In office 22 October 1983 – 3 August 2005
Preceded by	Bill Haigh
Succeeded by	Michael Daley
Personal details
Born	(1947-09-28) 28 September 1947 (age 64) Matraville, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Labor Party
Spouse(s)	Helena Carr
Alma mater	University of New South Wales

Robert John "Bob" Carr (born 28 September 1947)^[1] is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate representing the state of New South Wales and Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2012. He previously served as the Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005.^[2] He holds the record for the longest continuous service as Premier of NSW. Only Sir Henry Parkes served longer, although Parkes held the office on five separate occasions.

Early life and career[link]

Carr was born in the Sydney suburb of Matraville, to Edward and Phyllis Carr. He was educated at Matraville High School from which he graduated as dux in 1964.^[3] He was the first person in his family to finish high school, and became interested in a career in politics in his teenage years.^[4] While still a 15 year old student at school, he joined the local branch of the Australian Labor Party. He would go on to become the President of the New South Wales branch and then the national President of Young Labor in 1970 and 1972 respectively.^[5] He completed his tertiary education at the University of New South Wales, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with honours in history.

After graduation, Carr worked as a journalist for the ABC Radio's AM and PM current affair programs from 1969 to 1971. He was also a reporter on industrial relations and politics for The Bulletin magazine from 1978 to 1983.^[5] He later recalled that his work as a journalist provided good preparation for his political career.^[4] He also spent a period working as an education officer for the Labor Council of New South Wales (1972–78).^[5]

In 1972, Carr met a Malaysian economics student, Helena John on a vacation in Tahiti, and they married on 24 February 1973. Helena Carr became a successful businesswoman; while she provided strong personal support, Helena largely remained out of the political spotlight during her husband's career.^[6]

New South Wales state politics[link]

Carr entered the New South Wales Legislative Assembly at a by-election in October 1983 as the member for Maroubra, representing the Australian Labor Party.^[2] In December 1984 he was appointed Minister for Planning and the Environment in the Neville Wran government. In February 1986 he also took on the Consumer Affairs portfolio, which he held until he became Minister for Heritage in July 1986 when Barrie Unsworth became premier.^[7]

Leader of the opposition[link]

The Unsworth Labor government was defeated in a landslide in March 1988, in the context of a 'time for a change' sentiment after 12 years of Labor. Carr was interested in international relations, and his long-term ambition was to enter federal politics and become Minister for Foreign Affairs.^[8] However, following the election Carr was pressured by his own Right faction to stand for the leadership. Further, the party organisation did not want Laurie Brereton as leader; he would go on to represent the federal seat of Kingsford Smith, which Carr viewed as his path to federal politics.^[9] Thus Carr reluctantly agreed to become Leader of the Opposition.^[3] His diary entries from the time reveal his thoughts.

I spent today like a doomed man, taking phone calls and drafting a statement, still saying to the press I wasn't shifting. I feel a jolt in my stomach about what I'm getting myself in for. I will destroy my career in four years. Everything's altered. It's my fate ... So, for better or for worse, I become leader of the party next week.^[10]

Despite his misgivings, Carr's performance as Opposition Leader gained approval in the party as he approached his task seriously.^[8] He maintained a disciplined message, attacking Nick Greiner's coalition government for waste and mismanagement while releasing his own costed policies to present Labor as an alternative government.^[11] Polling in the lead-up to the 1991 election suggested another heavy defeat, yet Labor performed strongly and won back all but one of the seats lost at the previous election, and Greiner was forced to lead a minority government with the support of independents.^[3]

In 1992 Greiner resigned following adverse findings against him from the Independent Commission Against Corruption. John Fahey replaced him as premier, but was hampered by his need to negotiate with independents.^[7] Carr ran a focused campaign in the 1995 election and won government with a majority of one seat.^[12]

Premier of New South Wales[link]

In 1995 he became Premier at another close election. His government continued to win big majorities in both 1999 and 2003.^[13]

His centrist, cautious government was characterised by conservative financial management^[14] and the encouragement of market forces, and a "tough on crime" policy. It was also seen as having a strong pro-environment character and being committed to curriculum rigour, testing and literacy initiatives in schools. Carr ventured into national policy issues, particularly issues concerning the environment, population growth, embryonic stem cell research, Federal-State relations and support for a minimalist model of an Australian Republic. In terms of economic management, the government led by Bob Carr from 1995 to 2005 alongside State Treasurers Michael Egan and Andrew Refshauge, delivered ten consecutive budget surpluses.

Nature conservation[link]

Nature conservation emerged as a high priority early in the life of the Carr government. It quickly banned canal estates because of the impact on the quality of river systems. The government implemented a key election promise to save the South East forests that straddle the coastal range from Batemans Bay to the Victorian border. These had been slated for logging when the state government was elected. Carr’s election policy had included a commitment to protect 90,000 hectares in a string of new national parks. He exceeded the promise, gazetting 120,000 hectares. He later argued that this action had “saved the magnificent Myamba Gorge, the upper Towamba River and the ancient towering forests of the Coolangubra and Tantawangalo, crammed with their gliders, bandicoots and owls”.^[15] The initiative was supported by a six million dollar restructuring package to build a modern mill and a 20 year guarantee of alternative timber to keep it busy.

Following the 1999 state election, Carr declared 100 new national parks between Nowra and the Bega Valley.^[15] Before leaving office Carr stopped logging in the Brigalow belt, in the Pilliga region north of Coonabarabran. This intervention saved “semi-arid woodland of ironbark and Cypress pine, its Malleefowl and Barking Owl, and provid[ed] the chance to recharge the reserves of the Great Artesian Basin”.^[15]

Negotiations to restructure the mills in the Brigalow Belt were painstaking but successful. Carr claimed in 2009 that “rural towns did not ‘die’ as a result of these conservation measures. The old timber towns now boast communities with a strong economic base, world-class national parks on their doorstep and thriving nature-based tourism”.^[15]

In its first term the government banned the removal of old-growth vegetation from farmlands and introduced pricing for rural water and an environmental allocation to the state’s river systems. Both initiatives proved controversial in pitching farmers and the state government in conflict.

In June 2001 Carr banned jet skis from Sydney Harbour. “You wouldn’t allow motor bikes in the Botanic Gardens” he said.^[16]

Two other decisions on forests won the support of the NSW conservation movement. In 2003 the government saved the so called forest icons, now regarded as jewels in the reserve system in north-eastern NSW. They included, in Carr’s own words, “the old growth forest at Chaelundi where historic conservation battles had been fought a decade previously; nationally significant biodiversity hotspots at Whian; and the largest koala population on the east coast on SNW at Pine Creek near Coffs Harbour".^[15]

The curbs on the clearing of nature vegetation were counted as a serious anti-greenhouse gas measure, helping Australia achieve its Kyoto targets. In addition, in January 2003 the Carr government launched the world’s first greenhouse gas trading scheme, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme, which set a limit on carbon emissions by electricity retailers. It was listed by the World Bank as the world’s first carbon trading scheme.

In 2004 the government created the building sustainability index which set up energy and water reduction targets that all new houses had to meet.^[17] It mandated reductions in energy and water use of up to 40 percent in every new dwelling.

Pursuing environmentalism and education improvement gave Carr a lot of satisfaction. He noted in his diary for 21 April 1997:

Yesterday our school reforms were announced. All the ideas I’d formulated in Opposition. Four-unit English for the HSC. Compulsory exams at the end of Year 10. Soft options gone… I mark the package with forestry. I could leave politics and be satisfied with my achievements.^[17]

State debt and infrastructure[link]

During Carr’s 10 years as Premier net debt was reduced from 7.4 percent of gross state product to zero. Carr claimed his government was the first in the state’s history to reduce debt rather than add to it. But, he argued, investment in infrastructure was running at record levels during his years in office. He argued that in 10 Carr budgets he allocated $61 billion to new infrastructure and $10 billion to debt retirement.^[18]

Carr said public investment was running in real terms adjusted for inflation at 33 percent higher than the average for the 1990s and 66 percent higher than the average for the 1980s. He quoted as examples the $2 billion spend on the new Epping–Chatswood rail link, the $1.5 billion rail clearways plan and the $490 million on 140 Millennium trains plus 440 million on other rolling stock. He also instanced the new bus transit ways such as the $346 million transit way from Liverpool to Parramatta that provides express way conditions to bus travellers in Sydney’s west. Carr also built more major motorways in Sydney, than any other Premier of NSW. These included the Eastern Distributor, the M5 East, the Westlink M7, the Cross City Tunnel and the Lane Cove Tunnel.

Carr boasted of $3.7 billion on 27 major hospital projects from Broken Hill to Wyong. He particularly instanced the new St Vincent’s, the new sections of Royal Prince Alfred and the new Canterbury Hospital. He referred to the rebuilding of the Conservatorium of Music and the new Sydney Theatre in Hickson Road.^[18]

Carr’s former Chief of Staff Graeme Wedderburn was critical of Carr’s successors for not initiating new infrastructure on the Carr model. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald on 31 July 2010, he stated:

From 2005 to last year, it's hard to point to a single, new major transport project in Sydney that has gone to tender. No M4 East, no major rail line - not until Nathan Rees barged the South West Rail line back on to the agenda in November.

After Carr left office, many of his initiatives were opened by his successors. The largest of these were the forementioned $1.5 billion Westlink M7, opened in 2005 and the largest urban roads project in Australia; and the $2 billion Epping to Chatswood railway line, opened in 2009 and the largest urban rail project in the country.

Tort reform[link]

In its second term the Carr government embarked on tort law reform that ultimately won Carr a description from Forbes Magazine as a "dragon slayer".^[19] In 1999, with the cost of many forms of injury insurance increasing, Carr gave his Minister John Della Bosca the task of reform. It resulted in what Carr would call "legal rorts" being stripped from the system. The average price of a green slip (compulsory third party motor accident insurance) was to drop $150 on 1999 prices. Carr argued that this created a template for what he called "the most comprehensive tort reform that any government has developed, moving from motor accident to medical indemnity, public liability and worker’s compensation. [...] this tort law reform was the best microeconomic reform out of any state government in a decade. It cut the cost of doing business and fed directly into productivity improvement, not at the expense of workers but at the expense of the plaintiff lawyers who had fed on a culture of rorts and rip-offs”.^[20]

Carr noted in his diary:

I have cost the law profession hundreds of millions. First, freeing business conveyancing from the lawyers’ monopoly in 1995. [Then] the reforming of accident compensation (cost them hundreds of millions alone) in 1999. Now cutting them out of the action on workers comp. It’s not worth being Premier unless you can take privileges off the undeserving.^[21]

However the fact that the law effectively made it impossible to claim for any injury worth less than around $60,000 was criticised by New South Wales Chief Justice James Spigelman and others. Spigelman argued that it effectively "eliminates small claims" entirely, giving "people the right to be negligent and injure someone up to a given level before they become liable".^[22] In other words, government agencies and corporations might make decisions that endanger public safety similar to that claimed about the Ford Pinto fuel tank controversy: it would be more economically rational to allow substandard work even if it endangered the public, because the payments for loss of wages and medical bills (under Medicare) would often be relatively small in comparison to the work required. Spigelman said:

The introduction of a requirement that a person be subject to fifteen percent of whole of body impairment—that percentage is lower in some states—before being able to recover general damages has been the subject of controversy. It does mean that some people who are quite seriously injured are not able to sue at all. More than any other factor I envisage this restriction will be seen as much too restrictive.^[23]

Drug laws[link]

As a result of the 1999 drug summit sponsored by the government the Carr cabinet introduced Australia’s first medically supervised injecting room for heroin users, located in King’s Cross. The government argued it would provide “a pathway to rehabilitation”. The government argued it was a harm minimisation measure to keep drug users alive until they make the decision to get off drugs. Other reforms included the introduction of drug courts and a voluntary diversion program that allows magistrates to refer offenders to treatment rather than lock them up.^[20]

Police reform[link]

The Carr-led Opposition had backed a motion by independent John Hatton in May 1994 to establish a Royal Commission into corruption in the NSW Police. As a result, Carr inherited the work of the Royal Commission and its reports. In November 1996 one of the reports recommended that the government give increased power to the Police Commissioner to hire and fire all staff, random drug and alcohol testing of all police officers, the formation of the police detection commission to detect and audit police corruption. But the recommendations sparked strong objection from the Police Association backed by the Labor Council and demonstrations at parliament house by 1500 police. There was a revolt in Carr’s parliamentary party.^[21]

The Premier was adamant that the commissioner must have the increased power if the police force were to be rid of corrupt or compromised officers. The legislation was passed. The Sydney Morning Herald stated in an editorial that Carr had shown “a steely courage in resisting the pressure of the police association"^[21]

Private–public partnership[link]

The Cross City Tunnel exit at Lincoln Crescent.

The Carr Government pioneered private public partnerships to fund additional infrastructure, creating a model followed in other states. Five new projects delivered Sydney a ring road system inclusive of the M5 Extension, the Eastern Distributor, the M2 Hills Motorway, the Westlink M7, the Lane Cove Tunnel, and the Cross City Tunnel. As a result up to an hour's travel time was reduced on a north-south journey in Sydney’s west using the 42 kilometres (26 mi) of Westlink M7. Motorists can get from the northern suburbs of Sydney to just south of Geelong, Victoria – with just one single set of traffic lights at Holbrook, New South Wales. The Cross City Tunnel eliminated 18 traffic lights on an east–west journey under the city and reduced the journey time by 20 minutes. These roads had a total value of A$$5.4 billion. All but $800 million was contributed by the private sector. This is in marked contrast to the infrastructure record of his predecessors in the Greiner–Fahey government, who in building the M4, M5 and the M2 Hills Motorway and the Anzac Bridge left the Carr government with A$10 billion of inherited debt – paid off over Carr’s term.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007 Infrastructure Partnerships Australia awarded three projects began under Carr’s Premiership as the best PPPs in Australia. They were the Westlink M7 opened in late 2005; school construction and maintenance which the Auditor General said had saved tax payers $55 million; the maintenance of 626 new rail carriages, the largest procurement of trains in Australian history.^[24]

Carr argued that the victory of his successor Morris Iemma (who was re-elected with a big majority in March 2007) came about because of this infrastructure spending. Writing in the Australian Financial Review on 27 March 2007, he observed that Barry Collier, the member for Miranda, had cited $500 million in infrastructure spending in his electorate including the rebuilding of Sutherland Hospital and the construction of Bangor Bypass and Woronora Bridge. Carr also pointed out that Steve Whan, the member for Monaro, had referred to the $60 million rebuilding of Queanbeyan hospital. In Parramatta, he argued, a new rail-bus interchange worth $100 million was a dramatic demonstration of the local member’s capacity to deliver.^[25]

Other matters[link]

A year after his appointment as premier, Carr caused controversy when he recommended that the newly appointed New South Wales Governor, Gordon Samuels, not live at Government House, which would become a museum open to the public. This decision was seen by monarchists as an attempt by Carr, a republican, to downgrade the importance of the office of Governor.

Carr’s Government was responsible for the building of facilities and the conduct of the 2000 Olympic Games, described by the International Olympic Committee as 'the best ever!'. Carr was to boast that the 2000 Olympics were paid in full without a cent in debt.^[18]

Resignation[link]

By March of 2004, public support for Carr started to slip; Newspoll showed that for the first time more people were dissatisfied than satisfied with the Premier. The opposition were exploiting the fact that the lack of planning had not kept pace with a growing capital city where public transport, water and power supplies became increasingly neglected.^[12] Even after series of announcements and re-announcements of more trains, and power stations, and a desalination plant, the public had seen enough of Carr. By June 2005, only 35%^[26] were satisfied with his performance whereas his dissatisfaction rating had been over 51% since September 2004.

After ten years as Premier, Carr announced his resignation both as Premier and as the Member for Maroubra on 27 July 2005 to be effective from 3 August. This immediately prompted speculation that the resignation was a prelude to a move into federal politics, but Carr denied this. His successor as Premier was former Health Minister Morris Iemma. Carr's resignation triggered the resignations of Deputy Premier Andrew Refshauge and Planning Minister Craig Knowles.

Legacy[link]

Retired Premier Neville Wran described Carr as "the very model of a modern Labor premier, an articulate and powerful public performer who identified himself with the contemporary policy issues of education and the environment." Wran noted that the Carr model became a template for other Australian Labor Party leaders, with some regarding him as a mentor.^[27]

Under Carr the NSW government was able to boast that while in 1994 there were 328 national parks covering four million hectares of NSW, Carr’s policies meant 770 national parks covering 6.6 million hectares by 2006. Wilderness protection was expanded: there were 650,000 hectares (1,600,000 acres) in 1994, by 2006 nearly two million hectares.

The North Side Sewage Tunnel, funded by the government in its first term, stopped more than 20 billion litres of sewage reaching Sydney harbour and saw whales and dolphins return to it. The government also built pollution traps to capture litter and rubbish that would have otherwise been flushed with storm water onto Sydney beaches. In 1994, before the election of the government, 430 kilograms (950 lb) of waste was being generated by every Sydney resident each year, and only 60 kilograms (130 lb) being recycled. Reforms to the waste industry saw a 28 percent reduction to 310 kilograms (680 lb) per person and a 65 percent increase in recycling to 102 kilograms (220 lb) per person.^[28]

Media commentary following Carr's retirement noted that his achievements included improvements to education standards and literacy rates. Writing in the Australian Financial Review in March 2007 Carr quoted one school head, Jenny Allum of SCEGGS Darlinghurst, “I know of no national test in which NSW students are not at the top"^[25]

He received credit for the increase in the number and size of the State's national parks.^[12] Less positive comment was received about rail transport which recorded a period of poor on-time running and a damaging industrial dispute in 2004.^[12]

Literature[link]

Bob Carr is the author of several books, including Thoughtlines (Viking, 2002) and My Reading Life (Penguin, 2008). He is a charter member of the Chester A. Arthur Society, a U.S. political trivia group named after the U.S. president, 1881-1885.^[29][30]

In May 2003, a biography by Marilyn Dodkin, Bob Carr: the reluctant leader, was published. It was partly based on Carr's private diaries and included his often uncomplimentary thoughts on various political personalities.^[31] A second biography, Bob Carr: A Self-Made Man, by Andrew West and Rachel Morris, was published in September 2003 by Harper Collins.

Carr appeared on stage at the 2004 Sydney Festival in conversation with Sir Tom Stoppard^[32] and has associated with other writers including Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer.

After state politics (2006–2012)[link]

After leaving state parliament, Carr involved himself heavily in public debate. He championed embryonic stem cell research and helped persuade his successor not to retreat from support for the polling he had promoted in government. Writing in The Daily Telegraph on 24 August 2006 he argued, “Stem cell research enjoys great public support. Let the doctors and scientists get on with the job. Their research might save a life in your family or mine”.^[33] Urging support for somatic cell nuclear transfer (or therapeutic cloning) he wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald on 25 July 2006:

There is an air of unreality about the rejection by the Prime Minister, John Howard, of the Lockhart review, which recommended the go-ahead for one form of stem cell treatment, called somatic cell nuclear transfer (or therapeutic cloning), leaving it to the states to ponder whether they can validly legislate on their own. A century from now, people will consider this bewildering, especially when the embryos are byproducts of IVF treatment and if not used in research get thrown out in plastic bags of hospital waste.^[34]

He continued to champion nature conservation for example by advocating generous national park declarations over the River Red Gums. The river red gums are “Australian icons, part of our folklore, symbols of inland Australia” he wrote in an op-ed in The Sydney Morning Herald in July 2009.^[35]