Last Friday night I attended a remarkable event, the 30th anniversary of the very first election of the Howard government.

I wasn’t involved in politics in any serious way back in March 1996, but I do remember the enormous sense of relief when John Howard was elected Prime Minister.

Like most young homeowners, I had seen my mortgage double over a few short years from around 9 per cent to around 17 per cent.

I had seen work dry up thanks to Paul Keating’s ‘recession we had to have’.

Like many Australians, I was angry not only at the ever-worsening economic position we felt every day, but at the smug arrogance of Paul Keating and his Labor government.

Even back then, it was a government obsessed by left-wing neo-Marxist cultural agendas – ‘Say Sorry’, agitating for a ‘modest’ republic (which just meant a politicians’ republic), denigrating our colonial past, beginning the whole stolen land rubbish, denigrating and damaging our close relationship with America, kowtowing more and more to China, an obsession with multiculturalism and flooding the country with immigrants, and all the rest of it…

Much of what we now call Woke can be traced back to the ghastly Keating years.

When John Howard was elected, I, like so many Australians, heaved a sigh of relief. Things, we hoped, could only get better. Because, to quote John Lennon, they couldn’t get much worse.

And get much better, they certainly did.

John Howard promised to make Australians more comfortable and relaxed, a slogan that was, of course, mocked by all the miserable lefties, with Powderfinger even sneering at the slogan in one of their songs.

What I never understood at the time, and still don’t, is the problem with being either relaxed or comfortable. After all, isn’t that what the entire progress of mankind, of civilisation and technology, has been a quest for? What would the lefties prefer? A nation where we are uncomfortable and anxious the whole time? Well, apparently so.

Could Australia get more anxious than we are under Chris Bowen’s insane Net Zero and climate change madness?

Could the average Australian be less comfortable than knowing this Labor government has allowed radical Islam to thrive on our once peaceful shores, fuelled by a Prime Minister and Foreign Minister who idiotically and disgustingly recognised the non-existent state of Palestine smack bang in the middle of the worst outbreak of antisemitism this nation has ever seen, culminating in the worst terrorist massacre and carnage this beautiful land has ever known?

Could young Australians, in particular, be any more uncomfortable than they currently are, squeezed out of the property and job markets by an out of control immigration intake, or any more anxious than they currently are, as an AI revolution threatens to decimate the employment landscape at the same time as our energy prices soar and our small businesses are ravaged by Labor’s economic and energy disasters?

But back to the Howard government’s 30th anniversary dinner.

The theme of being relaxed and comfortable was picked up by special guest Matt Canavan, fresh from his election to Leader of the Nationals.

Matt, who is a child of the 80s, claimed that his greatest goal, his driving aspiration if you like, is to see all Australians from all walks of life being able to sit down each and every Sunday afternoon. Watching the kids muck around, have a beer and a laugh, and enjoy the great Australian way of life without a care in the world. It’s a tantalising image of course, and one that we all fondly remember from the past.

Angus Taylor also gave a strong speech about the critical task now facing the Liberal Party and his determination to defeat the worst government this nation has ever seen – cue loud applause from the room. There were similarly strong speeches from Tony Abbott, who was on fire, from John Anderson, who made the superb point that it was the women behind the men, his own wife, Julia, Janette Howard, Tania Costello and so on, who were the real intellectual powerhouses, and of course John Howard gave a great speech.

John Howard was extremely generous in his praise for all those who had made up the Howard government, singling out, among others, the one and only Michael Baume, who writes for us at The Spectator Australia. For my part, I’d also honour the late great Kevin Andrews, also a fantastic Speccie writer.

Howard also made the point that failure is a critical part of being successful for any leader, himself included.

Funnily enough, I said to several senior Liberals at the beginning of the evening that the real test for the Libs would be whether or not the evening began with a Welcome to Country. And I am pleased to announce … it did not! And apart from a gag by Abbott about acknowledging the traditional owner of the Sydney Cricket Ground, John Howard … there is hope for the Libs yet … of trite and tiresome and patronising Indigenous virtue-signalling was there none!

But what really set the night alight were the two speeches by John Howard’s closest henchmen, whom he repeatedly praised, Peter Costello and Alexander Downer.

We often forget the pivotal role both these men played throughout the Howard years, especially, and this point was made several times during the evening, the fact that they both served in the same job – Treasurer and Foreign Minister – throughout the entire four terms of the Howard government, an astonishing achievement especially when compared to today’s high turnover not only of ministers but also of prime ministers. Alexander Downer impressively stated that he had no regrets about Australia’s involvement in Iraq – some of us in the room applauded, others clearly did not. But, as usual, no mention or praise for the greatest politician of our era, Donald J Trump. You could sniff the TDS wafting through the warm night air.

Tony Abbott, gave a spirited speech, quipping that he hoped the Liberal Party had finally cured itself of its revolving door leadership habit – cue numerous mutterings and cursing of the name of a certain miserable ghost, conspicuous of course by his absence from the evening, as were both Morrison and Frydenberg.

Peter Costello’s speech was the standout, and there can’t have been a single guest at the ‘do’ who wasn’t asking themselves why on earth this man had never been Prime Minister, and why we’d had to put up with Turnbull and Morrison instead. Indeed, it was clear Mr Costello was thinking much the same thing.

At the heart of Peter Costello’s speech was the astonishing fact that on April 20, 2006, 20 years ago next month, Australia was completely free of all debt. Peter Costello as Treasurer had paid off Labor’s outrageous – and hidden! – 96 billion dollars’ worth of debt and on April 20, 2006, Australia virtually alone in the world had zero debt. On April 20 this year we will have a trillion dollars’ worth of debt.

What’s more, as Peter Costello explained, ever since he left the job taxes have been going up at 1 per cent per person per year, and at the same time, government spending has been going up at 2 per cent per person per year. Meaning, as he explained, the problem isn’t the tax system. We don’t need to be paying any more tax. The problem is the spending, stupid.

And Jim Chalmers has shown he either doesn’t have a clue about how to cut spending, or he couldn’t give a damn. Either way, every single day this Labor government gorges itself on greater and greater debt as it pushes the Australian dream further and further out of reach for anyone who’s not part of the Labor elites.

Overall, the mood in the room was that in Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan the Coalition has the best team since the Abbott if not the Howard years. But enjoyable as the evening was, and as inspiring as the speeches from many people were, it was difficult not to be left with a deep sense of unease.

We had it all. We had a great country. We had solid and reliable leadership. We had a great economy. We were respected and admired around the world. We called it as we saw it. We were loyal to our allies and our friends. We laughed and had fun. We made great music and great films. We dominated on the sports field. We made good use of the abundance of natural resources this land is blessed with, to further the opportunities for every one of us to enjoy the good Aussie life. Most of us didn’t give a rats about political correctness and all the pathetic fads of the hand-wringing lefty crowd.

We threw it all away. And today we are paying a very heavy price. Paying the price for the vanity and treacheries of a lesser breed of politicians from both sides of the political divide who put their own personal egos and personal enrichment ahead of their sworn duty to serve the people of this nation. And now we are led by donkeys and cowards.

Which is why, of course, a great big orange mammoth of an elephant called One Nation sat in the banquet room at the SCG on Friday night.

Is it too late for the Coalition to come back? Can Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan roll back the stone and resurrect the great Australian entrepreneurial spirit? It’s been done before, so maybe it can be done again.