The period of the Whitlam government, although brief, was a time of significant change in social policy. Although the economy was beginning to slow after the ‘long boom’ of the 1960s, Labor's mood was one of expansion and optimism. The new government regarded social welfare as a fundamental aspect of the wellbeing of all citizens. It placed considerable emphasis on the provision of services (such as health, child care and education) which benefitted a wide range of people. This contrasted with the approach of earlier postwar administrations which had generally adopted a much narrower definition of ‘welfare’ and which had focused on cash transfers (such as pensions and benefits) targetting the poor, rather than on the provision of universal services. These changes led to intense debate about the role of the commonwealth in the provision of social welfare, the legitimate targets of public expenditure (particularly the acceptability or otherwise of ‘middle-class welfare’) and the most appropriate means of delivering services.