Ralph Willis

AO, BCom (1959)

Ralph Willis's six-decade commitment to the working people of Melbourne and Australia reshaped the nation’s economic landscape.

A champion of social and economic reform, Ralph Willis AO has spent more than 60 years serving the working people of Melbourne and Australia.

Over 25 years as the federal representative for Gellibrand in western Melbourne, he played a vital role in securing the economic reforms that allowed Australia to open itself up to international trade and establish the superannuation scheme.

Ralph Willis’s formative experiences growing up in Melbourne’s western suburbs did not just influence his life outlook, they guided a decades-long career that aimed to serve the working-class communities in which he was raised.

Ralph Willis

Ralph Willis was born in 1938 in North Melbourne. When he was just two, the family moved to Footscray, starting a connection to Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Willis’s father, Stan, was involved in the Boilermakers’ Society of Australia throughout his career, including a long-held role as national president.

Willis was hugely influenced by his father’s union work as a child – Stan would regularly work at the family dining table, and a young Ralph would read the writings of his father’s colleagues.

By the age of 17, Willis had already joined the Australian Labor Party, and was regularly attending branch meetings. As a teenager attending meetings with adults, he recalls being nervous.

As Willis' understanding of the political and social world developed, these meetings were formative in opening his eyes to the points of view of others.

Fighting for fair wages

Willis started a Bachelor of Commerce in 1956, initially agreeing to work as a teacher after university to avoid paying fees.

Whilst studying, he increasingly realised that rather than teaching, what he wanted to do in life was to put his economic knowledge  to effective use.

After graduating, he worked in the Commonwealth Public Service for a year and then applied, successfully, for the newly created position of Research Assistant to the ACTU Research Officer, Bob Hawke (later to become Prime Minister).

For the next ten years, Ralph worked with Bob Hawke, mainly preparing and presenting National Wage Cases to the Conciliation And Arbitration Commission, under the centralised wages system that then applied.

When Bob Hawke was elected ACTU President in 1969, Ralph replaced him as ACTU Research Officer and Advocate.

Then, in 1972, whilst running for election to the Federal Parliament in his local seat of Gellibrand, Ralph also presented the ACTU's case for equality of award wages for women to the Arbitration Commission.

By the end of the year, the case had been successful, and Willis had been elected as a backbench MP as part of the Whitlam Government.

Designing the Accord

After Whitlam’s dismissal, the Labor Party found themselves in opposition again and Willis was given shadow ministerial positions in line with his industrial relations background.

Following the election of the Hawke Government in 1983, Willis became a Cabinet Minister ,and over the next 13 years held portfolios in Employment and Industrial Relations, Transport and Communications, Finance and Treasurer.

During his time in opposition, Willis had started discussions with the ACTU on far-reaching economic agreement that would provide a platform for both wage rises and the implementation of social policies.

This idea evolved into the 1983 Prices and Income Agreement, commonly referred to as The Accord.

The Accord provided the economic foundation around which the Hawke and Keating Governments could build an ambitious range of reform.

During Labor’s time in office, the government floated the Australian dollar, opened the Australian economy to international competition and established the national superannuation scheme.

In 1993, Ralph Willis was appointed as Treasurer, and spent almost two and a half years in the role, endeavouring to bring the economy into sustainable growth following recession.

In 1996, Willis was involved in an well-publicised public incident on the eve of the election. Following Labor’s electoral defeat that year, he stepped to the backbench before retiring from public office in 1998.

Life after Parliament

In recent years, Ralph has held several roles at home and abroad, including as part of a joint United Nations Employment Development group, as well as leadership positions with Cbus Superannuation Fund, Western Health, regional development bodies, the Melbourne City Opera and the Stan Willis Trust.

From his earliest days reading his father's documents at the dining table and attending branch meetings, Ralph Willis has endeavoured to serve his community.

His constant advocacy helped achieve multiple wage increases throughout the late 20th century, and the economic policies he devised while in office allowed for economic and social reform that continues to shape Australian society today.

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