Cabinet archives: John Howard’s sway on jobs entity

John Howard opposed the closure in February 2000 of the loss-making Employment National because it could be seen as a cut to services in the bush.

Then finance minster John Fahey in 2000. Picture: Michael Jones

John Howard opposed the closure in February 2000 of the loss-making Employment National — a government owned entity in the job services market — because it could be seen as a cut to services in the bush.

A cabinet submission prepared by finance minister John Fahey and employment services Minister Tony Abbott had proposed the closure of EN, noting it was “forecast to incur operating losses of $21m per year and become insolvent in early 2001”.

The proposal had broad support across the bureaucracy, but the prime minister resisted the proposal in a February 9 cabinet meeting that agreed that EN should continue to trade but be restructured to remove the most unprofitable aspects of it.

The then workplace relations minister, Peter Reith, would later reflect that Mr Howard was the “lone voice” opposing the closure of EN. He later reflected that “no one pretended that there was any rational reason for the decision — it was pure politics.”