John Fahey was premier of NSW between 1991 and 1995. When he lost government, Fahey effortlessly swapped his state seat of Camden for the encompassing federal seat of Macarthur. He then vaulted straight into the new Howard Coalition cabinet as the senior Minister for Finance.
With the Coalition spending 13 years in opposition, Fahey was among the few in the new cabinet with ministerial experience. At the cabinet's first meeting in 1996, Fahey subdued the celebration when he said: "enjoy this moment; it is all downhill from here". Indeed, the Howard government did have a difficult start.
