...These people are all isolated plutocrats, they just govern for the very wealthy and they don't give a damn (or even think) about the great unwashed masses out there.

Labor had its chance to change the world in the 70’s and got tossed out for bothering. The LNP and their backers would raise the socialist bogey at every opportunity (what’s changed )

The Hawke government learnt that lesson. It needed to be seen as business friendly and the economic rationalist model was becoming the global reality.

Remember the Liberal Party was going through its own catharsis with the drys dominating the wets, supported by some powerful media figures. Of course that lot would never dream of taking this country down the same path let alone implement Thatcherism.

Bottom line Don, most of the lasting socio-economic reforms Australians take for granted would only have been implemented by Labor. That could only happen if it was in power.

However unpalatable, Labor was and remains the lesser of the two weevils for those on the wrong side of the ledger.