Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, John Howard... the colourful life after politics for former Australian prime ministers

We can read all about them in their autobiographies and biographies as well as their other writings. They are regularly called upon by the media and sometimes thrust themselves uninvited into public debate. Some are at special pains to defend their legacy when it is challenged by contemporary developments.

An ABC interview with Malcolm Turnbull earlier this week got me thinking because within it he was clearly playing several different roles. While discussing the controversial Chinese balloons, he was able to reflect on what the Australian government knew during his time in office. In general discussion of subjects like AUKUS and the Voice to Parliament he was able to draw on his own experience both as PM and in his earlier life as a republican leader. Other aspects were primarily general analysis like any expert observer.

Paul Keating has now had 27 years as a former PM and John Howard 16. They are the veterans. The other five have less experience of the role, but Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd are now a decade out of office and Tony Abbott, Turnbull, and Scott Morrison less than that.

In each case their post-PM experience has been full and varied. Almost without exception they have been, at various times, advocates, authors, officeholders in the non-government sector, sounding boards, election campaigners, advisers, and media commentators. Some have held government positions, here and overseas.

Keating is known for his strong opinions on national and international issues as diverse as China, superannuation and economic policy. In Sydney he makes interventions on town planning, urban design, and architecture. He is a sounding board for some Labor government ministers, most recently acknowledged by Treasurer Jim Chalmers as a valuable regular source of advice. But he can't be taken for granted to toe the party line and can be unpredictable. He is certainly his own man.

Howard divides his time between national treasure and Liberal Party icon. His successful long period in government affords him much credit and kudos. Like Keating his own party often calls upon him both for advice on internal affairs and for election campaigning. He campaigned unsuccessfully against same sex marriage and his opinions on the Voice carries special weight in Liberal circles. Both sides want him in their camp for his supposed influence with the public. Recently his name was suggested to front a COVID vaccination campaign because of his likely influence with the unvaccinated older demographic.

Rudd has just been appointed Australian Ambassador to Washington. That appointment was controversial because he is outspoken. He was at the centre of much acrimony within the Labor Party in the Rudd-Gillard years. He built a most successful post-PM life in the United States as leader of the Asia Society and an expert on China. Recently he completed an Oxford PhD on Xi Jinping. Within Australia he has campaigned for a royal commission into News Ltd and the excessive influence of the Murdoch press.

Gillard is much respected for her approach to life after high office. She has largely kept out of commentary on domestic Australian affairs. Instead, she has devoted herself to causes such as mental health as chair of Beyond Blue and, especially women and leadership. Her famous "misogyny" parliamentary speech gained her greater than usual international recognition and she has built on that to launch institutions, lead campaigns and write books.

Abbott has been constantly in the limelight since losing office and later his seat in Parliament. Recently he praised Cardinal George Pell extravagantly at his Requiem Mass in Sydney and then announced that he was joining an anti-climate action British lobby group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation. His appointments include adviser to the UK Board of Trade and the Council of the Australian War Memorial (recently re-appointed by the Albanese government). He is a culture wars warrior on the conservative side, regarded as a mixed blessing even by the Liberal side of politics.

Turnbull is less of a committed Liberal party man and, while supporting some Liberal progressives has also given comfort to the teal independents. Through his writing and commentary, he has continued to press his version of the bitter factional battles among Liberals which led to his demise. On matters such as climate action and criticisms of the Murdoch press he has made common cause with Labor figures like Rudd. This makes him a contentious figure in Liberal politics.

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Morrison, still an MP, joined the international speakers circuit after he was defeated but his demise is still too fresh and his reputation so damaged that he is yet to map a post-PM path.

The established role of former prime ministers in public affairs can pose dangers. As time passes, they can lose touch with contemporary public opinion while still demanding a say. For many their partisanship lies just below the surface and can emerge to cloud their views. The "free hit" they are often given to express their views publicly can be an excuse to air idiosyncratic opinions.

At the same time, at their best, they play a valuable role. Hear them out. They speak more freely and honestly than they could while in office, making their opinions worth listening to among the babble of media voices.