In the article below readers will see elements of clear reporting bias against One Nation and the manner in which the Murdoch empire look after the interests of their major shareholders. Note the comment about how Keating and Hawke got the "financial sector right in the 1980s and early 1990s" - this was when the World Trade Organisation's Financial Services Industry Agreement was signed by Australia allowing Chase Manhattan Nominees (one of News Limited's top 5 shareholders) to "acquire major stakes in all of the big four Australian banks.
See the FSIA page for more details.
Courier Mail editorial - 31st December 1998
It was the year in which we were supposed to lose the plot. The doomsayers predicted a year of economic turmoil fed by the buffeting winds of the Asian financial storm and social unrest stirred up by Pauline Hanson and her followers. We were to have a race election in which the ugly underbelly of Australian society would be exposed and we would suffer from international opprobrium.
Looking back from the comforts of New Year's eve , it is possible to dismiss most of the notions of an alarmist panic and opportunistic cynicism. All in all, 1998 has been a good year for Australia and marks the people of the truly lucky country as a mature and intelligent society able to grapple with serious, difficult issues and generally get it right. Approaching the last year of the millenium, we can assert a new confidence for having not just survived an unpredictable and uncertain 12 months, but having bested most challenges set in our path.
Soon after the year began this country engaged in a robust debate about our Constitution and the thorny question of just who will be our head of state. Focused on a Canberra convention, this discussion was informed and lively and forms the basis for a plebiscite to be held later next year. To the surprise of some, Australians managed to engage this issue without rancour or division. This illustrates we can approach the issue of electing a head of state and maintain our existing institutions; the predicted breakdown of society's structure is just more scaremongering.
Even the potentially fracturing waterfront dispute was resolved with little long-term damage, except to the egos of Workplace Relations minister Peter Reith and Patrick's boss Chris Corrigan. Just as the outdated union feather-bedding of maritime workers can no longer be tolerated, brutish union busting is not sustainable either. The resolution of the dispute was a victory for the rule of law and demonstrated that reform can be achieved without social disruption.
But the big hurdle we successfully cleared was the issue of native title and the spectre of a "race election". While it took Prime Minister John Howard a long time to obtain a legislative settlement following the Wik High Court case, it did come after a scare of the Queensland poll - and the stakeholders and courts will now work their way through the legal implications. Judicial decisions are bit-by-bit more clearly defining native title and we will eventually have a regime which is coherent and workable. Mr Howard did little for the process of reconciliation when he hectored the crowd at a national conference eatly in the year - a mistake he later admitted. He has now committed himself to reconciliation with the Aboriginal people.
The "race election" did not eventuate. The Queensland state election - where Pauline Hanson's One Nation was given its head through fundamentally flawed tactics by the Liberal and National parties - hardly turned on race at all. When the Premier Rob Borbidge tried to scare people with native title issues, he was met with a disinterested response. People saw such cheapjack politicking for what it was and made up their minds on much more fundamental issues such as jobs, the economy and administrative competence. Likewise, the federal poll a few months later was without base appeals to race-linked emotions, except for the desperate and ignored tactics of Ms Hanson.
The state poll was marked by the election of Premier Peter Beattie, the foolishness of the Coalition's electoral strategy and the resultant success of eleven One Nation MPs. Mr Beattie had settled into his dream role with ease and comfort never missing an opportunity to talk bout what his government wants to do. In the year ahead, the challenge will be to replace all the words with some action. Some new ideas in public administration and in generating his 5% unemployment target would be welcome, too.
One Nation has failed to live up to the opportunity it was afforded on June 13. Elected by a following which cared about economic dislocation, joblessness and hardship, the 11 (now just 10) politicians spent their time chasing conspiracy rabbits and waving persecution theories. They could not be more out of touch with the support base, which has responded by turning away from leader Bill Feldman and his colleagues in droves. This failure to establish a real connection with their supporters was confirmed at the Federal poll when not one candidate was elected to the House of Representatives - even Ms Hanson was rejected by the people - and the party managed just one Senator. Unless they come to their senses One Nation will continue to wither on the electoral vine.
The Federal election resulted in the Labor Opposition running the Howard government very close in a poll dominated by tax reform and the issue of leadership. Labor was not ready for government and the people recognised that: they embraced Mr Howard's coalition again, although with much less enthusiasm than in 1996. Mr Howard now has the chance to implement his lifetime dream - a fundamental reshaping of our taxation system away from personal income tax to a consumption base. It should help to make Australia's economy more efficient and effective in managing the changes being wrought by the emerging global economy.
If there was a winner in 1998, it was our economy. Much of the restructuring undertaken by the Hawke and Keating governments in the 1980s and early 1990s stood us in good stead, especially our sensibly regulated and transparent finacial sector. Mr Howard's repair work on the nation fiscal fabric assisted in withstanding the vicissitudes playing havoc with East Asian economies. As signs emerge that Asia is recovering - and that the west have staved off the contagion taking hold in Latin America - we should be able to rposper even more. Australians have demonstrated they are not frightened by shocks like those to our north. The challenges were accepted and refocused (sic), adjusting our market orientation and product priorities. Australians are resilient and adaptable, something they have proven in what has been a year of living successfully.