http://www.theage.com.au/national/how-the-hawkekeating-team-unravelled-over-tax-20121231-2c2t8.html

THE beginning of the end of a beautiful friendship between prime minister Bob Hawke and treasurer Paul Keating in 1985 is revealed in cabinet documents released by the National Archives.

Cabinet strongly backed Mr Keating's tax reform centrepiece - a consumption tax - but Mr Hawke, although an initial supporter, baulked amid opposition from unions, the welfare lobby and business and pulled the rug from under his treasurer. It was John Howard, 15 years later, who was to introduce a GST.

Mr Hawke's popularity was still high in 1985. He had just won a second election but it was Mr Keating who did the government's heavy lifting. The treasurer drove economic reforms - cabinet approved strict budget controls, increased bank competition and eased controls on foreign investment - but tax reform was perhaps Mr Keating's strongest motivation.

On May 12, 1985, cabinet endorsed a draft white paper on options for tax reform. The paper recommended ''option C'' - a reduction in marginal income tax rates, to be offset by a broad-based consumption tax.

Two months later, Mr Hawke fulfilled an election promise by holding a national tax summit. On July 8, Mr Keating briefed cabinet on the summit outcomes, noting that Mr Hawke had indicated in the final session that there seemed to be general support for a number of positions, including a 12.5 per cent consumption tax on services.

But on August 12 cabinet agreed that ''the Treasurer announce as soon as practicable that … the government would not consider further implementation of a tax on services''.

Behind closed doors, Mr Keating had lost the battle. It was, said then education minister Susan Ryan, the beginning of the end.

''Afterwards, there was a lot of unhappiness. I think you could say the outcome of the tax summit and the dropping of option C did start to lead to the divergence of views between Hawke and Keating,'' she said during an address to an audience at the National Archives last month.

''In many ways, as you know, they were a real power team but their views did diverge. I think you could trace the beginning of that divergence to the failure to proceed with option C.''

Mr Keating walked into Parliament on September 19 with a new tax package, suggesting that ''few of the people in the top bracket have paid the 60 cents in the dollar asked of them. They have arranged their affairs to evade, avoid or minimise that liability. Instead, their share of the burden has been carried by ordinary middle-income Australians.''

There was no consumption tax, but there were new taxes on fringe benefits and capital gains, wholesale tax was streamlined and a range of other measures were introduced.

But if tax reform proved to be thorny, the cabinet documents show that the Hawke government's honeymoon was starting to fade.

With widespread concern over nuclear tests in the South Pacific, the French government's sinking of the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior in New Zealand and the Lange government's ban on US warship visits to NZ, Mr Hawke had to somehow handle a commitment by the Fraser government to the Americans to allow MX missiles to land in Australian waters.

There were also sensitive espionage matters to deal with: Australian Security Intelligence Organisation officers threatened to strike over being transferred from Melbourne to Canberra, and cabinet disarmed the Australian Secret Intelligence Service and stopped them undertaking training exercises after officers made the service look foolish in a bungled ''dry run'' exercise in Melbourne's Sheraton Hotel.

Thanks for posting that Macca.  A good piece about the innovation and foresight of the Hawke/Keating years.  They were both true leaders - it is a shame that Keating's ego led to a very public breakup, but as you pointed out, it gave Howard the opportunity to "ME2" his policies and strengthen those he did put in place.

Thanks for that again

How well my father remembers the Hawke/Keating locust years. Was it 17% or 18% interest rates? How many people lost their homes during the stewardship of Hawke and Keating. Keating, the man who couldn't move from the kitchen to the bathroom without submitting a travel allowance claim form. He floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and it started to have an impact in 1992; that's delayed reaction for you.

Keating was no Cicero as his file indicates:


Quote:

On Prime Minister (formerly Opposition Leader), John Howard (right): "The little desiccated coconut is under pressure and he is attacking anything he can get his hands on" "For Mr Howard to get to the high moral ground, he would first need to climb out of the volcanic hole he had dug for himself over the last decade. It is like one of those diamond mine holes in South Africa. They are about a mile underground. He would have to come a mile up to get to even equilibrium let alone have any contest in morality with Kevin Rudd." "What we have got is a dead carcass, swinging in the breeze, but nobody will cut it down to replace him." "He's wound up like a thousand day clock..." "...the brain-damaged Leader of the Opposition..." (Of his 1986 leadership) "From this day onwards, Howard will wear his leadership like a crown of thorns, and in the parliament I'll do everything to crucify him." "He is the greatest job and investment destroyer since the bubonic plague." "But I will never get to the stage of wanting to lead the nation standing in front of the mirror each morning clipping the eyebrows here and clipping the eyebrows there with Janette and the kids: It's like 'Spot the eyebrows'." "I am not like the Leader of the Opposition. I did not slither out of the Cabinet room like a mangy maggot..." "He has more hide than a team of elephants." "I do not want to hear any mealymouthed talk from the Member for Benelong." "The principle saboteur, the man with the cheap fistful of dollars." "Come in sucker." During Great Debate '96: "You're so rude!" http://www.webcity.com.au/keating/

To use a Keatingism, Keating was and still is a turd.

Back in the day when parliament was fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLLP4sc_6Q&sns=em

MOTR wrote on Jan 1^st, 2013 at 4:04pm:

Back in the day when parliament was fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLLP4sc_6Q&sns=em

and keating is now not just diskliked but openly LOATHED by great swathes of the population.

and the GST was originally Howards idea in his 1983 tax review that Fraser wouldnt let him implement. Labor - as usual - took much of Howards ideas and then took credit for them. Floating the dollar was Keatings supposed high point yet it was in fact, Howards idea.

and of course Keating campaigned very successfully against the GST - despite it being his own preferrred option. Obviously a man of principle, the principle being " i must get my own way"

salad in wrote on Jan 1^st, 2013 at 3:32pm:

How well my father remembers the Hawke/Keating locust years. Was it 17% or 18% interest rates? How many people lost their homes during the stewardship of Hawke and Keating. Keating, the man who couldn't move from the kitchen to the bathroom without submitting a travel allowance claim form. He floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and it started to have an impact in 1992; that's delayed reaction for you. Keating was no Cicero as his file indicates: Quote: On Prime Minister (formerly Opposition Leader), John Howard (right): "The little desiccated coconut is under pressure and he is attacking anything he can get his hands on" "For Mr Howard to get to the high moral ground, he would first need to climb out of the volcanic hole he had dug for himself over the last decade. It is like one of those diamond mine holes in South Africa. They are about a mile underground. He would have to come a mile up to get to even equilibrium let alone have any contest in morality with Kevin Rudd." "What we have got is a dead carcass, swinging in the breeze, but nobody will cut it down to replace him." "He's wound up like a thousand day clock..." "...the brain-damaged Leader of the Opposition..." (Of his 1986 leadership) "From this day onwards, Howard will wear his leadership like a crown of thorns, and in the parliament I'll do everything to crucify him." "He is the greatest job and investment destroyer since the bubonic plague." "But I will never get to the stage of wanting to lead the nation standing in front of the mirror each morning clipping the eyebrows here and clipping the eyebrows there with Janette and the kids: It's like 'Spot the eyebrows'." "I am not like the Leader of the Opposition. I did not slither out of the Cabinet room like a mangy maggot..." "He has more hide than a team of elephants." "I do not want to hear any mealymouthed talk from the Member for Benelong." "The principle saboteur, the man with the cheap fistful of dollars." "Come in sucker." During Great Debate '96: "You're so rude!" http://www.webcity.com.au/keating/ To use a Keatingism, Keating was and still is a turd.

And yet housing was still more affordable, household debt was far less and taxation was not at record levels like it was under the Howard govt.
And lets not even mention the mess Howard made of the economy when he was the countries treasurer  ;D

salad in wrote on Jan 1^st, 2013 at 3:32pm:

How well my father remembers the Hawke/Keating locust years. Was it 17% or 18% interest rates? How many people lost their homes during the stewardship of Hawke and Keating. Keating, the man who couldn't move from the kitchen to the bathroom without submitting a travel allowance claim form. He floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and it started to have an impact in 1992; that's delayed reaction for you. Keating was no Cicero as his file indicates: Quote: On Prime Minister (formerly Opposition Leader), John Howard (right): "The little desiccated coconut is under pressure and he is attacking anything he can get his hands on" "For Mr Howard to get to the high moral ground, he would first need to climb out of the volcanic hole he had dug for himself over the last decade. It is like one of those diamond mine holes in South Africa. They are about a mile underground. He would have to come a mile up to get to even equilibrium let alone have any contest in morality with Kevin Rudd." "What we have got is a dead carcass, swinging in the breeze, but nobody will cut it down to replace him." "He's wound up like a thousand day clock..." "...the brain-damaged Leader of the Opposition..." (Of his 1986 leadership) "From this day onwards, Howard will wear his leadership like a crown of thorns, and in the parliament I'll do everything to crucify him." "He is the greatest job and investment destroyer since the bubonic plague." "But I will never get to the stage of wanting to lead the nation standing in front of the mirror each morning clipping the eyebrows here and clipping the eyebrows there with Janette and the kids: It's like 'Spot the eyebrows'." "I am not like the Leader of the Opposition. I did not slither out of the Cabinet room like a mangy maggot..." "He has more hide than a team of elephants." "I do not want to hear any mealymouthed talk from the Member for Benelong." "The principle saboteur, the man with the cheap fistful of dollars." "Come in sucker." During Great Debate '96: "You're so rude!" http://www.webcity.com.au/keating/ To use a Keatingism, Keating was and still is a turd.

Your dad would also remember Salad how demeaning it was to get a home loan in the late 70's early 80s.  Mr Howard had capped interest rates at 13.5% - so yes, the rates were low, but try getting the money!  Wear a suit to meet the Bank manager and grovel for the dough.  At  least under Keating the money became available.  Like your Dad, I lived through those years, I lived within my means - and then prospered.  All due to the reforms implemented by Hawke and Keating.

As for Keating's ideas being Howards.  Well All I can say to that is the lying little mongrel had no backbone then, and none today.  He and Fraser were the worst PM and treasurer this country have ever seen

salad in wrote on Jan 1^st, 2013 at 3:32pm:

How well my father remembers the Hawke/Keating locust years. Was it 17% or 18% interest rates? How many people lost their homes during the stewardship of Hawke and Keating. Keating, the man who couldn't move from the kitchen to the bathroom without submitting a travel allowance claim form. He floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and it started to have an impact in 1992; that's delayed reaction for you.

How well my father remembers the Hawke/Keating locust years. Was it 17% or 18% interest rates?

As opposed to the Fraser / Howard years where the RBA rate peaked at around 23%.

How many people lost their homes during the stewardship of Hawke and Keating.

Not many because of interest rates existing loans were capped to around 11% this only impacted new loans where the people taking the loan knew in advance what they had signed up to.

He floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and it started to have an impact in 1992;

Why would you think that?

It had a significant impact on day one.

Dnarever wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2013 at 6:46am:

salad in wrote on Jan 1st, 2013 at 3:32pm: How well my father remembers the Hawke/Keating locust years. Was it 17% or 18% interest rates? How many people lost their homes during the stewardship of Hawke and Keating. Keating, the man who couldn't move from the kitchen to the bathroom without submitting a travel allowance claim form. He floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and it started to have an impact in 1992; that's delayed reaction for you. How well my father remembers the Hawke/Keating locust years. Was it 17% or 18% interest rates? As opposed to the Fraser / Howard years where the RBA rate peaked at around 23%. How many people lost their homes during the stewardship of Hawke and Keating. Not many because of interest rates existing loans were capped to around 11% this only impacted new loans where the people taking the loan knew in advance what they had signed up to. He floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and it started to have an impact in 1992; Why would you think that? It had a significant impact on day one.

17% loans only existed for a very short time and were with lenders such as building societies for those who were looking for loans of last resort.
I dont know of anyone that had a loan of that size but I know of plenty of people that took advantage of high interest rates on their savings and like myself made quite a lot of easy money in that period.
But even so housing was still much more affordable during that period than it was under Howards era of spiraling house prices and record household debt.
The more I read from the Libbos on here the more Im sure most of them are either just children or geriatrics with acute memory loss

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!
9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!
9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

gold_medal wrote on Jan 1^st, 2013 at 4:32pm:

MOTR wrote on Jan 1st, 2013 at 4:04pm: Back in the day when parliament was fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLLP4sc_6Q&sns=em and keating is now not just diskliked but openly LOATHED by great swathes of the population. and the GST was originally Howards idea in his 1983 tax review that Fraser wouldnt let him implement. Labor - as usual - took much of Howards ideas and then took credit for them. Floating the dollar was Keatings supposed high point yet it was in fact, Howards idea. and of course Keating campaigned very successfully against the GST - despite it being his own preferrred option. Obviously a man of principle, the principle being " i must get my own way"

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

9-11 MADE JOHN HOWARD... EVEN I VOTED FOR HIM TWICE AFTER 9-11 = PURE FACT!

Howard was a buggered treasurer, 20 plus % Interest rates, gobblers that defend the prick are just retarded.

MOTR wrote on Jan 1^st, 2013 at 4:04pm:

Back in the day when parliament was fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLLP4sc_6Q&sns=em

Ahh Keating, what a man of vision. He had Costello pegged as a gutless wonder years before and was spot on, Costello never had the balls to roll the rodent.

skippy. wrote on Jan 3^rd, 2013 at 4:57pm:

Howard was a buggered treasurer, 20 plus % Interest rates, gobblers that defend the prick are just retarded.

Howard was and always will be an embarrasment to the tryhard upper-middle class!

How many crack smokers hate themselves because Howard is their dads hero that they have to talk about if they want pocket money for drugs???

Lol, crack smokers hate howard yet find themselves telling daddy how much they love him!!

Bob Hawke is a sell out boozehound.

When workers needed him he let them down.

skippy. wrote on Jan 3^rd, 2013 at 5:04pm:

MOTR wrote on Jan 1st, 2013 at 4:04pm: Back in the day when parliament was fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLLP4sc_6Q&sns=em Ahh Keating, what a man of vision. He had Costello pegged as a gutless wonder years before and was spot on, Costello never had the balls to roll the rodent.

And yet it was Costello who paid back Keating's massive debt, balanced the books and left politics having put together a considerable surplus, which Swan proceeded to plunder...

Armchair_Politician wrote on Jan 4^th, 2013 at 6:15am:

skippy. wrote on Jan 3rd, 2013 at 5:04pm: MOTR wrote on Jan 1st, 2013 at 4:04pm: Back in the day when parliament was fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLLP4sc_6Q&sns=em Ahh Keating, what a man of vision. He had Costello pegged as a gutless wonder years before and was spot on, Costello never had the balls to roll the rodent. And yet it was Costello who paid back Keating's massive debt, balanced the books and left politics having put together a considerable surplus, which Swan proceeded to plunder...

Before the recession of the early 90's Labor had about 3 consecutive surplus budgets, Our economy had recovered by the mid 1990's with improving numbers on all indicators from about 1993 employment, inflation, interest rates, growth etc.

It is an expectation of the economic cycle that economic downturns produce periods of government debt and that periods of sustained growth produce better results. The fact is that the Liberal surpluses were more a function of the period they held office than any other factor.

I rate Costello as one of our best ever treasurers but you have to be honest enough to accept that luck probably played its part in his success.

Armchair_Politician wrote on Jan 4^th, 2013 at 6:15am:

skippy. wrote on Jan 3rd, 2013 at 5:04pm: MOTR wrote on Jan 1st, 2013 at 4:04pm: Back in the day when parliament was fun. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaLLP4sc_6Q&sns=em Ahh Keating, what a man of vision. He had Costello pegged as a gutless wonder years before and was spot on, Costello never had the balls to roll the rodent. And yet it was Costello who paid back Keating's massive debt, balanced the books and left politics having put together a considerable surplus, which Swan proceeded to plunder...

Its was the overheating of the worlds economy which fueled the China boom which was responsible for the flood of money coming into this country which paid off the debt. Boom times means debt reduction no matter whos in govt where as a global recession will always mean a reduction in a countries income and to keep the economy moving all govts begin to borrow again until the cycle repeats itself...economics 101 young fella.
Both Keating and Costello were excellent treasurers who set Australias economy up for the future even though both of them copped criticism from colleagues, the public and the media at the time.
If it wasn't for these two far sighted individuals you would be standing in line to beg for soup while your family lived in a cardboard box in the park because this country would have collapsed as soon as the GFC hit.
The Libbos here love to follow Abbotts simplistic and empty one liners instead of looking at the big picture and that is why no one takes them seriously.
Remind us of the changes Howard made when he was the treasurer of this country for the best part of a decade..coz I reckon he was the worse treasurer this country has ever seen.

Costello was a crap treasurer who cost Australia billions and sold off revenue raising industries that have not delevered the lower prices and greater efficiency we where told it would!!!


Quote:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-03-05/worth-its-weight-in-gold/351864 In November 1997 the then Treasurer, Peter Costello, shocked some people when he announced he'd signed off on the sale of $2 billion worth of Australian bullion. On the day he announced the sale the price was around $US306.00 an ounce. At the time, according to Mr Costello, gold "no longer plays a significant role in the international financial system".

Today gold is around $1500 an ounce.....Costello was just a tax collector who sold all the silver to bribe the electorate with short term hand outs.....We are paying for the short sighted oppotunism of the Howard Costello fire sale!!!

>:( >:( >:(

philperth2010 wrote on Jan 4^th, 2013 at 7:38am:

Costello was a crap treasurer who cost Australia billions and sold off revenue raising industries that have not delevered the lower prices and greater efficiency we where told it would!!! Quote: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-03-05/worth-its-weight-in-gold/351864 In November 1997 the then Treasurer, Peter Costello, shocked some people when he announced he'd signed off on the sale of $2 billion worth of Australian bullion. On the day he announced the sale the price was around $US306.00 an ounce. At the time, according to Mr Costello, gold "no longer plays a significant role in the international financial system". Today gold is around $1500 an ounce.....Costello was just a tax collector who sold all the silver to bribe the electorate with short term hand outs.....We are paying for the short sighted oppotunism of the Howard Costello fire sale!!! >:( >:( >:(

The Libbos are forgetting just how depressed the economy was in this country under Howards first few terms of constant cuts and sackings..it was only when China began its massive building program and started growing at unprecedented levels that our economy began to recover from Howards mismanagement.
Without China Howard would have been as big a disaster as a PM as he was as treasurer and even the most feral of Libbo supporters wouldn't dream of giving Howard any credit for Chinas boom.

Hawke = Sellout ignorant buffoon