Damage caused by John Howard in his late years as prime-minister overweights all his achievements. He was trying to spread fear and paranoia among Australians. Fear of terrorism, fear of refugees, fear of financial crisis, etc. ... Social management must not be based on fear, and human rights must never be sacrificed for any material benefits.
It is why, under no circumstances, I want ever see anyone like John Howard as our prime-minister.

Don't much want to see anyone like any of the PM's we've had during my lifetime as our prime-minister again.

They have all had their fault's and I don't see anything about Howard that marks him out as being worse than the others.

I suspect that we've got to the situation where having what it takes to get the job pretty much assures that you don't have what it takes to do the job.

If you have to lie to get the job, if you have to undermine others to get the job, if you have to spin issues regardless of the ethics to get the job then it's no wonder we end up with PM's who don't seem to stand for much in the way of real values.

No idea how we fix that either.

R0bert

Perhaps you prefer the professionalism of bawling at your aids for not bringing your hairdryer, abusing a hostie for not having the right din-dins, ignoring safety concerns because you want an initiative pushed through quickly and frying a few poor sods as a consequence etc etc.......?

Cant say I'm much of a Howard fan, but I'm not blind to the faults of the alternatives.

just dont ignore the real and present danger
the young innocent...who took over where he left off

[the ol former leftie
juliar guile-lard
howard marc 2
feemale mode

same backroom thugs serving the 2 party adgenda
who rules by sacking things a drovers dog could win
to install the evil twin..[when its looks like they might win]

hayden got the shaft..for the war hawke
burns got burned for the gloss tosser

alp is just anotrher business
they stopped serving their own members
to allow the masters members to install the shaft

bendover
here come the next howhard martha 2

nope im over it
my belly is sore from laughing
[now i know he dont read my 'poetry'..lol
i dont need to concern over upsetting..a good man..[decieved badly]

yes howard was a coward..
but he was better than the dewliar guile lard
who cant even commit to her mate..or motherhood
whats that lable put upon sexually active unwed..[or wed]....

who serve the monied elite
getting on with their big multinationalist corperate rape
of the lands and people..of this vast common wealth[what they do..that govt couldnt do better for its workers?]..[its people]

all its people..not just former public servants
cashing in on govt largess[subsidy]govt grant and coorperate licence

at least howard had finally paid off his masters
then comes jewliar..to pay off the same debts
to the same moneyed elite

age would have mellowed him

he knew..he went too far
thus might have gotten humble

remembers he is there
FOR the voter..not his master's

History will judge those who were good for the
nation or not - despite whatever personal "quirks"
they may have had. Personally I feel that we're a nation
that has had a fairly decent reputation overall for
fairness and integrity when compared with some others.
The voters usually have got it right in their choices
of leaders. I am optimistic about our future - and I
intend to vote as I have always done - for policies
rather than personalities.

As for Mr Howard's merit award from the Queen. I don't
think it's right or fair to begrudge that to him. He
was a staunch monarchist after all.
Sir Rober Menzies got a knighthood.
Mr Howard got this honour.

As for no wanting anyone like Mr Howard as PM again.
We could do a lot worse. Take a good look at the
world leadership currently on offer. Australia isn't
doing badly at all.

Andreas, I'll bet you believe in the fear of global warming.

About the only things Howard did wrong was,

1. Take the guns of the population, who just may be called upon some day, to again defend the country.

2. Start to loose his "ticker", & start giving lip service to global warming.

3. Go too far, too fast with industrial policy.

Howard shows up the others we've had in my time, for the bunch of fools they were.

It must be tough for lefties, going through life with their eyes shut tight, to avoid seeing what is right in front of them.