Peter Reith said that elements of Fightback could still be used. As Deputy Liberal Leader and Shadow Treasurer between 1990 and 1993 Reith was the co-architect of Fightback with Hewson. Hewson viewing this as a defiance of his authority in declaring Fightback dead and buried threatened Reith with a sack from the frontbench if he did not toe the line on the Coalition's official position on Fightback. One month later in May 1994 Alexander Downer replaced Hewson as Leader of the Liberal Party. Hewson resigned from Parliament in 1995. A number of the proposals were later adopted in to law in some form, to a small extent during the Keating Labor Government, and to a larger extent during the Howard Liberal Government (most famously the GST although different to Hewsons version), while unemployment benefits and bulk billing were re-targeted for a time by the Abbott Liberal Government. Tony Abbott as press secretary to Liberal Leader John Hewson from 1990 to 1993, helped to develop the Fightback! policy. The industrial relations element of Fightback has been viewed as an early version of WorkChoices implemented by the Howard Government and John Howard was the Shadow Industrial Relations Minister prior to the 1993 election. Peter Hendy who worked for Hewson's deputy, Shadow treasurer Peter Reith, stated on ABC TV that three people knew the GST policy thoroughly, Reith, Hendy and another Reith staffer. Hendy also stated Hewson was not among those three that knew the policy thoroughly and also that due to being overloaded with letters from the Australian public asking questions about the GST and Fightback! policy had to be made on the run in Hendy's mind. The birthday cake interview was an example of this. Hewson stated in response, that had Hendy and the staff done their job, no policy would have needed to be made on the run. See also Early 1990s recession in Australia References External links Fightback: taxation and expenditure reform for jobs and growth, (pdf) Liberal Party of Australia, Political Party Documents, Parliamentary Library, 21 November 1991 Boyle, Peter, Hewson is a health hazard, Green Left Weekly, 24 February 1993 Harrison, John, The GST Debate - A Chronology, Australian Parliamentary Library, Economics, Commerce and Industrial Relations Group, Background Paper 1 1997-98, 22 September 1997. Painter, Steve, What the Liberals would do to our lives, Green Left Weekly, 3 March 1993. Quiggan, John, Fightback and One Nation: A