Hot takes from Gen Z's first PM

If you remember John Howard, it's time to start using retinoids

If you remember John Howard, it's time to start using retinoids

It seems impossible to think a prime minister could hold on to power for 11 years, but John Winston Howard bloody well did it.

He was the guy with the killer brows. The guy in the chic 90s activewear. But more importantly, he had a front row seat to really important events of the time such as the Sydney 2000 Olympics (hi Nikki Webster), 9/11, the Port Arthur massacre and Tampa boat affair.

More than 15 years after Howard was defeated by Kevin Rudd, we are again in a situation where Labor could end the Liberal-Nationals coalition's long reign at the election on Saturday.

But the parallels don’t end there.

In recent weeks we've also seen the Reserve Bank raise interest rates - a fate Howard experienced ahead of the 2007 election which ultimately contributed to his loss.

We sat down with the former PM (the first leader many of us ever knew of really) and asked him some questions about yesteryear while picking his brain about the issues affecting us today. 

Mr Howard, please explain:

1. 📱📧 ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Howard says that while social media has caused a major vibe shift when it comes to national debate, the modern media landscape is no more challenging for the politicians of today than those of his era.

At 82-years-old Howard is (perhaps unsurprisingly) not on the socials but told The Oz platforms such as Facebook and Twitter had encouraged people to give “immediate expression of their worst instincts.”

Howard acknowledged the governments of the social media era faced new challenges in navigating the 24/7 news cycle, but argued the politicians of his own era were not immune to scrutiny.

 The evening television broadcast in 1996 would draw millions of viewers compared to the tens of thousands of people that tune into the same slot today. 

“That used to happen (too), you would have made a mistake and it would be picked up by the television networks and amplified - it’s just the trivial reciprocity of social media, which is all of the landscape,” he said.

Howard said he didn’t think the rise of online platforms had necessarily altered the “fundamental positions” taken by people, but had “altered the heat, intensity and character of the responses.”

2. 🌎 ON GLOBAL WARMING

Howard told us there was a “price to be paid” for Australia’s commitment to net zero emissions, declaring the nation should expect the cost of living to rise as we switch from fossil fuels to clean energy such as hydrogen or solar power. 

At the time of this interview, the Morrison government had not yet announced a temporary tax cut for petrol to help drivers and the cost of fuel had seen its strongest annual rise since the early '90s.

Howard said emission reduction policies were no doubt putting pressure on the price of fossil fuels such as petrol.

“One of the consequences of nations committing to reduce emissions is pressure being put on energy sources from fossil fuels, but we have to understand, if we're going to drive towards Net Zero emissions and we're going to progressively phase out reliance on gas and coal there," he said.

"There is a price to be paid for that." 

3. 🔫 ON GUN CONTROL 

Howard told The Oz he reckons he still would have won popular support for the sweeping gun laws he introduced in response to the Port Arthur massacre that claimed 35 lives if social media had been around during his prime ministership. 

Howard, who famously addressed an angry gun rally in regional Victoria in 1996 while wearing a bulletproof vest, said the existence of social media wouldn’t have derailed major reforms - such as his gun amnesty that banned the sale and possession of automatic and semi automatic weapons - had it been around at the time.

John Howard with outline of what appears to be bullet proof vest, tries to placate hostile pro-gun rally in Sale after the Port Arthur massacre

If social media had been around in my early years when I banned guns for example, we still would have had the same debate, the public still would have supported what the government did, he said. It's just that social media would have more rapidly echoed different opinions.

He wouldn't say whether he considered the gun amnesty his greatest legacy, but said he was very proud of better gun control in Australia. 

"Certainly gun control is something that I'm very proud of," he said. "I think it produced a permanently safer country and it was something that was beneficial to the entire community."

4. 💉ON ANTI VAXXERS & FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Howard backed-in the rights of anti-vaccination protestors to demonstrate when asked about the thousands of protestors that descended on cities across Australia in the early months of this year causing widespread disruption. 

The former PM said he did not support the “fanaticism” associated with the anti-vaccination campaign, but warned protests were something Australia “must always tolerate and support" as part of a democratic society.

"I don't agree with the anti vaxxers, I just think it's common sense to be vaccinated. I've been doubly vaccinated and I've had a booster and I just think it's common sense and I think sensible rules relating to COVID are required,” he said. 

Howard defended demonstrations as an important part of a "flourishing democracy" as he recalled the protests against his own government's actions and Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam war when he was a young man.

“It's (the anti-vaccination movement) not something I support, but providing people obey the law and respect other people, they're entitled to express their views in a free country," he said. 

5. 🏠 ON HOUSING

Howard told us it may be more difficult to buy your first home than it was a generation ago, but he doesn't think the youth of today necessarily have it worse than previous generations.

Mr Howard, who in his younger years lobbied the Menzies government to roll-out home savings grants for young Aussies, acknowledged there were huge challenges for Millennials and Gen Z in entering the housing market, but stopped short of saying today’s youth had it “the toughest”.

"Well, certainly buying your first home is tougher than it's been for a long time," he said. "I think it's very, very tough. But there are other things where life is perhaps a bit easier."

Howard wouldn't say whether there were any levers the government could pull to reign in house prices, but signalled that spiralling prices were largely in his opinion due to “the cost of land, planning restrictions, zoning and local government requirements.” 

6. 💸 ON TRUST FUND BABIES

Howard said that unlike previous generations, the youth of today were more likely to benefit from “affluent parents” who had made their fortunes during the good times of the past couple of years (and decades) like record low interest rates (and minimal rate hikes).

“I hesitate to say it's tougher now because there are a whole lot of measurements," he said. "A lot of younger people now have more affluent parents than was the case a generation ago because their parents benefited from some of the boom years we've had... so it does tend to even out but certainly housing affordability is a bigger challenge now.”

7. 💼 ON JOBS

Asked about the availability of work, Howard said he thinks job prospects are "a little better" today than they were a decade ago.

This is where Howard thinks we have it easier now, even if buying your house is "tougher".

"Job opportunities are a little better than they were 10 years ago."

Howard said that job availability was often cyclical and when he was a young man there were more available because of a fertility trough during the economic depression of the 1930s. 

"The middle 50s through to end of 1960s were relatively easier to get a job than it would later become - partly because less people were looking because fewer people had been born in the 1930s," he said. 

8. 💸 ON THE BUDGET DEFICIT 

Asked about Australia's huge budget deficit - a whopping $79.8bn - Howard said economic stimulus delivered during Covid was necessary and something he supported completed. 

"We racked up a big budget deficit in order to rescue the economy, from the COVID induced closed down," he said. "The government had no alternative and it was the right thing to do and I supported (it) completely."

9. 🤓🗳️ ON VOTING

Howard told The Oz governments that address key issues regarding education, work, stable relationships and family were "far more mindful" to what younger people want.

Howard said young voters of today were not dissimilar to those of previous generations and ultimately just wanted political leaders to deliver on issues that are important to them whether that be their job prospects or study options.

"I think a great majority of young people still find security in stable relationships in family life. I think all of those things are very important to young people and I think governments that address those sorts of issues are being far more mindful of what young people want," he said. "Obviously, young people are going to have different views on things like climate change, and the like."

He also said Australians were ultimately fair and reasonable when it came to supporting reforms that were in the collective interest. 

"I have a view that if a proposal for change or reform is put to Australians, and if that proposal is fair, has its merits, and is in the national interest, then the Australian people will support it," he said. 

He said young voters should study the policies on issues that affect them and are beneficial to the country and cast their ballots accordingly. 

“I don't see young people today ever any different from those of earlier generations...if you're interested in housing, if you're interested in education, then you should obviously examine the policies at the parties on those issues, because that's going to affect your future.”

10. ON AUSTRALIA

In a time marked by greater social dislocation and political disaffection, Howard said any elected government should be speaking more about Australia’s strengths rather than its weaknesses and teaching  national "success stories" in schools.

He said Australian successes such as “giving votes to women before any other comparable country" were too often overlooked.

"It's tremendously important (for) whoever is forming government that young people, particularly in their school years, be taught the Australian success stories," he said. "The fact that this country gave votes to women before any other comparable country, the secret ballot was invented in Australia, we put together a Federal Constitution that was voted on by all the people in the former six colonies, and they're all things of which we can be immensely proud as a society."

"...I think we spend too much time apologising for the blemishes we undoubtedly have."

"... We've built a very stable, harmonious community and I don't think we talk enough about that. I think we spend too much time apologising for the blemishes we undoubtedly have, but the balance sheet of history is very favourable to Australia and we should be doing more to remind people of all ages that reality.”

This exclusive interview was conducted in February 2022 ahead of The Oz's launch.