In a week where the current Prime Minister is fighting off backbench detractors after 15 months and a decade that has seen the leadership change hands five times, the nostalgia coming from Australia's longest-serving communications minister is understandable. Richard Alston, who served in the role for 7½ years until 2003, was part of a golden era for his Liberal Party where the Howard Government stayed in power for more than a decade and could push through substantial reform.