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Bert Kelly
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| Minister for the Navy | |
| In office 28 February 1968 – 12 November 1969 | |
| Prime Minister | John Gorton |
| Preceded by | Don Chipp |
| Succeeded by | Jim Killen |
| Minister for Works | |
| In office 28 February 1967 – 28 February 1968 | |
| Prime Minister | Harold Holt John McEwen John Gorton |
| Preceded by | John Gorton |
| Succeeded by | Reg Wright |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Wakefield | |
| In office 22 November 1958 – 10 November 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Philip McBride |
| Succeeded by | Geoffrey Giles |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1912-06-22)22 June 1912 Tarlee, South Australia |
| Died | 17 January 1997(1997-01-17) (aged 84) |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Occupation | Farmer |
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Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly CMG (22 June 1912 – 17 January 1997),[1] 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.[2][3][4]
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. Kelly 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. As navy minister he dealt with the aftermath of the Melbourne–Evans collision in June 1969. His period as minister may have been limited by his free trade views.[4]
After Kelly's departure from the ministry, he wrote a column in the Australian Financial Review, Modest Member, supporting free trade.[5] 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 invested as a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1980. Survived by his wife, Lorna and three sons, Kelly's 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.[2][3][6]
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.
No private member has had as much influence in changing a major policy of the major parties.
Kelly's grandson Craig Kelly and great grandson Jake Kelly both played Australian rules football in the professional Australian Football League.
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| Preceded by | Minister for Works 1967–68 |
Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Navy 1968–69 |
Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by | Member for Wakefield 1958–77 |
Succeeded by |
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