Australia's second-longest serving prime minister, John Howard, says it is too pessimistic to claim that economic and political reform is no longer possible in the era of the 24-hour news cycle.
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And he has singled out the recently re-elected New Zealand Prime Minister John Key for praise, pointing out that Mr Key had achieved significant reforms - which included a rise in the GST - before going on to secure an increased majority.
But Mr Howard, who has previously advocated the broadening of the GST base so that it applies to fresh food, declined to buy in to debate about Australia's consumption tax.
"I regard that [blaming the 24-hour media cycle] as a too-pessimistic view of the modern political environment. Last weekend you saw in New Zealand a prime minister who has had a very strong reformist agenda returned with an increased majority, a remarkable result," he said.
"John Key has been a reformist, activist prime minister and he won in this alleged environment of difficulty and concern about cutting through in a 24-hour news cycle. I am unconvinced of that explanation."
Asked about a GST rise, Mr Howard said he would "leave that to be resolved by the members of the Abbott government".
Mr Howard said that Australia's current generation of political leaders could learn from Menzies' conviction and his ability to prosecute a case with political flair and sincerity.
The former Liberal PM made the comments at the launch of his new book The Menzies Era, which focuses on Australia's longest-serving prime minister and Liberal Party founder Sir Robert Menzies.
Mr Howard's comments stand in stark contrast to former prime minister Julia Gillard's complaints in her new autobiography, My Story, about the speeded-up media cycle and the appetite for leadership stories during her unstable period as prime minister.
"With today's frantic media pace, leadership stories can play a role akin to Christmas-stocking fillers - you can always pop in another one with little expense or effort," she has written in the book.
Mr Howard also said his government's decision to commit Australian forces to the second Iraq war in 2003 had not played a part in the rise of the threat of the Islamic State, also known as ISIL, in Iraq and Syria, as independent MP Andrew Wilkie has asserted.
"It's a reflection, in part, of the old Sunni-Shia divide in the Middle East. In Iraq specifically, the failure of the Maliki government, which was Shia-dominated and Shia-sectarian, to include the minority Sunni in any way in the government of the country," he said.
"I don't believe you can trace what has happened in recent times to that [the 2003 war]."
Mr Howard praised Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's handling of the increased security threat as "spot on", saying the issue was above politics.
"When you have people calling for random murders of Australian citizens, innocent Australians, that is above politics and the response has to be united, determined and comprehensive and that's what we are getting at the moment."
