It’s just over two years into his first term and John Howard is taking the country to another election. In that short time he has seized the mantle of economic credibility away from Labor and rewritten the argument about who could be trusted to manage the economy. 

The memory of Labor's reforms while in government were suddenly distant, and the constant reminder of the devastating recession of the 90s were kept fresh in the mind of voters by Howard and his treasurer Peter Costello.

Economic Management became the major selling point for Howard in every election from there on in.

This is The Howard Effect, a three-part series marking 30 years since John Howard’s emphatic election victory. Today, author Amy Remeikis on the economic revolution that defined his government — the tax reforms, the housing settings, and the policy choices that helped create the Australia we are all still living in. 

This is episode 2 - In the Shadows of the Australian Dream. 

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Guest: Author of Where It All Went Wrong: The case against John Howard, Amy Remeikis