Actually, a fuller quote in context makes old Tanner seem to be as good or bad as he ever was.

[...] we're moving into a different world where the demand for oil is soaring. And the factors that are driving the petrol price up are the same factors that are driving the mining boom, that are driving the huge increases in Australia's income from coal and iron ore.

And that's billions of people, huge numbers of people seeing their living standards improve and large numbers of people moving into things like
driving cars.

So it's in some respects, the down side of the international factors driving the mining boom.

We have got a long term challenge here, to change the way we operate as a society. We've got huge urban congestion problems that we're committed to addressing. We've got big infrastructure problems, there's a big agenda here that we are committed to pursuing.

[my emphasis]

Immediately after your selective quote to make him look bad, we get,

But certainly we have got to prepare for that possibility. Our cities are creaking at the seams. They're all getting too congested.

We've got infrastructure problems that are the result of ten, 12 years of neglect in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne in particular. That's why
we've established the Building Australia fund, that's why we're committed to investing in infrastructure.

Because that's one of the significant elements that causes people to have to use a lot of petrol.

As always, a fuller reading gives a fuller understanding. Selective quoting gives a selective picture. It seems like Tanner hasn't declined in frankness.

Mind you, most of the rest of the discussion was the usual meaningless political ramblings, "We work hard, the other guys are lazy" but the journo encouraged that with "maybe you're working the public service too hard?" Sloppy stuff.