This week sees the 30th anniversary of the election of one of Australia’s greatest governments, the Howard government. If Australia had a Maggie Thatcher or a Ronnie Reagan, that prime minister was John Winston Howard. Through four extraordinary terms of government, Mr Howard led an Australia that was confident of its place in the world, enjoyed economic success and a reputation for loyalty and entrepreneurship and was held in high esteem by our allies. On top of which, coincidentally or otherwise, we displayed amazing sporting prowess during those golden years as was celebrated and exemplified in the amazing 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Mr Howard’s ‘mission statement’, or ‘guiding principle’, was reportedly to make Australians ‘comfortable and relaxed’. Relaxed and comfortable? Absolutely. And much more besides. Admired. Envied. Popular. Productive. You name it, Australia frequently excelled at it.

Mr Howard, with the help of Peter Costello and the Nationals, pulled Australia out of its post-Keating economic and cultural slump. Mr Howard was happy to fight the culture wars, such as they existed back then, although with hindsight he clearly should or could have done more. Take the ABC. Mr Howard ensured that smart, intelligent conservative minds such as this magazine’s regular columnist Maurice Newman were on the ABC board, along with others like Janet Albrechtsen and Donald McDonald. But the political will to actually address the root problem by selling off the ABC, or putting it on a subscription model, was lacking, as it still is. Nearly every conservative initiative or policy since has suffered, and every Coalition government been sabotaged, by malign ABC influence and bias.

On the emerging beast of climate change, Mr Howard was again philosophically in the right frame of mind, but little by little the tentacles of this poisonous ideology wormed their way into the Coalition. Could Mr Howard have done more to stymie this socialist, globalist mind virus? Probably, but with extreme difficulty.

The standouts from Mr Howard’s time in office are numerous, including the introduction of the GST and of course his other famous slogan, ‘We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come’. A brilliant formulation which, Mr Howard recently told this magazine simply popped into his head during a question in 2001. In other words, it came from the heart rather than via some tedious research-driven focus group. And that was the essential truth of Mr Howard – as it still is. He tells it as he sees it. The contrast with his successor, Kevin Rudd, who is jokingly rumoured to have commissioned a focus group to find out what he believed in, couldn’t be starker.

In this week’s issue we have two brilliant articles side by side, one looking at what was probably the best government in Australia’s history (clue: the article is penned by Rocco Loiacono) and the other article that asks which one was the very, very worst (by Dimitri Burshtein and Peter Swan). And, no, the worst one isn’t Mr Rudd’s, or even Malcolm Turnbull’s. Although they both come very close, obviously.

Congratulations to John Howard and the many formidable members of the Howard government. Lazarus rose into government thirty years ago this week, and he’s yet to be bettered.

And we are all the richer for his wisdom, his convictions, and his leadership.

Bondi exposed

This week saw one of the most extraordinary documentaries this nation has ever produced. Bondi: a timeline of terror tells the terrifying and tragic story of the Bondi massacre – not just one ghastly story but many individual stories of heartbreak and heroism, of bravery, courage, sadness and occasional moments of joy. From a technical point of view, the 90-minute documentary is a masterpiece of editing, interviewing, cinematography and production values.

Almost as astonishing as the second-by-second, minute-by-minute retelling of the pogrom, captured chillingly on multiple iPhones and car cameras, are the in-depth interviews telling so many stories that had hitherto been largely untold. Including the surprising story of NSW Liberal leader Kellie Sloan’s involvement, helping a young boy under the very bridge the gunmen fired from. Truly astonishing.

Congratulations to the indefatigable Sharri Markson and the Sky News team led by Mark Calvert. Forget the so-called royal commission into antisemitism. This documentary tells you all you need to know about precisely what happened on that vile night and, indeed, who is to blame.