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Stephen Philip Bracks (better known as Steve Bracks) (born October 15, 1954), Australian politician, was the 44th Premier of Victoria, holding the position for eight years, from 1999 to 2007. He was born in Ballarat, where his family owns a fashion business. He was educated at St Patrick's College and Ballarat College of Advanced Education (now the University of Ballarat), where he graduated in business studies and education. Bracks is a keen follower of Australian rules football, supporting the Geelong Football Club. His wife, Terry, is the number one female ticket holder for the Melbourne Football Club.

Bracks, the first Catholic Labor Premier of Victoria since 1932, is of Lebanese descent. His paternal grandfather, whose family name was Barakat, came to Australia as a child from Zahle in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon in the 1890s.[2]
Bracks announced his resignation as Premier on July 27, 2007, and formally resigned from the position on July 30.[3]

First term as Premier

Political observers were almost unanimous that Bracks had no chance of defeating Liberal premier Jeff Kennett at the November 1999 election: polls gave Kennett a 60% popularity rating. Bracks and his senior colleagues (particularly Brumby, who comes from Bendigo) campaigned heavily in regional areas, accusing Kennett of ignoring regional communities. In response, voters in regional areas deserted the Kennett government and Labor increased their seats from 29 to 42, with the Liberals and their National Party allies retaining 43, and three falling to rural independents. With no party having a clear majority, the independents agreed to support a minority Labor government.

Former leader Brumby, appointed Treasurer, was regarded as a major part of the government's success. He and the Deputy Premier, John Thwaites, and the Attorney-General, Rob Hulls, were regarded as the key ministers in the Bracks government.

Following a pre-1999 election commitment to consider the feasibility of introducing fast rail services to regional centres, in 2000 the government approved funding to upgrade rail lines to provide fast rail passenger services between Melbourne and Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Traralgon. However, the Victorian auditor general noted that in spite of $750 million spent, "We found that the delivery of more frequent fast rail services in the Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo corridors by the agreed dates was not achieved. In total, the journey time outcomes will be more modest than we would have expected with only a minority of travellers likely to benefit from significant journey time improvements. These outcomes occur because giving some passengers full express services means bypassing often large numbers of passengers at intermediate stations along the corridors."[6]

On December 14, 2000, Steve Bracks released a document outlining his government's intent to introduce the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001. Under the law, individuals could be jailed for six months and/or fined $6,000, and organisations fined $30,000 for "vilifying individuals on the basis of race or religion." The extraordinarily broad law would allow for the prosecution of virtually anything including name-calling, verbal or written statements, gestures, the wearing of symbols or uniforms, or anything else which a "reasonable observer" could interpret as an offence to a "racial or religious group." It would cover statements or activities, even in private homes, and the burden of proof would be on the accused to prove that he or she was innocent. And accusations could be made by a "third party, - not even the person who was offended."
The major criticism of Bracks's first government was that their insistence on consultation stood in the way of effective, proactive government. Bracks, according to critics, achieved little, and lost the excitement of constant change that was characteristic of the Kennett years. The talents of some of the more junior ministers in the government were also questioned. Nevertheless Bracks got through his first term without major mishaps, and his popularity undiminished.

Second term as Premier

Labor won the 2002 election in a landslide, taking 62 seats out of 88 in the Legislative Assembly, and for the first time in Victorian history, a slim but clear majority in the Legislative Council as well. While this was the greatest victory Labor had ever had in a Victorian state election, it brought with it considerable risks. With majorities in both houses Bracks could no longer cite his weak parliamentary position as an excuse for inaction. The trade unions, who traditionally feel a strong sense of ownership of Labor state governments, began to be more assertive and inflexible during 2003 and 2004.

On August 28 2002, Bracks in conjunction with then NSW counterpart Bob Carr, opened the Mowamba aqueduct between Jindabyne and Dalgety, to divert 38 gigalitres of water a year from Jindabyne dam to the Snowy and Murray rivers. The ten year plan cost $300millionAUD with Victoria and NSW splitting the costs. Melbourne Water has stated that within 50 years there will be 20 percent less water going into Victorian reservoirs. [1]

In May 2003 Bracks broke an election promise and announced that the proposed Scoresby Freeway in Melbourne's eastern suburbs would be a tollway rather than a freeway, as promised at the 2002 elections. As well as risking a loss of support in marginal seats in eastern Melbourne, this decision brought about a strong response from the Howard Federal government, which cut off federal funding for the project on the grounds that the Bracks government had reneged on the terms of the federal-state funding agreement. The decision seems to have been on the recommendation of Brumby, who was concerned with the state's budgetary position. Also opposing the decision was the Federal Labor Opposition, which feared anti-Labor reaction at the 2004 Federal election. The then Opposition Leader Mark Latham described a meeting with Bracks and Federal shadow ministers, writing:
“
Bracks has broken his promise, hoping the odium will wear off before the next State election. But we're copping the fall-out electorally... Bracks, however, was unmoved, even when Faulkner put it right on him... Sat there like a statue, that silly grin on his face.

This backflip, whilst seen by many as an opportunity for the Liberals to make ground, saw the then leader of the Liberals, Robert Doyle, adopt a much-criticised policy of half tolls, which was later overturned by his successor, Ted Baillieu.

In 2005, Bracks announced that Victorian cattlemen would be banned from using Victoria's "High Plains" to graze cattle, ending a 170 year tradition. Stockmen had been fearing this decision since 1984, when a Labor government excised land to create the Alpine National Park. 300 cattlemen rode horses down Bourke street in protest. Victorian National Party leader Peter Ryan was quoted as saying that Bracks had "killed the man from Snowy River", a reference to the Banjo Paterson poem "The Man from Snowy River."

Bracks's second government achieved one of Victorian Labor's longest-held goals with a complete reform of the state's system for electing its upper house. It saw the introduction of proportional representation, with eight five-member regions replacing the current single-member constituencies. This system increases the opportunity for minor parties such as the Greens and DLP to win seats in the Legislative Council, giving them a greater chance of holding the balance of power. Illustrating the historic importance Labor assigns to the changes, in a speech to a conference celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade, Bracks said it was "another victory for the aspirations of Eureka",[7] and has described the changes as "his proudest achievement".[8]

The staging of the 2006 Commonwealth Games, generally viewed as a success (albeit an expensive one) was viewed as a plus for Bracks and the government.

In the run-up to the 2006 election, in some respects, the state political situation reflected the federal one, though with the other major party in charge. With times reasonably good, a perception arguably reinforced by an extensive government advertising campaign selling the virtues of Victoria to Victorians,[9] polls indicated little interest in change, although towards the end of the election campaign polling indicated that the Liberals under Baillieu were closing the gap.

Third term as Premier

The election campaign was a relatively low-key affair, with the Government and Bracks largely running on their record as Premier, as well as their plans to tackle infrastructure issues in their third term. Bracks' image loomed large in Labor's election advertising. Liberal attacks concentrated on the slow process of infrastructure development under Bracks (notably on water supply issues relating to the severe drought affecting Victoria in the election leadup), and new Liberal leader Ted Baillieu promised to start construction on a range of new infrastructure initiatives, including a new dam on the Maribyrnong River and a desalination plant. Labor's broken election promise on Eastlink was also expected to be a factor in some seats in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

On 25 November 2006, Steve Bracks won his third election, comfortably defeating Baillieu to secure a third term, with a slightly reduced majority in the Lower House. This marked only the second time that the Victorian Labor Party had won a third term in office. His third term Cabinet was sworn in on 1 December 2006 with Bracks also holding the portfolio of Veterans' Affairs and Multicultural Affairs.

Resignation

Bracks announced his resignation as Premier on 27 July 2007, saying this was in order to spend more time with his family.[10] He stepped down on July 30, 2007. According to the ABC Bracks had been under political and personal pressure in the weeks before his resignation. Alone among State Premiers he had refused to agree to the Federal Government's $10 billion Murray-Darling Basin water conservation plan,[11] and his son had been involved in an accident involving a charge of drunk driving.[12] Bracks told a media conference he could no longer give a 100 per cent commitment to politics:
“
Once you reach a point where you can no longer make that commitment, the choice is clear - I have made that choice.
”

Steve Bracks, announcing his retirement

Bracks' deputy John Thwaites announced his resignation on the same day. News of the resignations caused surprise to the general community as well as to politicians. It was revealed that Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd, was informed only minutes before the announcement, and tried to talk Bracks out of his decision. Bracks' Treasurer John Brumby was elected unopposed by the Victorian Labor Caucus as Bracks' successor, while Attorney-General Rob Hulls was elected Deputy Premier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bracks