John Howard’s victory at the 2004 election remains one of federal politics’ most remarkable achievements. But cabinet papers from that year show it was the start of the end.
In 2004,house prices in every capital city were surging to unaffordable levels. The Howard cabinet considered its options – and did nothing.
Seven months after the invasion of Iraq,the Defence Department said it was time to cut Australia’s troop presence. Secret documents reveal how the plan was thwarted.
The discovery of a cache of sensitive federal cabinet documents that had been forgotten and left lying around gathering dust for more than 40 years is possibly even too far-fetched for political satire.
Like a scene from The Office,highly secret cabinet documents were forgotten and left to collect dust in safes inside one the country’s most important departments.
Slamming the discovery of the extra documents just before Christmas,the prime minister said there was no reason why the documents should not be made public.
Cabinet documents reveal the Howard government moved quickly to lock in a claim over huge areas of the seabed across the Pacific,Indian and Southern oceans,including key areas off Australia’s Antarctic territory.
Almost 21 years after the Howard government decided to go to war in Iraq,the cabinet documents regarding the decision should be in the public domain.
On March 18,2003,John Howard committed Australia to war in Iraq,but the key advice relied upon by the national security committee is missing from recently released cabinet papers.
Cabinet documents reveal the Howard government went close to supporting a carbon price in 2003. They also show why it was killed off.