Politics

Losing Streak: How Tasmania was gamed by the gambling industry by James Boyce

May 2017, no. 391

Gambling is part of Australia’s self-definition. The way we like to tell the story, lads at Gallipoli went over the top with a two-up kip in one hand and a rifle in the other, while exchanging tips for the Melbourne Cup ...

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The White Queen: One Nation and the politics of race (Quarterly Essay 65) by David Marr

by Lucas Grainger-Brown •

May 2017, no. 391

Lucas Grainger-Brown reviews 'The White Queen: One Nation and the politics of race' (Quarterly Essay 65) by David Marr

_David Marr’s interlocking identities as consummate essayist, journalist of forty-five years, ferocious biographer, and staunch cosmopolitan increasingly eclipse his subject. He wears the condition honestly and inelegantly. ‘I’m a grumpy old guy who hasn’t found in twenty years another big life worth writing’, he remarked in his ...

Insane Clown President by Matt Taibbi & How The Hell Did This Happen? by by P.J. O’Rourke

by James McNamara •

May 2017, no. 391

James McNamara reviews 'Insane Clown President: Dispatches from the 2016 Circus' by Matt Taibbi and 'How The Hell Did This Happen? The Election of 2016' by P.J. O’Rourke

Beneath a frantic veneer of normalcy, American politics is not okay. It is as if Punch and Judy have careened out of a dive bar, tripped down the rabbit hole, smashed head-first through the looking glass, and found themselves running all three branches of government. Core to this is that unlikely combination of words, President Donald Trump.

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Disposable Leaders: Media and leadership coups from Menzies to Abbott by Rodney Tiffen

by Dennis Altman •

April 2017, no. 390

Dennis Altman reviews 'Disposable Leaders: Media and leadership coups from Menzies to Abbott' by Rodney Tiffen

When Australia’s living prime ministers attended the funeral of Gough Whitlam in 2014, there were considerable difficulties in taking the official photograph. Rather than grouping them in order of seniority, the photographer carefully separated Malcolm Fraser from John Howard; Bob Hawke from Paul Keating; Kevin Rudd from Julia Gillard. Animosities within ruling pa ...

The Turnbull Gamble by Wayne Errington and Peter van Onselen

by Lucas Grainger-Brown •

January–February 2017, no. 388

Lucas Grainger-Brown reviews 'The Turnbull Gamble' by Wayne Errington and Peter van Onselen

After he crossed the Rubicon, Julius Caesar marched on Rome and imposed an authoritarian rule that would alter history. The way in which Australia embraced ...

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John Curtin: How he won over the media by Caryn Coatney

by Paul Strangio •

November 2016, no. 386

Paul Strangio reviews 'John Curtin: How he won over the media' by Caryn Coatney

John Curtin occupies the top tier in the pantheon of Australian national leaders. ‘Expert’ rankings of former officer holders – a practice lately imported from the United States, where ...

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Comrade Corbyn by Rosa Prince

by Simon Tormey •

November 2016, no. 386

Simon Tormey reviews 'Comrade Corbyn' by Rosa Prince

In an extraordinary year for British politics the gloriously unexpected triumph of Jeremy Corbyn in the Labour Party’s leadership election in September 2015 probably ranks ...

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A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji struggle, after the walk-off by Charlie Ward

by Timothy Neale •

November 2016, no. 386

Timothy Neale reviews 'A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji struggle, after the walk-off' by Charlie Ward

The iconography of Indigenous land rights in Australia is fundamentally deceptive. Take, for example, the famous photograph of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring red ...

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The Making of Donald Trump by David Cay Johnston

by David Smith •

October 2016, no. 385

David Smith reviews 'The Making of Donald Trump' by David Cay Johnston

This is an angry book. David Cay Johnston has been doing investigative reporting on Donald Trump's business practices for nearly three decades, and this book is a compilation of ...

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Dark Money: The hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right by Jane Mayer

by James McNamara •

October 2016, no. 385

James McNamara reviews 'Dark Money: The hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right' by Jane Mayer

When I arrived in America, green card in hand, I soon got down to my favourite pastime: discussing politics over grain-based liquor. I was surprised to find that President Barack ...

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