Cycles of money-fever run through Western Australian history. Prominent among them were the gold rushes of the 1890s, Australia's first commercial oil strikes, the North-West's massive iron ore mines, the Poseidon nickel boom, diamonds at Argyle in 1980s, gold bouncing back and forth many times.
The size of the state, its resource wealth and a population of only 1.5 million have meant that all of its governments have lived cheek-by-jowl with business. Liberal strongman Sir Charles Court was such a firm interventionist that Lang Hancock, the iron-ore magnate, reckoned he was the greatest socialist of all ...
In WA, Brian Burke won office in March 1983. Burke was a former journalist who knew how to work the press, a good talker who could charm when he wished, one possessed of great political instincts. He was also suspicious and impatient, tending to revert to Tammany-hall-style tactics when cornered.
Like Labor around Australia, Burke set out to win over business. He courted Perth's 'four-on-the floor' entrepreneurs. He set up the John Curtin Foundation, which had ten of WA's business high-fliers as vice-patrons, including Alan Bond and Laurie Connell. Like John Cain, Burke made business the business of government. He set up the Western Australian Development Corporation to 'pick winners'.
Life rolled along in WA as long as the economy stayed buoyant. Living was generally pleasant, unless you happened to be an Aborigine. Burke's Liberal opponents were mostly dills, and people should just give newfangled ideas like the development corporation a fair chance.
This sunny air of complacency was helped along by WA's lack of freedom of information laws ...
Under Burke, and then Peter Dowding, many things were deemed 'commercially confidential' even though it was the taxpayer who was paying. One state secret was the rumoured mega-salary paid to John Horgan, a Perth businessman, as head of the development corporation. Taxpayers could find out how much was paid to a Supreme Court judge, but not what was paid to Horgan ...
During the good times, the wild men of Perth business attracted attention from interstate because of their background and lifestyle. Bond was a former signwriter and Connell the son of a bus driver. Bond struck a commemorative gold medal for guests at his daughter's wedding, while Connell hired a train for 150 of his closest friends and took them to a country race meeting.
Largesse was shared around. It has