The Socialist Left were in charge when we lost the State Bank - they thought they could pick winners, subsidizing half baked business schemes. They thought that even if you were on welfare you deserved to own a house and put thousands into mortgages that failed. In the end they couldn't pay the wages for public service without borrowing. They were unable to close ONE school because of the teachers union so we had them all in the wrong places - inner city where there were no longer enough children to fill them.
John Cain resigned because he couldn't do anything without union say-so - it's well documented in his book. The tramways union welded trams to the tram lines and blocked off Burke street for weeks - the gov couldn't shift them.
The first thing Kennett had to do was install a $100 household tax through the rates to raise money. He had parliament sit non stop for a month putting through reforms to save the state.
