
Many key political issues revealed in newly released cabinet papers from 2004 could easily have been ripped from the headlines of 2024.
The National Archives released hundreds of papers on Wednesday from the year former Prime Minister was at his political zenith after defeating Labor’s Mark Latham.
The documents reveal the rationale for Australia’s involvement in the Iraq war which failed to unearth suspected stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
The papers also show pressures at the supermarket checkout were a big concern in 2004, with cabinet considering a mandatory code of conduct for the grocery industry.
Housing affordability was front of mind leading into the election, with the cabinet backing recommendations to boost supply and for states and territories to reduce their reliance on stamp duty.
However, a submission from Howard and then-treasurer Peter Costello rejected the idea that changes to capital gains tax affected property values.
“It is not clear that the change in capital gains taxation in 1999 would have had a large impact on house prices,” the submission said.
“While there is limited scope for government to improve affordability for first and other homebuyers in the short term, governments have an important role to play in facilitating efficient housing outcomes.”
Cabinet signed off in December 2004 to sell the government’s remaining Telstra shares to help set up a Commonwealth sovereign wealth fund, also known as the Future Fund.
Problems in the aged care sector were also just as prescient in 2004, after a review at the time called the industry “immature” and “constrained by regulation”.
The year 2004 was a high point for many prominent Australians.
Ian Thorpe returned from the Athens Olympics with two gold medals and Shannon Noll topped the charts with his cover of What About Me.
The 2004 election victory would see the Howard government hold a rare majority in both houses of parliament, which allowed for controversial industrial relations reforms to pass unimpeded.
The election win saw Howard remain in the top job for a fourth term, and be the second-longest serving prime minister in Australian history.