Costello, Peter Howard (1957-…), was federal treasurer of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He served as part of a coalition (partnership) of the Liberal and National parties. Costello was considered a progressive within the center-right Liberal Party. He supported making Australia a republic and marched for the cause of Aboriginal reconciliation—that is, officially settling differences between Australia’s Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. He was more conservative on other social issues.
As treasurer in the government of Prime Minister John Howard, Costello developed policies to maintain low rates of interest, inflation, and unemployment. These policies included the introduction of a goods and services tax and cuts in personal income taxes.
Costello was born on Aug. 14, 1957, in Melbourne, Australia. He attended Monash University, where he took part in student politics during the 1970’s. Costello joined the Liberal Party in 1980. During the 1980’s, he worked as a barrister (lawyer). He became a member of the federal House of Representatives for Higgins, Victoria, in 1990. From 1990 to 1996, while the Liberals were the official opposition party in Parliament, Costello held several positions in the Liberal shadow ministry. A shadow ministry consists of the leading members of the official opposition party. Costello’s posts included shadow attorney general, shadow minister for consumer affairs, shadow minister for finance, and shadow treasurer. In 1994, Costello became deputy leader of the Liberals. He stepped down from Parliament and retired from politics in 2009. In 2011, Costello was made a Companion in the Order of Australia. The Order of Australia is Australia’s highest award for service to the country or to humanity.
