Ionce met with an eminent economist who worked closely with every prime minister and treasurer going back to Whitlam. My question was simple: who was the best and, more interestingly, who was the worst out of that long list of political leaders?

Subscribe now for unlimited access .

Login or signup to continue reading All articles from our website The digital version of Today's Paper All other regional websites in your area Continue

Rather than indulging my (sort of immature) question, he said something much more profound.

He said that the best political leaders are those who have a coherent, evidence-based framework in their head: they know how the economy works, they know what their objectives are, and they know how to achieve them.

If you think exports are good and

See Full Page