Passionate, vivid and immediate, and full of insights, this is Rob Oakeshott's honest and real story of life in Australian politics. From his apprenticeship in the NSW parliament to the last days of the Gillard government, he tells it as it was.When the results of the 2010 federal election became known, no party had a majority in the House of Representatives it was the first hung parliament for forty years. So, both the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Leader of the Oppositio...

A fascinating insight into one of Australia's most powerful and effective political figures.Tony Windsor's understanding of the issues facing his rural and regional constituency motivated him to become a representative for those who love the land, from farmers to environmentalists, from rich to poor.Though the former National Party member's decision to support a minority Labor government created a firestorm of abuse, he managed to maintain his focus on the big picture, gain...

Praise for Swan's handling of the economy'One of the most impressive economic policies I have seen, ever.' - Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel laureate'Wayne Swan's judgment and decisiveness, in international terms, must rank a high distinction.' - Paul KeatingA very personal account of an extraordinary period in Australian politics.Despite the divisions within the Labor Party as the Rudd government fell into disunity and as Julia Gillard was undermined by disloyalty f...

From Barton to AlbaneseUpdated editionSince 1901, thirty-one different leaders have run the national show. Whether their term was eight days or eighteen years, each prime minister has a story worth sharing.Edmund Barton united the bickering states in a federation. The unlucky Jimmy Scullin took office days before Wall Street crashed into the Great Depression. John Curtin faced the ultimate challenge of wartime leadership. John Gorton, Gough...

'Don't write crap. Can't be that hard. And when you have written complete crap, then I think you should correct it.' Julia GillardWhen Julia Gillard took the reins of the Australian Labor Party on 24 June 2010 she did so with the goodwill of the majority of her party and a fawning Canberra press gallery. The man she had supplanted, Kevin Rudd, led an isolated band of angry Labor voices at this surprising turn of events. The collective political and media verdict was that his time, ...

One man's phenomenal tale of escaping a death sentence in Iraq, surviving the Australian Refugee system and becoming a pioneering surgeon at the forefront of Orthopaedic medicine.In 1999, Munjed Al Muderis was a young surgical resident working in Baghdad when a squad of Military Police marched into the operating theatre and ordered the surgical team to mutilate the ears of three busloads of army deserters. When the head of surgery refused, he was executed in front ...

WINNER OF THE 2017 AUSTRALIAN BOOK INDUSTRY AWARDS, GENERAL NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARWINNER OF THE 2016 MELBOURNE PRESS CLUB LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD‘There will be no wrecking, no undermining, and no sniping.’–Tony Abbott, 15 September 2015Abbott’s performances in the party-room debates on education and climate change had ranged between woeful and pathetic. He sounded desperate, he was inconsistent, and — his colleag...

We were a motley mob, we sans-culottes of Canberra …In this vastly entertaining book, Mungo MacCallum captures the spirit of a nation-changing time. He portrays the Whitlam government’s key figures – from Gough and Margaret to Lionel Murphy, Bill Hayden and Jim Cairns – as well as “the other mob” in opposition – Billy McMahon, John Gorton, Malcolm Fraser and many more.The Whitlam Mob addresses some crucial questions: What was the night of the long prawns? ...

In this impressive biography, freshly updated, leading business writer Paddy Manning tells the story of Tinkler's meteoric rise to wealth, and captures the drama of his equally rapid downfall.From blue collar to billionaire . . .Hunter Valley mine electrician Nathan Tinkler borrowed big in 2005, invested in coal and by 2011 was a billionaire. He had gambled on a rising market and won. He lived the high life as only a young man would, buying luxury homes, ...

If there are genuine questions about Australian history, there is something to puzzle over. The history ceases to be predictable—and dull.From the author of The Shortest History of Europe, acclaimed historian John Hirst, comes this fresh and stimulating approach to understanding Australia's past and present.Hirst asks and answers questions that get to the heart of Australia's history:Why did Aborigines not become farmers?How did a p...

Six years after vacating his position as the longest-serving Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr returned to politics in his dream job: as Foreign Minister of Australia and a senior federal cabinet minister.For 18 months he kept a diary documenting a whirl of high-stakes events on the world stage – the election of Australia to the UN Security Council, the war in Syria and meetings with the most powerful people on the planet. And they all unfold against the gripping, uncertain dome...

Power Trip shows the making of Kevin Rudd, prime minister. In Eumundi, where Rudd was born, David Marr investigates the formative tragedy of his life: the death of his father and what came after. He tracks the transformation of a dreamy kid into an implacably determined youth, already set on the prime ministership. He examines Rudd's years as Wayne Goss's right-hand man in Queensland, his relentless work in federal Opposition – from Sunrise to AWB – and finally his record...