Several hours before Ralph Willis rose to deliver the last budget of the Keating government on the May 9, 1995, Kim Beazley, then finance minister and deputy prime minister, rang me and said: "John, is it still your policy to fully privatise the Commonwealth Bank?" When I confirmed that it was he said: "Good. It's in the budget tonight, and we'll need your help to get it through the Senate. The Dems are against it." The Australian Democrats then held the balance of power in the Senate.

Thus the soon-to-be ejected Keating government had to rely on the policy consistency of the opposition Liberal and National Parties to secure a major part of its last budget. This was a metaphor for the extent to which many of the economic changes of that government were only made possible through the co-operation of the Coalition.