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“We were a motley mob, we sans-culottes of Canberra …” In this vastly entertaining book, Mungo MacCallum captures the spirit of a nation-changing time. He portrays the Whitlam government’s key figures – from Gough and Margaret to Lionel Murphy, Bill Hayden and Jim Cairns – as well as “the other mob” in opposition – Billy McMahon, John Gorton, Malcolm Fraser and many more. The Whitlam Mob addresses some crucial questions: What was the night of the long prawns? Who was the playboy of the parliament? And who was “the toe-cutter”? This is Mungo at his best: vivid and barbed, nostalgic but always clear-eyed.
"I come from a political family. This is less of a boast than an admission. While a trace of convict or aboriginal ancestry that was once a matter for shame and concealment is now considered rather chic, politicians remain the pits."When Mungo MacCallum moved to Canberra in 1967, he was immediately caught up in the maelstrom of political activity which was sweeping Australia. Already a satirical political journalist of repute, he went to Canberra to see what was happening. There he became one of the most influential and wittiest political chroniclers of the Whitlam years, writing entertaining material on the facts, analyses and anecdotes of the political animals who inhabit Parliament House.
The B Format release of last year's bestseller.Upon hearing that his nephew had chosen to enter politics, Uncle Mungo decided to impart his advice on how to succeed in politics, from choice of party through media manipulation and back-stabbing, to elevation to the prime ministership. Illustrated by plentiful examples drawn from a lifetime's close observation of Australian politics, (particularly the Hawke-Keating-Howard years), Mungo's tongue-in-cheek advice throughout is by turn wise and cynical, and always very funny. How to be a Megalomaniac: Advice to a Young Politician is enlivened by specially commissioned cartoons from Patrick Cook.
Since 1901, thirty different leaders have run the national show. Whether their term was eight days or eighteen years, each prime minister has a story worth sharing. Edmund Barton united the bickering states in a federation. The unlucky Jimmy Scullin took office days before Wall Street crashed into the Great Depression. John Curtin faced the ultimate challenge of wartime leadership. John Gorton, Gough Whitlam and Paul Keating each shook up their parties' policies so vigorously that none lasted much longer than a single term. Harold Holt spent three decades in parliament, only to disappear while swimming off the coast of Victoria just under two years into his first term. John Howard's "triple bypass" is the stuff of legend. Julia Gillard overthrew Kevin Rudd and Kevin Rudd overthrew Julia Gillard, thus paving the way for Tony Abbott, who was ousted by Malcolm Turnbull - until he too was toppled, this time by Scott Morrison. With characteristic wit and expert knowledge, Mungo MacCallum brings the nation's leaders to life in this updated edition of a classic book.
In the election to be held at the end of this year, Prime Minister John Howard will be fighting a much younger opponent with a completely new approach to politics. This book by experienced journalist Mungo MacCallum will be a passionate, bitter and amusing account of the election.
In The Best Australian Humorous Writing, Andrew O’Keefe and Steve Vizard corral our funniest minds and canniest observers into one entertaining anthology. The writers bring a unique antipodean mirth to everything that has touched our lives in recent times-from Sir Ian McKellen disrobing on stage to busting up the Logies, from the privatisation of Telstra to the curves of Nigella Lawson, from the perils of entertaining children to the perennial outrage that modern telecommunications offers. Among the contributors: Phillip Adams * David Astle * Graeme Blundell * The Chaser Kaz Cooke * Ian Cuthbertson * Mark Dapin * Catherine Deveny Frank Devine *Alexander Downer * Dame Edna Everage * Charles Firth Germaine Greer * Gideon Haigh * Marieke Hardy * Wendy Harmer Clive James * Danny Katz * Malcolm Knox * John Lethlean * Mungo MacCallum * Shane Maloney * Shaun Micallef * Paul Mitchell * Les Murray * Guy Rundle * Roy Slaven * Tony Wilson * Julia Zemiro
In Beyond Belief, John Button looks at what has gone wrong with the Labor Party. What has happened to the faith of the True Believers and why is the ALP so bad at recruiting new members? He offers a tough-minded analysis of what went wrong in the last election and asks why the Labor Party has turned its back on its destiny as a party of reform. Here is a very cool account of the factions which seem to stand for nothing but their own power bases, and the unions who both give and get little from the ALP. In a withering analysis, John Button looks at the quality of Labor members and the short-sightedness of a party turning its back on ideas. This is an essay by a man who still believes in Chifl...
Girt. No word could better capture the essence of Australia ... In this hilarious history, David Hunt reveals the truth of Australia's past, from megafauna to Macquarie - the cock-ups and curiosities, the forgotten eccentrics and Eureka moments that have made us who we are. Girt introduces forgotten heroes like Mary McLoghlin, transported for the crime of "felony of sock", and Trim the cat, who beat a French monkey to become the first animal to circumnavigate Australia. It recounts the misfortunes of the escaped Irish convicts who set out to walk from Sydney to China, guided only by a hand-drawn paper compass, and explains the role of the coconut in Australia's only military coup. Our nation...
In Girt By Sea Mungo MacCallum provides a devastating account of the Howard government's treatment of the refugees as well as delineating the factors in Australian history which have worked towards prejudice and those which have worked against it; ranging from Calwell's postwar immigration policy to the recent revelations of beat-ups and distortions in the 2001 election campaign. This is a powerful account of how the government played on what was ultimately the race issue. In an essay which is, by terms, witty, dry and bitingly understated, Mungo MacCallum asks what epithets are appropriate for a prime minister who has brought us to this pass. He also raises the question of whether Australia...
In this compulsively readable book John Button reflects on the patterns in his life, from growing up in his father's house in Ballarat to his days as a Cabinet Minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments. He is a natural storyteller who writes memorably about his childhood, his school days and his emerging political allegiances. Button paints a vivid picture of life inside parliament before he became Minister for Industry and Commerce in 1983, a job he was to hold for ten years. In recounting the challenges he faced Button always understands that politics is just one part of life. In this fascinating, stylish and hilarious memoir, he writes honestly about how politics works and why it often fails to work.