ABSTRACT
The challenges of the 1970s encouraged a return to economic liberalism in Australia. However, the process assumed a relatively balanced form, due in large part to the existence and relative strength of countervailing political and economic forces that mitigated against the imposition of a narrow policy agenda by a dominant central government. Economic liberalism was incorporated into policy by the labour governments of Bob Hawke (1983–1991) and Paul Keating (1991–1996), under the banner of ‘economic rationalism’; and the process of economic liberalization was overseen by mostly liberal or labour – rather than conservative – governments.
