Bert Kelly

Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly CMG (22 December 1912 - 17 January 1997), [cite web
title =Members of the House of Representatives since 1901
publisher =Parliament of Australia
work=Parliamentary Handbook
url =http://www.aph.gov.au/library/handbook/historical/representatives/heitmann.king.htm
accessdate = 2008-01-31 ] was an Australian politician and government minister. He was influential in moving Australian political parties away from support for high-tariff policies.

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.cite web
last = Chapman
first = Grant
authorlink =Grant Chapman
title =Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 5 February 1997
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=750046&TABLE=HANSARDS
accessdate = 2008-02-01 ] cite web
last = Howard
first = John
authorlink =John Howard
title =Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 4 February 1997
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=1946&TABLE=HANSARDR
accessdate = 2008-01-31 ] cite web
title =The Stan Kelly Memorial Lecture
publisher = The Economic Society of Australia (Victoria)
date = 9 August 2007
url = http://pams.com.au/ECOSOC/AM/Template.cfm?Section=The_Stan_Kelly_Memorial_Lecture&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=28&ContentID=1685
accessdate = 2008-02-01 ]

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. He 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. His period as minister may have been limited by his free trade views.

After Kelly's departure from the ministry, he wrote a column in the Australian Financial Review, "Modest Member", supporting free trade. When the seat of Angas was abolished in 1977, its member Geoffrey Giles beat Kelly for preselection for Wakefield.

Kelly renamed his column "Modest Farmer" and it was published successively in "the Australian Financial Review", the Bulletin and the Australian. He was made Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1980. He was survived by his wife, Lorna and three sons. His 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.cite web
last = Hill
first = Robert
authorlink =Robert Hill (Australian ambassador)
title =Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 5 February 1997
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=750030&TABLE=HANSARDS
accessdate = 2008-02-01 ] quote|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 Evansquote|No private member has had as much influence in changing a major policy of the major parties.|Gough Whitlamcite web
last = Beazley
first = Kim
authorlink =Kim Beazley
title =Condolences: Kelly, Hon. Charles Robert, CMG
work= Hansard
publisher = Parliament of Australia
date = 4 February 1997
url = http://parlinfoweb.aph.gov.au/piweb/view_document.aspx?ID=1950&TABLE=HANSARDR
accessdate = 2008-02-01 ]

Notes

Persondata
NAME = Kelly, Charles Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Kelly, Bert
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Australian politician
DATE OF BIRTH = 22 December 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH = Tarlee, South Australia
DATE OF DEATH = 17 January 1997
PLACE OF DEATH = Adelaide