Positive Impacts of John Howard (1 Viewer)

[Iron]

I've come around to him after his political death, but I dont apologise for wanting change; Rudd's better

 

[jb_nc]

--Made gay marriage legal
--Very kind to asylum seekers
--Nurtured a very progressive Australia
--Funded public schools well
--Helped fund the Arts movement/Australian culture
--Helped ensure Australian had world class universities

Do your own homework you fucking idiot.

 

[Iron]

but it also has a proportionate amount of Catholic conservatives (a la Ruddkip)

Rudd's not Catholic
The true believers left the ALP in the 50s. Guys like Keating remained

 

[jb_nc]

*extradites dude to US so he can get 5 years prison for pirating material; same crime in Australia gets 6 months*

Howard J W great for Australia and great for you!

 

[jb_nc]

Oh, another one:

--Allow Australia to become a fully fledged welfare state with something like 30% of families pay not net tax!! Awesome!!

 

[JaredR]

Economy:

Net government debt was reduced from $95.8 billlion under the Keating Labor government to a net position of $6.1 billion in 2005-06.

Strong economy resulting in a 33 year low unemployment rate down from 8.2% in March, 1996 to 4.2% in 2006.

Real Rages increased by 17.9%. In the 13 years prior to 1996, real wages fell by 1.7%.

Security:

Strong investment in securing Australians home and abroad including $945 million to increase protective security measures at our diplomatica nad consular missions abroad.

Howard assisted in promoting stability and democracy within our region - East Timor, The Solomon Islands and PNG.

There was a 45% increase in ADF personnel being combat ready under the Howard Government.

A larger defence force.

Indigenous Australians:

Lower Indigenous unemployment.

In 2005/06 expenditure on Indigenous-specific programs and services across government was over $3.1 billion which is a 30% real increase since 95/96.

Health Care:

Total sppending on Health and Ageing saw a 139% increase since the former Labor run government at $47.6 billion.

The Howard Government strengthened Medicare with the Medicare Safety Net, 100% rebates and bulk-billing incentives for GP services and round-the-clock Medicare.

There was a 149% increase on 1996 levels towards Total Aged Care Funding, which was brought up to $7.8 billion in Total Aged Care Funding.

Families

The Baby Bonus, First Home Owners' Grant, greater resources and choice in health and education, the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy and family law reforms made families better off under the Howard Government.

In 2004, the Howard Government put out $19.2 billion over 5 years in the "More Help for Families" package which was the largest family assistance package put forward by any Australian government.

Family Assistance payments increased from $14 billion in 1996-97 to nearly $27 billion in 2005-06.

The introduction of "work for the dole has helped to establish 25 new Australian Technical Colleges.

Funding for State Schools rose in every Budget with an estimated increase of 118% since 1996.

Environment

Howard's government protected more than 2.9 million hectares of additional forest across Tasmania, Victoria, NSW and WA.

Funding to preserve the Great Barrier Reef and Natural Indigenous and built heritage was $379 million under the previous Labor Government. Howard brought this up to $1.55 billion in 06/07.




Basically, as a result of fiscal conservatism and sensible spending, our environment and the Australian standard of living dramatically increased because debt was reduced, and further spending was possible in areas that bettered Australians.

 

[Kwayera]

Hmm I'd agree with the rest of it, but environment? No, his environmental policies as a whole were pretty lacking. (Glad he didn't make us sign the Kyoto protocol however - what a fucking expensive, useless waste of a signature, Rudd. We were already meeting our targets, without spending the money on a signature and lip service on a protocol that's about due to be replaced).

 

[Iron]

The Kyoto targets we wrangled were a joke anyway

 

[Kwayera]

They sure were.

 

[chamelia]

Helped us to appreciate K-Rudd.

 

[jb_nc]

I never understood the "we're meeting our targets" slogan they pulled out.

Pretty sure it was all bullshit since we'd HAVE to have gone up since our 1990 carbon dioxide levels were measured.

Can someone confirm?

 

[Iron]

We managed to get permission to actually increase emissions by something like 8% on 1990 levels
Reasons like coal, big transport needs etc

 

[jb_nc]

Ah, yes well that's what they never said. "We're meeting our targets [to increase emissions by 8 per cent]" sounds much worse.

 

[Scissors]

john howard was the greatest prime minister. i mean, sure, he may have made some stupid decisions, but as a whole, he did the country well.

 

[jb_nc]

john howard was the greatest prime minister. i mean, sure, he may have made some stupid decisions, but as a whole, he did the country well.

A yacht without a captain manages to sail straight for a while.

Good luck or skilled captaining?

 

[BackCountrySnow]

His handling of the David Hicks case was pretty good imo.

 

[moll.]

Security:

Strong investment in securing Australians home and abroad including $945 million to increase protective security measures at our diplomatica nad consular missions abroad.

Howard assisted in promoting stability and democracy within our region - East Timor, The Solomon Islands and PNG.

There was a 45% increase in ADF personnel being combat ready under the Howard Government.

A larger defence force.

...

Families

The Baby Bonus, First Home Owners' Grant, greater resources and choice in health and education, the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy and family law reforms made families better off under the Howard Government.

In 2004, the Howard Government put out $19.2 billion over 5 years in the "More Help for Families" package which was the largest family assistance package put forward by any Australian government.

Family Assistance payments increased from $14 billion in 1996-97 to nearly $27 billion in 2005-06.

The introduction of "work for the dole has helped to establish 25 new Australian Technical Colleges.

Funding for State Schools rose in every Budget with an estimated increase of 118% since 1996.

Bolded items are not necessarily positive outcomes or initiatives.

 

[Iron]

Yeah I think it became another bizarre obsession over symbolism. Howard probably thought that not ratifying was good for the American alliance, and also wedged the working class from Labor by increasing the case that the ALP had abandoned them for lefty elitist crusades against fuck all

 

[Scissors]

His handling of the David Hicks case was pretty good imo.

but when it comes down to it, he really didn't have much of a say in that did he?

it wasn't really his place to intervene. state sovereignty?

 

[jb_nc]

but when it comes down to it, he really didn't have much of a say in that did he?

it wasn't really his place to intervene. state sovereignty?

The UK had something like 5 prisoners and demanded them back soon after they were captured. In fact, a film was made on one of them detainee's experiences in Afghanistan and capture by the Allied forces plus their time in Guantanamo.

If Howard wanted him back, he could have demanded to have him back and there's little doubt he would have been given. Remember, he committed no crime under Australian law (except for being a bad person tbh).