On May 21st, Australians will go to the polls to decide on the future of the nation — which party will emerge victorious, how a government will be formed and, most importantly, who our Prime Minister will be.
The books below will help you to get to grips with how the election works, as well as some of the biggest issues facing Australia in the near future, while others provide interesting perspectives on leaders past and present. Decided or undecided, each of these books make for fascinating reading for Aussie voters. Read on!
The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison
by Sean Kelly
What happens when the prime minister views politics only as a game? In a time of uncertainty, the country chose in 2019 to turn to a man with no obvious beliefs, no clear purpose and no famous talents. That we wanted Scott Morrison was the secret we did not know about ourselves. What precisely that secret is forms the subject of this book.
In The Game, Sean Kelly gives us a portrait of a man, the shallow political culture that allowed him to succeed and the country that crowned him.
Buy it here
The Idea of Australia: A search for the soul of the nation
by Julianne Schultz
What is the ‘idea of Australia’? What defines the soul of our nation? Are we an egalitarian, generous, outward-looking country? Or is Australia a place that has retreated into silence and denial about the past and become selfish, greedy and insular? A lifetime of watching Australia as a journalist, editor, academic and writer has given Julianne Schultz a unique platform from which to ask and answer these critical questions. The global pandemic gave her time to study the X-ray of our country and the opportunity for perspective and analysis.
Schultz came to realise that the idea of Australia is a contest between those who are imaginative, hopeful, altruistic and ambitious, and those who are defensive and inward-looking. She became convinced we need to acknowledge and better understand our past to make sense of our present and build a positive and inclusive future. She suggests what Australia could be: smart, compassionate, engaged, fair and informed.
Buy it here
On Reckoning
by Amy Remeikis
The Guardian‘s political reporter Amy Remeikis has spoken before about being a survivor of sexual assault, but Brittany Higgins going public with her story ripped the curtain back not just on political attempts to deal with real-world issues, but also how unsafe women can be, even inside the most protected building in the country. Amy didn’t expect to see political leaders fumble the moment so completely. And what followed was people taking back the conversation from the politicians.
On Reckoning is a searing account of Amy’s personal and professional rage, taking you inside the parliament – and out – during one of the most confronting and uncomfortable conversations in recent memory.
Buy it here
Keeping Them Honest
by Stephen Charles and Catherine Williams
A revealing and compelling case for a strong national body to expose political corruption, uphold accountability, and restore trust – and why the country needs it now.
Over the last few years, instances of the federal government spending taxpayers’ money to gain improper political advantage in elections have continued, with many hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in the worthy-sounding Community Sport Infrastructure Program (aka the Sports Rorts) and the Urban Congestion Fund (the Carpark Rorts). As Stephen Charles writes, these electorally targeted pork-barrelling exercises are better understood as political corruption, which can take many forms but essentially involves dishonest conduct that undermines trust in our democratic political system. Keeping Them Honest points to the crucial absence of a federal integrity commission.
Buy it here
Top Blokes: The Larrikin Myth, Class and Power (Quarterly Essay 83)
by Lech Blaine
The figure of the larrikin goes deep in Australian culture. But who can be a larrikin, and what are its political uses? This brilliant essay looks at Australian politics through the prisms of class, egalitarianism and masculinity.
Lech Blaine examines some “top blokes,” with particular focus on Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese, but stretching back to Bob Hawke and Kerry Packer. He shows how Morrison brought a cohort of voters over to the Coalition side, “flipping” what was once working-class Labor culture. Blaine weaves his own experiences through the essay as he explores the persona of the Aussie larrikin. What are its hidden contradictions – can a larrikin be female, or Indigenous, say? – and how has it been transformed by an age of affluence and image?
Buy it here
Australian Politics For Dummies
by Dr Nick Economou and Dr Zareh Ghazarian
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 of elections, parties and policies, and learn to discuss the big issues in no time. You have to vote, now learn why and how. Decipher political terminology, clear explanations of the houses of parliament, voting systems and more. Learn how Australia’s political system evolved and how Westminster and Washington were combined to produce ‘Washminster’. Appreciate parliamentary roles, what the Whips do and just what the Usher of the Black Rod is.
Buy it here
Bob Hawke: Demons and Destiny
by Troy Bramston
The definitive full-life biography of Australia’s 23rd prime minister; the only one that Hawke cooperated with after exiting the prime ministership.
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 friends; political and union colleagues, and rivals; advisers and public servants; and journalists; along with international contemporaries of Hawke such as George H.W. Bush, John Major, Brian Mulroney, James Baker and George Shultz. It also brings together an extraordinary array of never-before-seen archival documents.
Buy it here
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