hoawrd.s legacy, page-15

1. Unemployment..........

the mining boom created more employment - or for a more accurate picture, check out the huge increased employment from the mining states that gives the country a better looking average - the mining boom has also been a catalyst for other industries

2. Economic growth
3. Economic stability ie through crisis times such as terrorism, asian financial crisis.........

these desrve the same answer - i wish i could find a certain interview of a visiting well known american economist during the asian crisis, who said something along the lines: "if it wasn't for your hawke and keating with their economic reforms, australia may well have been in the same boat as asia"

4. Interest rates and of course..........

well, they finally caught up to his 'style' of economic management

5. Individual prosperity ie are we richer now than 10 years ago?

the jury is still out on this one till all the credit problems are dealt with - i would suggest that quite a few who felt pretty well off are now finding that going in over your head is not the way to wealth