Paul Keating in the context of "Bob Hawke"

The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia and one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party has been in government since the 2022 federal election, and with political branches active in all the Australian states and territories, they currently hold government in New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory. As of 2025, Queensland, Tasmania and Northern Territory are the only states or territories where Labor currently forms the opposition. It is the oldest continuously operating political party in Australian history, having been established on 8 May 1901 at Parliament House, Melbourne, the meeting place of the first Federal Parliament.

The ALP is descended from the labour parties founded in the various Australian colonies by the emerging labour movement. Colonial Labour parties contested seats from 1891, and began contesting federal seats following Federation at the 1901 federal election. In 1904, the ALP briefly formed what is considered the world's first labour party government and the world's first democratic socialist or social democratic government at a national level. At the 1910 federal election, Labor became the first party in Australia to win a majority in either house of the Australian parliament. In every election since 1910 Labor has either served as the governing party or the opposition. There have been 13 Labor prime ministers and 10 periods of federal Labor governments, including under Billy Hughes from 1915 to 1916, James Scullin from 1929 to 1932, John Curtin from 1941 to 1945, Ben Chifley from 1945 to 1949, Gough Whitlam from 1972 to 1975, Bob Hawke from 1983 to 1991, Paul Keating from 1991 to 1996, Kevin Rudd from 2007 to 2010 and 2013, Julia Gillard from 2010 to 2013, and Anthony Albanese since 2022.

The Hawke government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1983 to 1991. The government followed the Liberal-National Coalition Fraser government and was succeeded by another Labor administration, the Keating government, led by Paul Keating after an internal party leadership challenge in 1991. Keating was Treasurer through much of Hawke's term as prime minister and the period is sometimes termed the Hawke-Keating government.

The Keating government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Paul Keating of the Australian Labor Party from 1991 to 1996. The government followed on from the Hawke government after Paul Keating replaced Bob Hawke as Labor leader in an internal party leadership challenge in 1991. Together, these two governments are often collectively described as the Hawke-Keating government. The Keating government was defeated in the 1996 federal election and was succeeded by John Howard's Coalition government.

The Hawke–Keating government is an all-encompassing term to describe the duration of the Hawke government and the Keating government, which together spanned from 11 March 1983 to 11 March 1996. Both governments were formed by the Australian Labor Party, and were led from 1983 to 1991 by Bob Hawke as prime minister, and from 1991 to 1996 by Paul Keating as prime minister, with Keating serving as Treasurer throughout the Hawke government. During the Hawke–Keating government, the Labor Party won five successive federal elections, its most electorally successful period to date; the 13-year uninterrupted period of government also remains the Labor Party's longest spell in power at the federal level. This period in Australia’s political history is also referred to as the Hawke–Keating era.

The Hawke–Keating government began after the Fraser government was defeated at the 1983 election and ended with defeat at the 1996 election, which ushered in the Howard government. In between those elections were further victories in 1984, 1987, 1990 and 1993. The Hawke–Keating government has been described by Labor figures as the party's most successful period in government in its history, and has generally been reviewed positively by historians for its degree of achievement. Scholars and politicians have noted the importance of the powerful political and personal partnership that developed between Hawke and Keating to the success of the government.

The 1996 Australian federal election was held to determine the members of the 38th Parliament of Australia. It was held on 2 March 1996. All 148 seats of the House of Representatives and 40 seats of the 76-seat Senate were up for election. The Liberal/National Coalition led by Opposition Leader John Howard of the Liberal Party and coalition partner Tim Fischer of the National Party defeated the incumbent Australian Labor Party government led by Prime Minister Paul Keating in a landslide victory. The Coalition won 94 seats in the House of Representatives, the equal-largest number of seats won by a federal government to date (tied with Labor's win in 2025), and only the second time a party had won over 90 seats at a federal election; the first occurred in 1975.

The election marked the end of the five-term, 13-year Hawke-Keating Government that began in 1983. Howard was sworn in as the new prime minister of Australia on 11 March 1996, along with the First Howard Ministry. This election was the start of the 11-year Howard Government; the Labor party would spend this period in opposition and would not return to government until the 2007 election.