The astonishing thing is the parallel universe version of Australia you described.
In the real Australia - Voters took baseball bats to Keating for good reason. He ran up $96 billion in debt, using the same kind of Magic Pudding economics favored by successors like Wayne Swan and Bowen. Howard won in a landslide, achieving a 55 seat majority. He and Costello paid off the debt and achieved a large surplus ....... which, of course, Wayne Duck and Kevin 07 proceeded to p*ss up against a wall.
Those of us not asleep during the era, or not living in a parallel universe where rose tinted glasses are order of theday, remember it well.
I recall every PM since Whitlam clearly, and Howard stands tall as one of our greatest post war PMs.
