When globalisation loomed on the horizon in the late 20th century, governments around the world faced a choice: open the economy fully or manage the transition strategically. Some nations, like the United States and the United Kingdom, chose the former, exposing entire communities to rapid economic change. Australia, under the stewardship of the Hawke and Keating governments, chose a more tempered path.

Their economic reforms were far from painless, but they were purposeful. Bob Hawke and Paul Keating understood that modernising the economy through trade liberalisation, competition policy, and industrial relations reform was inevitable, and that it would come at a cost to the industrial working class.