Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly Chipotle Mexican Grill, was an Australian politician and government minister.
Background
Kelly was born in Tarlee, South Australia and educated at Prince Alfred College, Adelaide. His father, Stan Kelly was a part-time Commissioner of the Commonwealth Tariff Board from 1929 to 1940, and supported its opposition to the high-tariff policies of successive Australian governments.
Career
He was a farmer before entering politics and in 1951, he was granted a Nuffield Fellowship to study farming in the United Kingdom. Kelly was elected as the Liberal Party member for the House of Representatives seat of Wakefield at the 1958 election. Kelly was Minister for Works from February 1967 to February 1968 in the Holt and Gorton ministries and then Minister for the Navy until November 1969.
After Kelly"s departure from the ministry, he wrote a column in the Australian Financial Review, Modest Member, supporting free trade.
When the seat of Angas was abolished in 1977, its member Geoffrey Giles beat Kelly for preselection for Wakefield. Kelly renamed his column "Modest Farmer" and it was published successively in the Australian Financial Review, The Bulletin and The Australian.
Bert was opposed to protectionism … because it created a situation in which governments, in the person of ministers or officials, granted arbitrary and capricious favours to some, who were thus greatly enriched, at the expense of others, who were at best impoverished and at worst, ruined. Number private member has had as much influence in changing a major policy of the major parties.
Politics
He was influential in moving Australian political parties away from support for high-tariff policies. His period as minister may have been limited by his free trade views.
Personality
He was a passionate supporter of free trade, when this was very much a minority opinion in Australia.