Quarterly Essay 49 Not Dead Yet

Quarterly Essay 49 Not Dead Yet
Author: Mark Latham
Publisher: Black Inc.
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2013-03-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1921870931

With an election looming and criticism of the ALP now a national pastime, Mark Latham considers the future for Labor. The nation has changed, but can the party? With wit and insight, Latham reveals an organisation top-heavy with factional bosses protecting their turf. At the same time Labor’s traditional working-class base has long been eroding. People who grew up in fibro shacks now live in double-storey affluence. Families once resigned to a lifetime of blue-collar work now expect their children to be well-educated professionals and entrepreneurs. Latham explains how Labor has always succeeded as a grassroots party, and argues for reforms to clear out the apparatchiks and dead wood. Then there are the key policy challenges: what to do about the Keating economic legacy, education and poverty. Latham examines the rise of a destructive and reactionary far-right under the wing of Tony Abbott. He also makes the case that climate change is the ultimate challenge – and even opportunity – for a centre-left party. Not Dead Yet is an essential contribution to political debate, which addresses the question: how can Labor reinvent itself and speak to a changed Australia? “The grand old party of working-class participation has become a virtual party. In no other part of society ... could an organisation function this way and expect to survive. This is the core delusion of 21st-century democracy, that political parties can fragment and hollow out, yet still win the confidence of the people.” —Mark Latham, Not Dead Yet

Education Policy and the Australian Education Union

Education Policy and the Australian Education Union
Author: Andrew Vandenberg
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2018-03-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319680471

This book focuses on the politics of teacher resistance to the formation and implementation of neoliberal education policies in Australia. It argues that policies such as publishing examination test results online amounts to auditing teachers’ work, and assumes incompetence from teachers, which ultimately results in diverting teachers from their true professional responsibilities. The book outlines the rise of transnational networks that promote market-oriented methods of achieving social objectives, such as good education for all students, and considers a range of explanations for why this education policy was strengthened in Australia in 2010. It also reviews a range of arguments about professional unionism, and reflects on the history of the Australian Education Union and its capacity to resist social neoliberalism. The book concludes by reporting on a case-study in which principals, teachers and parents at two ordinary schools in Australia have managed to keep market forces at bay. It will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of education and sociology, particularly those interested in education policy, political ideology, unionism, and schools.

Triumph and Demise

Triumph and Demise
Author: Paul Kelly
Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2014-10-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0522867820

Featuring a new introduction in response to Julia Gillard's memoir, this revised edition brings Paul Kelly's masterpiece on the Rudd–Gillard years up to the present. Drawing on more than sixty on-the-record interviews with all the major players, Triumph and Demise is full of remarkable disclosures. It is the inside account of the hopes, achievements and bitter failures of the Labor Government from 2007 to 2013. Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard came together to defeat John Howard, formed a brilliant partnership and raised the hopes of the nation. Yet they fell into tension and then hostility under the pressures of politics and policy. Veteran journalist Paul Kelly probes the dynamics of the Rudd-Gillard partnership and dissects what tore them apart. He tells the full story of Julia Gillard’s tragedy as our first female prime minister—her character, Rudd's destabilisation, the carbon tax saga and how Gillard was finally pulled down on the eve of the 2013 election. Kelly documents the most misunderstood event in these years—the rise of Tony Abbott and the reason for his success. It was Abbott's performance that denied Rudd and Gillard the chance to recover. Labor misjudged Abbott and paid the price. Kelly writes with a keen eye and fearless determination. His central theme is that Australian politics has entered a crisis of the system that, unless corrected, will diminish the lives of all Australians.

Quarterly Essay 71 Follow the Leader

Quarterly Essay 71 Follow the Leader
Author: Laura Tingle
Publisher: Black Inc.
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2018-09-17
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1743820593

What is true political leadership, and how do we get it? What qualities should we wish for in our leaders? And why is it killing season for prime ministers? In this wise and timely essay, Laura Tingle argues that democratic leaders build a consensus for change, rather than bludgeon the system or turn politics into a popularity contest. They mobilise and guide, more than impose a vision. Tingle offers acute portraits – profiles in courage and cunning – of leaders ranging from Merkel and Howard to Macron and Obama. She discusses the rise of the strongman, including Donald Trump, for whom there is no map, only sentiment and power. And she analyses what has gone wrong with politics in Australia, arguing that successful leaders know what they want to do, and create the space and time to do it. After the Liberal Party’s recent episode of political madness, where does this leave the nation’s new prime minister, Scott Morrison? “The Liberal Party has been ripped apart and our polity is the worse off for having one of its major political parties rendered largely ungovernable ... Malcolm Turnbull’s fate came down to a series of judgements made not just by him, but by his colleagues, who spent much of his prime ministership failing to follow the leader and also failing in their own collective responsibility for leadership.” —Laura Tingle, Follow the Leader

Glory Daze

Glory Daze
Author: Jim Chalmers
Publisher: Melbourne Univ. Publishing
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2013-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0522864147

Why does Australia, a nation with one of the world's best economies, have such a dim view of its own performance? Why does it see itself as worse off than some of the basket-case economies of southern Europe? How did a country that was smart enough to avoid recession and mass unemployment despite a global meltdown get so down on itself? In Glory Daze Jim Chalmers argues that the combination of hyper-partisanship and self-serving incentives in politics have resulted in a deficit of national self-esteem. This insider account provides a unique perspective on national identity. Chalmers concludes that unless a stop is put to the poisonous politics of recent years, Australia runs the risk of squandering existing national advantages and compromising our ability to tackle the challenges of the future.

The Cambridge Economic History of Australia

The Cambridge Economic History of Australia
Author: Simon Ville
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 710
Release: 2014-10-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1316194485

Australia's economic history is the story of the transformation of an indigenous economy and a small convict settlement into a nation of nearly 23 million people with advanced economic, social and political structures. It is a history of vast lands with rich, exploitable resources, of adversity in war, and of prosperity and nation building. It is also a history of human behaviour and the institutions created to harness and govern human endeavour. This account provides a systematic and comprehensive treatment of the nation's economic foundations, growth, resilience and future, in an engaging, contemporary narrative. It examines key themes such as the centrality of land and its usage, the role of migrant human capital, the tension between development and the environment, and Australia's interaction with the international economy. Written by a team of eminent economic historians, The Cambridge Economic History of Australia is the definitive study of Australia's economic past and present.

Quarterly Essay 65 The White Queen

Quarterly Essay 65 The White Queen
Author: David Marr
Publisher: Black Inc.
Total Pages: 144
Release: 2017-03-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1925435490

Most Australians despise what Pauline Hanson stands for, yet politics in this country is now orbiting around One Nation. In this timely Quarterly Essay, David Marr looks at Australia’s politics of fear, resentment and race. Who votes One Nation, and why? How much of this is due to inequality? How much to racism? How should the major parties respond to anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim voices? What damage do Australia’s new entrepreneurs of hate inflict on the nation? Written with drama and wit, this is a ground-breaking look at politics and prejudice by one of Australia’s best writers. “This woman went to prison, danced the cha-cha on national television for a couple of years, and failed so often at the ballot box she became a running joke. But the truth is she never left us. She was always knocking on the door. Most of those defeats at the polls were close-run things. For twenty years political leaders appeased Hanson’s followers while working to keep her out of office. The first strategy tainted Australian politics. The second eventually failed. So she’s with us again – the Kabuki make-up, that mop of red hair and the voice telling us what we already know: ‘I’m fed up.’” —David Marr, The White Queen

Quarterly Essay 62 Firing Line

Quarterly Essay 62 Firing Line
Author: James Brown
Publisher: Black Inc.
Total Pages: 126
Release: 2016-06-13
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1925435016

Going to war may be the gravest decision a nation and its leaders make. At the moment, Australia is at war with the Islamic State. We also live in a region that has become much more volatile, as China asserts itself and America seeks to hold the line. What is it like to go to war? How do we decide to go to war? Where might we go to war in the future? Will we get that decision right? In this vivid, urgent essay, James Brown looks to history, strategy and his own experience to explore these questions. He examines the legacy of the Iraq War and argues that it has prevented a clear view of Australia’s future conflicts. He looks at how we plug into the US war machine, now that American troops are based in Darwin. And he sheds fascinating light on the extraordinary concentration of war powers in the hands of the Prime Minister – and how this might go wrong. This powerful essay argues that we have not yet begun to think through the choices that may confront us in years ahead. ‘When you live in a country like ours, the dirty business of war is a stranger. That is the blessed legacy of a place where soldiers are rarely seen, and then only on parade. Where war means Anzac Day, and Anzac Days are all the same. There are few moments in modern Australia when you might pause to ask the most consequential of questions . . . What is it that we are willing to fight for?’ —James Brown, Firing Line ‘[James Brown] is a fine writer, clear and persuasive and capable of adroit tactical moves.’ —Weekend Australian ‘Brown’s survey of this complicated landscape yields some striking phrases and arresting moments. He is a natural and precise writer with a vivid sense of place.’ —Australian Book Review

Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business
Author: Anna Goldsworthy
Publisher: Quarterly Essay
Total Pages: 134
Release: 2013-06-20
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1921870990

On the surface, it seems the best time ever to be a woman in Australia. The prime minister, governor-general and the richest person are all female; women are at the forefront of almost every area of public life. Yet when Julia Gillard's misogyny speech ricocheted around the world, it clearly touched a nerve. Why? In the fiftieth Quarterly Essay, Anna Goldsworthy examines life for women after the gains made by feminism. From Facebook to 50 Shades of Grey, from Girls to gonzo porn, what are young women being told about work and equality, about sex and their bodies? Why do many reject the feminist label? And why does pop culture wink at us with storylines featuring submissive women? Unfinished Business is an original look at role models and available options in the age of social media and sexual frankness. Goldsworthy finds that progress for women has provoked a backlash from some, who wield misogyny as a weapon, whether in parliament, on talkback radio or as internet trolls. With piercing insight and sharp humour, she lays bare the dilemmas of being female today and asks how women can truly become free subjects. 'There is a charmed zone for a girl, shortly before she is ambushed by puberty. At eleven or twelve, she is usually taller than her male peers; more articulate; and more confident than she will be for years. She probably spends a lot of time in front of a screen, words and images flickering in her eyes. Facebook, Slutwalks, Lady Gaga, Girls, Mad Men, gonzo porn, Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey. What messages are being broadcast to her, and what messages is she hearing? Are they going to make her bigger, or smaller?' Anna Goldsworthy, Unfinished Business