Part 5/10:
Contrary to the prevailing belief that Labor overspends, historical context shows a different trajectory. Gough Whitlam famously raised government expenditure by 40% during his term, and introduced significant reforms such as free university education and universal healthcare. While having delivered budget surpluses, his approach set a higher baseline for government spending which persisted. Bob Hawke and Paul Keating continued this trend with substantial spending increases in areas like public healthcare and education.