re: 3-4 yrs of latham and crean in office
Howard can not claim responsibility for the fall in interest rates. The Australian economy could hardly be described as being safe and secure - it is a nested upon a mountain of debt. This is a global phenomenom, and no longer within the control of governments - that is unless they adopt a protectionist policy, with restrictions on trade and capital flows.
So Howard and Costello are no economic gurus...but they are a lot better than the alternative. Labor do not represent budgetary accountability. Their culture is one of social welfare, the support of state institutions that are inefficient, and ineffective. They do not have the slightest hesitation at increasing taxes and expenditure on bodies that have failed us in the past, and are still failing us today. Reform is frowned upon. The solution to every problem is throw more money at it.
Case in point at a state level is the debate about the education system. There is little, if any discussion about the ciriculum, but rather on why private schools receive funding. Even on the issue of private school funding, there is no acknowledgement that private schoools reveice less funding (state and federal combined) per student than public schools - about 2/3 as much.
