So 25 years ago today, John Howard was elected Prime Minister of Australia, and would go on to become the second longest serving in that position.
For those old enough, what are your memories of him, and more importantly, what do you think his legacy is?
The first half of the nineties saw Australia led by Paul Keating, a strong leader who was both intelligent and formidable. (His "cultural cringe" speech in parliament is a must see) Few could go toe to toe with him, but I remember Johnny was one of the few that could stand up to him and even give it back. Howard was also a strong performer in longer format interviews on the ABC, normally not a happy hunting ground for conservatives.
Howard presided over arguably Australia's strongest economic era - his time coincided with my university/early work years and I do remember continuous generous pay rises that we haven't really seen since. We also avoided the Asian economic crisis. Many, including me, argue that this was more due to things like the mining boom than any government decisions. I do wonder what things would be like now if he had the courage at the time to invest or at least encourage investment in things like advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy or even tech. Australia has certainly had a brain drain over the last decade or so when it comes to these things.
I think we could be so much more as a nation now had he done a bit more there (to be fair, it was more Abbott / Hockey that killed manufacturing). But again, when you look at the overall performance of the economy at the time, it is very hard to criticise his performance. Especially if you view it from the lens of the 1970s and 1980s as opposed to today.
Where I'm probably most critical of him is on social type issues, where he showed poor or no leadership. His cynical response to the Tampa incident and the Cronulla Riots heralded what I see as a dark turning point in the Australian psyche. We have long been proud of being the land of the 'fair go', but I feel his "wedge politics' leadership style rubbed this sheen off a bit to reveal a bit of a mean-spirited streak below the surface. This has only grown with time since. He never really came out and denounced Pauline Hanson and her racism either. I must say one of my most memorable moments of schadenfraude came in 2010 when his bid to become vice-president of the International Cricket Council was blocked; he didn't manage to get the vote of the Asian nations.
So whilst he didn't have that same focus on Asia that his predecessor did, he did forge strong ties with traditional allies like the USA. This did mean going into some dubious wars. I do remember that he was actually in New York on 11/9/2001, that must have had an effect on him at a visceral level.
I recall never really liking him, and yet those years were in some ways my most hedonistic. Maybe just a coincidence, but those pay rises were nice. But that's the thing with Howard - unlike the narcissist that is Donald Trump, he really didn't care if you liked him. He openly admitted that a lot of Australians didn't like him, but they respected him. Pretty good summation if you ask me.
Aside from the aforementioned "what ifs" on the economy and the erosion of the 'fair go', I think his greatest legacy is that the LNP, and conservative parties in general, have now become legitimate choices for the working middle class. Whether it was his Middle-Class Welfare that did this, or the ALP losing its way, I'm not sure.
So Big Footy, what are you memories, and more importantly, what do you think his legacy is?
For those old enough, what are your memories of him, and more importantly, what do you think his legacy is?
The first half of the nineties saw Australia led by Paul Keating, a strong leader who was both intelligent and formidable. (His "cultural cringe" speech in parliament is a must see) Few could go toe to toe with him, but I remember Johnny was one of the few that could stand up to him and even give it back. Howard was also a strong performer in longer format interviews on the ABC, normally not a happy hunting ground for conservatives.
Howard presided over arguably Australia's strongest economic era - his time coincided with my university/early work years and I do remember continuous generous pay rises that we haven't really seen since. We also avoided the Asian economic crisis. Many, including me, argue that this was more due to things like the mining boom than any government decisions. I do wonder what things would be like now if he had the courage at the time to invest or at least encourage investment in things like advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, renewable energy or even tech. Australia has certainly had a brain drain over the last decade or so when it comes to these things.
I think we could be so much more as a nation now had he done a bit more there (to be fair, it was more Abbott / Hockey that killed manufacturing). But again, when you look at the overall performance of the economy at the time, it is very hard to criticise his performance. Especially if you view it from the lens of the 1970s and 1980s as opposed to today.
Where I'm probably most critical of him is on social type issues, where he showed poor or no leadership. His cynical response to the Tampa incident and the Cronulla Riots heralded what I see as a dark turning point in the Australian psyche. We have long been proud of being the land of the 'fair go', but I feel his "wedge politics' leadership style rubbed this sheen off a bit to reveal a bit of a mean-spirited streak below the surface. This has only grown with time since. He never really came out and denounced Pauline Hanson and her racism either. I must say one of my most memorable moments of schadenfraude came in 2010 when his bid to become vice-president of the International Cricket Council was blocked; he didn't manage to get the vote of the Asian nations.
So whilst he didn't have that same focus on Asia that his predecessor did, he did forge strong ties with traditional allies like the USA. This did mean going into some dubious wars. I do remember that he was actually in New York on 11/9/2001, that must have had an effect on him at a visceral level.
I recall never really liking him, and yet those years were in some ways my most hedonistic. Maybe just a coincidence, but those pay rises were nice. But that's the thing with Howard - unlike the narcissist that is Donald Trump, he really didn't care if you liked him. He openly admitted that a lot of Australians didn't like him, but they respected him. Pretty good summation if you ask me.
Aside from the aforementioned "what ifs" on the economy and the erosion of the 'fair go', I think his greatest legacy is that the LNP, and conservative parties in general, have now become legitimate choices for the working middle class. Whether it was his Middle-Class Welfare that did this, or the ALP losing its way, I'm not sure.
So Big Footy, what are you memories, and more importantly, what do you think his legacy is?
