Enid Lyons, Leading Lady to a Nation by HENDERSON ANNE

$49.95 AUD

Category: Australian Politics

Gender Politics: Women and Australian Political Leadership by Zareh Ghazarian (Editor); Katrina Lee-Koo (Editor)

$39.99 AUD

Category: Australian Politics

Gender is a powerful force that shapes Australia's political leadership.Gender impacts the politics, government and policies of our nation. It influences the public lives of all political leaders. It affects how they interact with political institutions and cultures, with each other and how they are tre ated by the media. It can also shape who we see as strong and capable leaders.Yet, there is a lack of diversity in leadership positions across the political system and accusations of bullying and a toxic culture in our political parties are rife. So what impact does this have upon how Australia is governed and what might be done about it?From the debates on gender quotas to the 'bonk ban', from Julie Bishop's failed leadership bid to Scott Morrison's cultivated 'daggy dad' persona, from the treatment and legacy of Australia's first female prime minister to the machinations of our political parties and parliament, this book explores the subtle and overt operation of gender politics in Australia.Gender Politics is a provocative and urgent collection that re-examines the way we navigate power and leadership in Australian politics. ...Show more

How Good is Scott Morrison? by Peter van Onselen, Wayne Errington

$34.99 AUD

Category: Australian Politics

Without fear or favour, How Good is Scott Morrison? examines the trials and tribulations of our 30th prime minister. Investigating Morrison's unlikely rise to the liberal leadership and his miracle electoral win, van Onselen and Errington put his leadership under the spotlight. Covering Morrison's disas trous management of the catastrophic bushfire season that was highlighted by the extraordinary statement, 'I don't hold the hose, mate,' and the decision to holiday while the country burned, How Good is Scott Morrison? shows his resolve and the redemption the government's response to the pandemic brought him. Right now, Scott Morrison seems unassailable and sure to win the next election, but what exactly is his vision for Australia? A pragmatist rather than an ideologue, he is a deeply Pentecostal religious man but he doesn't wear his faith as a badge of honour. So what does he really believe in? When the history of this period is written, Morrison will certainly be seen as an election winner but will he be viewed as having had the courage and vision to change Australia for the better, or the worse?   ...Show more

A Cry From The Far Middle by P. J. O'Rourke

$29.99 AUD

Category: International Politics

P.J. O'Rourke says we've worked ourselves into a state of anger and perplexity, and it's no surprise because perplexed and angry is what America has always been all about. This uproarious look at the current state of the United States includes essays like 'The New Puritanism - and Welcome to It,' about the upside of being 'woke' (and unable to get back to sleep); 'Sympathy vs. Empathy,' which considers whether it's better to have an idea of how people feel or to bust their skulls to get inside their heads; 'A Brief Digression on the Additional Hell of the Internet of Things' because your juicer is sending fake news to your FitBit about what's in your refrigerator; and many more. A couple of extra perks include a quiz to determine where you stand on the spectrum of 'Coastals vs. Heartlanders' and a 'An Inauguration Speech I'd Like To Hear:' ask not what your country can do for you. Ask me how I can get the hell out of here. Featuring extensive coverage from the 2020 campaign trail, this is P.J. at his acerbic best.   ...Show more

Australian Foreign Affairs: Friends, Allies and Enemies; Asia's Shifting Loyalties; Aust

$22.99 AUD

Category: Foreign Affairs

The tenth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the new alliances, blocs and rivalries that are emerging across the Asia-Pacific as countries adjust to the changing balance of power in a changed world. Friends, Allies and Enemies looks at Australia’s diplomatic options as loyalties shift in an in creasingly turbulent region. Head of the National Security College at the Australian National University Rory Medcalf on the past, present and future of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Associate Professor in American Politics Tim Lynch on George Friedman's The Storm Before The Calm and where the United States is standing. Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies Hugh White on how Australia's alliances will fare in an Asia shaped by pandemics and power rivalries. Regular feature The Fix, on how to solve a key Australian foreign affairs challenge Award-winning writer Richard Cooke dissects key foreign policy terms Correspondence on AFA9: Spy vs Spy ...Show more

Cathy Goes to Canberra - Doing Politics Differently by Cathy McGowan

$29.95 AUD

Category: Australian Politics | Series: Biography Ser.

Whenever anyone tells you that only the big parties or star candidates have a chance of winning a seat in federal parliament, just say 'Cathy McGowan'. Running as a community-backed independent candidate, Cathy won the previously safe Liberal seat of Indi in 2013 and again in 2016 and passed Indi on to another independent in 2019 - a first in Australian history. Cathy tells how thousands of ordinary men and women in north-eastern Victoria got together, organised themselves and made their voices heard in Canberra. ...Show more

Challenging Politics by Scott Ryan

$19.95 AUD

Category: Australian Politics | Series: In the National Interest Ser.

Australia has enjoyed an unprecedented period of prosperity in recent decades, yet despite this there has been a widely reported loss of faith in politics and institutions. With the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia faces its most significant economic and social challenges in decades. How is politics placed to deal with these challenges and what is the capacity of our key institutions to do so? What are the lessons and warnings from history?In Challenging Politics, longtime politician Scott Ryan argues that the way we determine issues, the way we practice politics, and what we expect from politicians and government, is in flux. To some, the virtue of compromise has become the sin of sellout. The louder voices of fringe and single-issue movements attract attention, money and commitment, and apply litmus tests to those who seek to govern. This makes it more difficult for our institutions, and therefore our politics, to function effectively. The long-talked-about collapse of the centre isn't solely about extreme ideas. It is also about how our expectations of politics and our institutions have changed.In the National Interest is a new series in the Monash University Publishing list that is focused on the challenges Australia confronts. The series informs, influences and inspires public discourse. Showcasing experts both from within Monash and beyond, these short, thought-provoking and accessible books will address the major issues of our times, from public policy to governance and government. ...Show more

Democracy in Times of Pandemic - Different Futures Imagined by Miguel Poiares Maduro (Editor); Paul W. Kahn (Editor)

$37.95 AUD

Category: Politics

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an important case study, on a global scale, of how democracy works - and fails to work - today. From leadership to citizenship, from due process to checks and balances, from globalization to misinformation, from solidarity within and across borders to the role of expe rtise, key democratic concepts both old and new are now being put to the test. The future of democracy around the world is at issue as today's governments manage their responses to the pandemic. Bringing together some of today's most creative thinkers, these essays offer a variety of inquiries into democracy during the global pandemic with a view to imagining post-crisis political conditions. Representing different regions and disciplines, including law, politics, philosophy, religion, and sociology, eighteen voices offer different outlooks - optimistic and pessimistic - on the future. ...Show more

Gravity : Inside the PM's Office During Her Last Year and Final Days by Mary Delahunty

$29.95 AUD

Category: Australian Politics

Our first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard came to power suddenly in a coup that perplexed the nation. She hurried to an election and was chained to a hung parliament. She out-negotiated Tony Abbott and formed a minority government, but the deepest threat was from within: the man she beat for the to p job would relentlessly undermine her for three torturous years. In this exclusive insider account, award-winning journalist Mary Delahunty teases out the personal from the political as she asks why we never got to know this Prime Minister. She reveals for the first time Gillard's reflections on why she struggled at the top, as well as the thoughts of other key players in this brutal saga. Delahunty had unparallelled access to the PM throughout her final year, and was the only journalist to speak to Gillard on that fatal June day. Gravity takes readers inside Gillard's private office to detail the drama - exposing the cost of defeat, and capturing just how fast power drains away. ...Show more

How to Win an Election by Wallace, Chris

$29.99 AUD

Category: Australian Politics

   The 2019 Australian election produced a surprise result showing, not for the first time, that every election is there for the taking – including the next one. Here are the ten steps to winning an election. We have a democracy that performs relatively well, but many Australian elections are very clo se. So-called ‘unloseable’ elections are lost, reminding us that every election is a real contest. In this indispensable book drawing from years of close-up observation and analysis, historian and political journalist Chris Wallace draws out the ten essential steps to winning an election.The learner’s error, she argues, is to grasp onto a couple of factors – so-called ‘conventional wisdom’ - without considering a full suite of winning factors and tracing the connections between them. Wallace notes that even when a couple of factors are significant in an election scenario, small improvements elsewhere can make the difference between winning and losing if performance and professionalism are maximised across the board.How to Win an Election is not a book designed to change your political opinion. It is a crucial resource for future political campaigns to ensure credibility, competence and accountability. Most of all, it is for party supporters and voters who can cast their vote knowing it has been backed by the best possible efforts to create change.'Elections in Australia are often decided by remarkably tight margins – a few thousand votes shift in some key seats and you get a different outcome. The campaigns parties run are complex and yet need to coalesce around strong, simple core messages. From the inside they are high-wire acts, often winner-take-all-bets. Chris Wallace brings original thinking and clarity to understanding the dynamics of elections and offers practical suggestions on how to win — including some that could probably only have come from an astute outsider.' — Geoff Walsh, ALP National Secretary (2000–2003), former adviser to Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating and Premiers Steve Bracks and John Brumby, veteran of nine Australian election campaigns and journalist ...Show more

Insider: The Scoops, the Scandals and the Serious Business Within the Canberra Bubble by Christopher Pyne

$24.99 AUD

Category: Australian Politics

Christopher Pyne has been many things and called many things throughout his long career in politics. Member for Sturt. Minister for Defence. Manager of Opposition Business. Leader of the House. 'The Fixer'. Any Canberra story he doesn't know isn't worth telling.Now, after 26 years, the ultimate insider is outside the House and ready to burst the Canberra bubble with his trademark sharp wit. His revelations of dealings, double dealings, friendships and feuds shine a light on the political processes of those in power: the egos, the sacrifices, the winners, the losers, the triumphs and the failures. From Howard to Rudd, Gillard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison, Christopher Pyne has seen and heard it all. THE INSIDER is one of the most brilliant, funny, engaging books by an Australian public figure you'll ever read. ...Show more

It's the Government, Stupid!: How Governments Blame Citizens for Their Own Policies by Keith Dowding

$44.99 AUD

Category: Politics

Governments have developed a convenient habit of blaming social problems on their citizens, placing too much emphasis on personal responsibility and pursuing policies to ‘nudge’ their citizens to better behaviour. Dowding shows that, in fact, responsibility for many of our biggest social crises — includ ing obesity, gun crime, homelessness, drug addiction and problem gambling — should be laid at the feet of politicians. He argues for a radical shift, encouraging us to stop scapegoating fellow citizens. He calls instead for us to demand more from our governments, who have the real power and responsibility to alleviate problems and bring about lasting change. Governments have developed a convenient habit of blaming social problems on their citizens, placing too much emphasis on personal responsibility and pursuing policies to 'nudge' their citizens to better behaviour. Dowding shows that, in fact, responsibility for many of our biggest social crises - including obesity, gun crime, homelessness, drug addiction and problem gambling - should be laid at the feet of politicians. He argues for a radical shift, encouraging us to stop scapegoating fellow citizens. He calls instead for us to demand more from our governments, who have the real power and responsibility to alleviate problems and bring about lasting change. ...Show more