Wayne Goss

Interviewed by
Chris Salisbury & Peter Spearritt
Aug 18 2011
Wayne Goss
Labor Party Premier Wayne Goss (1951-2014) talks about his political career and leading the Queensland government from 1989-96. He addresses the challenges of winning office after 32 years in Opposition, the impacts of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, and the challenges of political and public service reform.
Biography
Time Summary Keywords
00:00:12 Wayne Goss summarises his early life in Inala, where he attended primary school and secondary school, and where his father was a barber and ALP branch president. He talks about working and earning his law degree from the University of Queensland by night, and his initial reluctance to join a Labor Party that he saw as too conservative. He talks about his involvement with a number of community and legal reform groups, and his decision to finally join the ALP after the sacking of Whitlam. Aboriginal Legal Service, Labor Lawyers Association, Whitlam Government 1972-75
00:02:54 Wayne Goss discusses working as a lawyer and setting up his own practice in the 1970s, his misgivings with what he saw as an inward and irrelevant Queensland ALP, and the beacon offered by Gough Whitlam's election. Aboriginal Legal Service, Gough Whitlam, Jack Houston, Whitlam Government 1972-75
00:10:47 Wayne Goss speaks about the lack of change in Queensland during the decades of conservative government and his desire for wide ranging reform, including the public service and the organisation of portfolios. Bjelke-Petersen Government 1968-87, Criminal Justice Commission, EARC, gerrymander, Public Sector Management Commission
00:15:03 Wayne Goss discusses the new candidates introduced for the 1983 election, his uneasy alignment with the Labor factions, and the lack of success at the 1986 election. 1983 election, 1986 election, campaign strategy, Denis Murphy, factions, Peter Beattie
00:20:39 Wayne Goss tells of taking up the leadership of the Labor Party in 1988, and quickly generating a clear policy direction for the party, and a new campaign structure. campaign strategy, leadership, Wayne Swan
00:22:53 Wayne Goss speaks about bringing in new Labor Party staff, developing policy and campaign strategies, public sector reform and the reformulating of portfolios. Kevin Rudd, Paul Keating, public sector reform, State bank, Tom Burns, Wayne Swan
00:28:11 Wayne Goss discusses reforming the public service, building the public profile of the shadow cabinet, and the importance of regional policies. Fitzgerald Inquiry, Keith De Lacy, public sector reform, regions
00:33:24 Wayne Goss speaks about the challenge of making Queensland a headquarters for economic development, and of implementing reforms during a recession. Cabinet Budget Review Committee, Goss Government 1989-96, mining, Police, tourism
00:38:15 Wayne Goss discusses the Labor government's investment in education and research and the close ties maintained with universities. education, Goss Government 1989-96, research, Smart State, universities
00:41:45 Wayne Goss reflects on the challenges of funding and reforming the health service, including the unsuccessful regional model, and the implementation of the 10 year hospital rebuilding schedule continued by successive governments. health, hospitals, Peter Beattie, tobacco tax
00:47:58 Wayne Goss speaks about the need for constant renewal in the ministry and the upper public service, and the personal and professional toll of being in government. Health Department, Rob Stable
00:51:45 Wayne Goss discusses the rigors of campaigning and the implementation of the Labor government's extensive reform agenda, including the redistribution of portfolios. 1989 election, campaign strategy
00:55:02 Wayne Goss speaks about the workings of cabinet, policy debates and the importance of cabinet and caucus discipline. Cabinet, Matt Foley
00:59:01 Wayne Goss discusses the corruption that thrived under the Bjelke-Petersen Government, the degree to which Bjelke-Petersen himself was involved, and the dangers of one party being in power for a long period. Bjelke-Petersen Government 1968-87, corruption, Fitzgerald Inquiry, Terry Lewis
01:02:36 Wayne Goss explains his decision to remove himself from direct contact with the unions, and to formalise the Labor Party's relationship with union bodies through the Queensland Labor Advisory Council. enterprise bargaining, police union, Teachers Union, unions
01:05:29 Wayne Goss speaks about the Labor government's strained relationship with the police and teachers unions in the context of ongoing reforms. enterprise bargaining, Mary Kelly, police union, Teachers Union, unions
01:07:24 Wayne Goss reflects on the sale of the Gladstone Power Station, attempts to sell Suncorp, and the protests surrounding the Gold Coast Motorway which resulted in the loss of Labor seats at the 1995 election. Gladstone Power Station, Gold Coast Motorway, Main Roads, privatisation, Suncorp Metway
01:11:16 Wayne Goss speaks about re-establishing the Gold Coast railway line, infrastructure planning and investment more broadly, and relations with the federal government. COAG, Gold Coast railway, infrastructure, Queensland Rail
01:16:35 Wayne Goss discusses the CJC investigation into parliamentary travel expenses, and the subsequent reforms. corruption, Courier mail, Criminal Justice Commission, Max Bingham
01:20:46 Wayne Goss discusses the Criminal Justice Commission and his misgivings about the appointment of Max Bingham and the functioning of the commission. Criminal Justice Commission, EARC, Fitzgerald Inquiry, Max Bingham, poker machines, Police Commissioner
01:23:54 Wayne Goss reflects on his relationship with Brisbane Lord Mayors, particularly the frequently critical Jim Soorley. Brisbane City Council, Brisbane Lord Mayor, Jim Soorley, Sallyanne Atkinson
01:27:27 Wayne Goss discusses the organisation of the shadow cabinet and cabinet, and the strategy behind key ministerial appointments like Education as well as Police and Corrections. Cabinet, factions, Paul Braddy, Russell Cooper, Terry Mackenroth
01:31:52 Wayne Goss considers the relationship he and his ministers had with the media, and the cult of personality that accompanies leaders in modern politics. Dennis Atkins, leadership, media
01:35:14 Wayne Goss speaks about the importance of strong leadership and a clear message of change leading up to the 1989 election. 1989 election, leadership, Tom Burns
01:39:04 Wayne Goss explains the challenge of planning and development in south east Queensland, particularly urban development. Springfield, Terry Mackenroth, urban development
01:42:02 Wayne Goss speaks about the major environmental challenges faced by his government, focusing particularly on the end of logging on Fraser Island, and the expansion of National Parks. Environment, Fraser Island, John Sinclair, Mt Coolum, National Parks, Tony Fitzgerald
01:49:16 Wayne Goss recalls his misgivings in the lead-up to the 1995 election, the campaign for the 1996 Mundingburra by-election, and the impact of federal politics. Ken Davies, Mundingburra by-election 1996, Paul Keating
01:53:38 Wayne Goss discusses leaving state politics in 1996, the One Nation phenomenon at the 1998 election, and considering entering federal politics in 1997. 1998 election, One Nation, Peter Beattie
01:58:20 Interview ends.
Further reading: 
 Jamie Walker, Goss: a political biography, UQP, 1995
Bronwyn Stevens and John Wanna (eds), The Goss government: promise and performance of Labor in Queensland, Macmillan Education Australia, Melbourne, 1993
Position:
Labor, Politician
Bailiwick:
Premier
Decade:
1980s, 1990s
Sound byte: 

Wayne Goss

Biography

Wayne Goss

Wayne Goss was Premier of Queensland from 1989-96, leading the first Labor government in 32 years since the Labor Party split of 1957. Following the Fitzgerald Inquiry into official corruption, Goss’s Government reformed the state’s electoral laws and boundaries, introduced merit-based appointments to the Queensland public service, created new National Parks and oversaw a new regime of economic and budgetary management.

Wayne Goss (1951-2014) was born in Mundubbera in the North Burnett region in 1951, and attended Inala State High School in Brisbane’s south-west before completing a Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Queensland. He completed a Master of Business Administration at the University of Queensland while sitting as an Opposition backbencher between 1996 and 1997. His father was a founder and past secretary of the Labor Party’s Inala branch but Goss did not join the Labor Party until the federal Whitlam Government’s dismissal in November 1975. As a solicitor from the 1970s to early 1980s he was active in the Labor Lawyers Association and the Aboriginal Legal Service.

Goss stood as a candidate in the 1983 state election and was elected as the Member for Salisbury, immediately being appointed to the Opposition front bench as the Shadow Minister for Lands, Forestry and Police. From 1985 he was Shadow Minister for Justice for three years, during which time the Fitzgerald Inquiry into official corruption commenced. In 1988, in just his second term in parliament, he was elevated to the role of Opposition Leader and a little over a year later led the Labor Party back into government for the first time in 32 years at the 1989 state election. His government began implementing several of the Fitzgerald Inquiry’s recommendations and undertook further reforms of the parliament and the Queensland public service, including establishing the Public Sector Management Commission. In addition to his duties as premier he was Minister for Economic and Trade Development, and he introduced a new strategic plan for Queensland’s economy titled, ‘Leading State’.

His government was re-elected in 1992 and again in 1995, but on that occasion with only a one-seat majority after a series of public sector union protests and community backlash over the proposed Gold Coast highway duplication. A disputed election result in the seat of Mundingburra saw a by-election there in February 1996 that resulted in a win for the coalition and a hung parliament; when the Independent Member for Gladstone, Liz Cunningham, offered her support to the coalition to form government, Goss resigned as premier and Labor lost office. He prepared to sit out that parliamentary term on the backbench, but a serious health issue in 1997 prompted him to retire from politics.

After leaving office he became a business consultant and company director and headed a public service reform body for the South Australian government. He was the National Chairman of an international accountancy firm and sat on a number of corporate boards. He passed away on 10 November 2014.

Copyright © The Centre for the Government of Queensland, the University of Queensland, 2011.

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