Australian Politics

Where will Dutton lead the Coalition? A portrait of Peter Dutton, as well as a modern interrogation of the Australian suburbs and the people who live there. 2022 saw the splintering of the Liberal Party's electoral coalition. Influential conservatives have urged Peter Dutton to forget about the s...

Authenticity. Vulnerability. Humility. Transparency. These are some of the 21st-century virtues proselytised by mindset gurus, paraded (if not practised) by big corporations, and lauded by professionals on LinkedIn. The quest for authenticity, for example, is central to progressive campaigns for ...

In 1996, the first independent national report on the state of Australia's environment found that we faced serious problems. With increasing urgency, five subsequent reports declared those problems were all getting worse, each calling for immediate action to protect our future. The 2021 report de...

What caused Australia's housing crisis and how we might fix it. One of the great mysteries of Australian life is that a land of sweeping plains, with one of the lowest population densities on the planet, has a shortage of land for houses. As a result, Sydney's median house price is the second mos...

A revelatory portrait of one of the most talented, poised and respected Australian politicians, written by one of Australia's foremost biographers. Senator Penny Wong is an extraordinary Australian politician. Resolute, self-possessed and a penetrating thinker on subjects from climate change to f...

Political Lives is an intimate history of image-making and image-breaking in national politics. In 2011, Chris Wallace was writing a biography of Julia Gillard. After seeing the unparalleled onslaught from the Abbott opposition, she cancelled her contract and repaid her advance with the awareness...

A fascinating portrait of one of Australia's most influential women. Elected to federal parliament aged just twenty-eight, Tanya Plibersek has lived almost half her life in the public eye - and is the longest-serving woman in Australia's House of Representatives. But how much do we know about wha...

Why a First Nations Voice to Parliament is a 'constitutional moment' that offers a new vision of Australia. This essential Quarterly Essay seeks to do two things- to make the strongest, clearest possible case for the Voice to Parliament. And to draw out the significance and the promise of this re...

Despite being described as 'a remarkably successful partnership' by John Howard and a 'triumph of trust' by his counterpart, Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson, the art of coalition government is a delicate (and sometimes difficult) balancing of policy, politics and personal...

Understand the Australian political system and make your vote count! Get to grips with the good, the bad and the ugly of Australian politics. Whether you're a seasoned political punter or a voting novice, this is your essential guide to understanding politics in Australia. Master the ins and outs...

Australia's relationship with China is one of the dominant geopolitical stories of our times. The need to understand the tectonic forces of history moving beneath the surface of these critical events has never been more pressing. In Australia's China Odyssey, acclaimed historian James Curran expl...

Scott Morrison wants to spend a lot more money on defence, the business community wants more spending on infrastructure and education, an ageing population wants better health and aged care, and young Australians want more action on climate change and affordable housing. Each problem requires mor...

This unprecedented biography of Hawke includes an exclusive series of interviews with him - the last that he gave - as well as unfiltered access to his extensive trove of personal papers. It features new interviews with more than 100 people who knew and worked with Hawke, including his family and...

Between 2013 and 2022, Tony Abbott begat Malcolm Turnbull, who begat Scott Morrison. For nine long years, Australia was governed by a succession of Coalition governments rocked by instability and bloodletting, and consumed with prosecuting climate and culture wars while neglecting policy. By the ...

An absorbing insider's account of leadership and service within Australia's Consular service, through tumultuous events including the September 11 attacks, the Bali bombings and the Boxing Day Tsunami. As head of Australia's consular service, Ian Kemish played a central role in the nation's respo...

Sumeyya Ilanbey's biography of Daniel Andrews tells the extraordinary story of the factional hack who became premier. She reveals how he defied the conventional political playbook to win back the blue collar vote for Labor, and overcome crises that could have been his downfall. His government imp...

The riveting story of an ex-prime minister, the travails of his successor's government, and what that bodes for the future of politics. Malcolm Turnbull's campaign against Scott Morrison and the Liberal Party is one of the greatest acts of political disloyalty in Australian history. Through the p...

John Clare was a titan in Australian politics. The head of a powerful union and a key player in the election of Kevin Rudd as prime minister in 2007, he had long been tipped as a future leader himself. Supporting him in his push for power were his elegant wife Grace, his troubled children Sophie ...

Harold Holt was a pivotal prime minister in Australian history. Ambitious, modern and telegenic, he helped bring his party and nation into the late twentieth century, following the Menzies years. Nowhere was Holt's legacy more significant than in the 1967 referendum, and in helping to end the Whi...

As Australia headed into the 2022 election, the media focused on the usual two-horse race. They ran photos of Scott Morrison in high-vis, and trapped Anthony Albanese with gotcha questions. But in community halls and online forums, suburban streets and country towns, a very different kind of poli...