ABSTRACT
This chapter explores that Labor's budgetary reform agenda was experimental and many initiatives were advanced to achieve limited or short-term ends— they were kept or extended only if they demonstrated an immediate effectiveness. The Prime Minister was confronted with the news that the incoming government was faced with a much larger deficit than expected. If this projection from Treasury was intended to scare Labor it certainly underscored the imperative of fiscal discipline on the new government. Labor's: general policy commitments and intentions to improve government administration have to be interpreted in terms of the financial situation they found themselves in on taking office. The 'Troika' grew in importance because it complemented Bob Hawke's personal style of management. While the Hawke government became noted for its economic responsibility, Peter Walsh stands out in the area of expenditure management as a tough, and uncompromising Finance minister who almost obsessively ran a tight fiscal policy.
