Labor In Power

S01E04 The Recession We Had to Have

Paul Keating’s promise of a bountiful budget in 1988 ended up being nothing but a burnt offering. Prior to the stock market crash on October 19, 1987, the economy was booming. The Reserve Bank held off on increasing interest rates until April 1988, but by then, it was already too late. Australia was on the brink of a typical "boom and bust" cycle. This set the stage for what Keating would later refer to as "the recession that Australia had to have" in November 1990.