This is the text of Prime Minister John Howard’s Address to the Nation on tax reform.
It follows the passage of the GST legislation through the Parliament.
- Listen to Howard:
- Kim Beazley’s Reply
Text of John Howard’s Address to the Nation on tax reform.
Good evening. As Australians we have every reason to be very optimistic about the future. No country in the world has better prospects as we enter the new century.
We are a united, resourceful and talented people. Our economic strength as a country is undoubted as we now enjoy the strongest economic fundamentals in a generation.
We have:
- the lowest unemployment rate in almost a decade;
- the lowest number of unemployed teenagers looking for full-time work in over 20 years; and
- the lowest levels of inflation and interest rates in around 30 years.
These strong economic results have not come about by accident. They are the result of sensible and practical reforms in earlier years including strong but fair decisions to return the budget to surplus and to remove the debt burden on future generations.