Significant issues for the Howard government included implementation of substantial spending cuts in its first term of office and completely paying off government debt; gun control; the popularity of Pauline Hanson and her One Nation party; industrial relations reforms, including the 1998 waterfront dispute and the introduction of WorkChoices; the 1999 Australian republic referendum; reconciliation and native title; the introduction of a goods and services tax; the 1999 Australian-led intervention in East Timor; blocking boats of refugees from seeking asylum in Australia; the "War on Terror"; the intervention in Northern Territory Indigenous communities; and an economy that experienced sustained growth throughout the government's term of office.