Peter Costello says Australia will never again see tax reform on the scale of the introduction of the GST, describing the "mammoth" political project as revolutionary for the economy.

Cabinet papers from 1998 and 1999 were made public for the first time on Wednesday, covering the introduction of the goods and services tax after decades of debate, as well as major events including East Timor's move to independence from Indonesia, preparation for the millennium Y2K bug, and Australia's failed republic referendum.