If the 1980s were a “happening decade”, in the ’90s Australia entered a “sweet spot”. Key indices – inflation, growth, productivity – improved. Companies consolidated, expanded and became more international. Even governments cut costs.

However, the ’90s weren’t always sweet. The decade began with the sour taste of a deep recession littered with debt-fattened corporate carcasses from the ’80s such as Adsteam, Bell Resources, Qintex, Tricontinental and the state banks of Victoria and South Australia. Australians were hobbled by lingering high unemployment and tested by the Asian financial crisis.