pressure getting to swan as he smashes glass, page-47

Didn't that set the country up for a great 1982 or 1983.

If a surplus is the main measure of good economic management we are all stuffed.

"During Howard's tenure as Treasurer, the 90-day cash rate peaked at 21% on 8 April 1982, while home loan mortage rates were capped at 13.5%, and inflation peaked at 12.5% in September 1982. Peter Costello commented, in 2007, that "The Howard treasurership was not a success in terms of interest rates and inflation... he had not been a great reformer."

http://www.onlysydney.com.au/sydney-nsw.php?id=13780

"They show that John Howard is the only treasurer in Australia?s history who?s been able to engineer ? simultaneously ? double-digit inflation (December 1981 to June 1983), double-digit levels of unemployment (April to October 1983) and double-digit interest rates (November 1980 to October 1983).

In the June quarter of 1983, inflation was 11.1%, the unemployment rate was 10.2% and the official cash rate averaged 12.08%."

http://www.crikey.com.au/2007/06/27/why-john-howard-never-made-the-cover-of-euromoney/

Howard treasurer, Fraser prime minister:
Budget deficit (underlying cash balance)

1981-82 0.3% of GDP surplus
1982-83 1.7% of GDP
1983-84 3.3% of GDP

Willis treasurer, Keating PM:
Budget deficit (underlying cash balance)

1994-95 2.7% of GDP
1995-96 1.9% of GDP
1996-97 1.0% of GDP

http://www.crikey.com.au/2007/06/27/why-john-howard-never-made-the-cover-of-euromoney/