Hawke government

As a former ACTU official, Willis was regarded as a protégé of Bob Hawke, and some expected Hawke to make him Treasurer upon his election as Prime Minister in March 1983. However Hawke decided to appoint Paul Keating to the role instead, making Willis the Minister for Employment Relations and giving him a major role in establishing and overseeing the Prices and Incomes Accord, one of the central policy reforms of the Hawke government. Willis retained this role following the 1984 and 1987 elections, before being appointed Minister for Transport and Communications in 1988.

After the 1990 election, Willis became Minister for Finance. Following Keating's resignation as Treasurer in June 1991 in an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Hawke for the leadership, there was media speculation that Willis would be given the role, but he was passed over a second time when Hawke ultimately decided to appoint John Kerin. However, Kerin's period as Treasurer was troubled, and after Hawke was forced to sack Kerin for making a public gaffe in December 1991, Willis was finally appointed to the role of Treasurer in his place.

Keating government

Willis's initial time as Treasurer was brief as Paul Keating launched a second and this time successful challenege to Hawke, just three weeks later. Keating had long promised to appoint his close political ally John Dawkins as Treasurer, and so Keating moved Willis back to the role of Finance Minister in order to accommodate this. Willis retained the role after Labor unexpectedly won a fifth consecutive election in 1993, and was expected to remain in the role until the sudden resignation of Dawkins in December 1993, who had grown frustrated with the role. Willis was duly appointed as Treasurer for a second time by Keating, and was responsible for helping to roll-out the Government's major 'One Nation' economic package on which it had won the 1993 election, including a round of middle-income tax cuts and the establishment of a national infrastructure commission.

Willis remained as Treasurer until the 1996 election, which Labor heavily lost; in the weeks before the election, Willis chose to unilaterally release a letter purportedly written by Liberal Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett, which suggested that a Coalition government led by John Howard would cut grants to the states. However, media examination quickly revealed the letter to be a forgery, allegedly foisted on Willis by Melbourne University Liberal Club students.^[2] This successful ruse had a significantly adverse impact upon the last week of Labor's campaign.

After the 1996 election, Willis chose to move to the backbench and announced his retirement from Parliament prior to the 1998 election. Willis was one of only three people to be a member of the Cabinet continuously during the Hawke-Keating government between 1983 and 1996, the other two being Kim Beazley and Gareth Evans. At the time of his retirement from Parliament, Willis was the last Labor MP from the time of the Whitlam government still serving. Following his retirement from politics, Willis has served on several boards of companies and charities.