Quarterly Essay

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Quarterly Essay 96: Minority Report - The New Shape of Australian Politics

George Megalogenis

What does the new political landscape look like in Australia?

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Quarterly Essay 95: High Noon - Trump, Harris and America on the Brink

Don Watson

Don Watson offers a report from the United States that catches the madness and theatre of an election like no other.

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Quarterly Essay 94: Highway to Hell – Climate Change and Australia’s Future

Joëlle Gergis

What will the climate crisis mean for Australia? What is the price of our inertia?

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Quarterly Essay 93: Bad Cop - Peter Dutton’s Strongman Politics

Lech Blaine

Where will Dutton lead the Coalition?

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Quarterly Essay 92: The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess and How to Fix It

Alan Kohler

What caused Australia's housing crisis – and how we might fix it

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Quarterly Essay 91: Lifeboat - Disability, Humanity and the NDIS

Micheline Lee

What ails the NDIS?

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Quarterly Essay 90: Voice of Reason - On Recognition and Renewal

Megan Davis

Why a First Nations Voice to Parliament is a ‘constitutional moment’ that offers a new vision of Australia

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Quarterly Essay 89: The Wires That Bind - Electrification and Community Renewal

Saul Griffith

A compelling vision of green energy at a local level

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Quarterly Essay 88: Lone Wolf - Albanese and the New Politics

Katharine Murphy

A portrait of a leader in the making, and a nation on the move

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Quarterly Essay 87: Uncivil Wars - How Contempt is Corroding Democracy

Waleed Aly,Scott Stephens

Why is public debate increasingly polarised - and what can we do about it?

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Quarterly Essay 86: Sleepwalk to War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance with America

Hugh White

Is the US-Australia alliance now based on a fantasy?

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Quarterly Essay 85: Not Waving, Drowning

Sarah Krasnostein

How can we mend Australia’s broken mental health system?

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Quarterly Essay 84: The Reckoning - How #MeToo is Changing Australia

Jess Hill

Tracing the impact of Australia’s #MeToo moment

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Quarterly Essay 83: Top Blokes - The Larrikin Myth, Class and Power

Lech Blaine

What makes a top bloke? Does the myth of the larrikin still hold sway? And whatever happened to class in Australia?

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Quarterly Essay 82: Exit Strategy - Politics After the Pandemic

George Megalogenis

In the wake of the pandemic, will we see a new politics of social security and concern for the future?

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Quarterly Essay 81: Getting to Zero

Alan Finkel

An essential guide to how Australia can tackle the climate crisis

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Quarterly Essay 80: The High Road - What Australia can Learn from New Zealand

Laura Tingle

In a tumultuous year, Australia and New Zealand have never been closer, as we move towards a shared travel zone. But why, despite being so close, do we seem to…

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Quarterly Essay 79: The End of Certainty - Scott Morrison and pandemic politics

Katharine Murphy

An urgent, grounded essay about Scott Morrison and conservatism today by one of Australia’s leading commentators and analysts.

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Quarterly Essay 78: The Coal Curse - Resources, Climate and Australia’s Future

Judith Brett

In this nuanced and insightful essay, Judith Brett looks at the consequences of Australia’s coal addiction, from stalled climate-change policy to tensions between farmers and miners. She assesses where to…

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Quarterly Essay 77: Cry Me A River - The Tragedy of the Murray-Darling Basin

Margaret Simons

The Murray-Darling Basin is the food bowl of Australia, and it’s in trouble. What does this mean for the future - for water and food, and for the people and…

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Quarterly Essay 76: Red Flag - Waking Up to China’s Challenge

Peter Hartcher

China has become a key nation for Australia’s future - for our security, economy and identity. But what are China’s intentions and strategy when it comes to Australia?

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Quarterly Essay 75: Men at Work: Australia’s Parenthood Trap

Annabel Crabb

In this Quarterly Essay, Annabel Crabb deploys political observation, workplace research and her characteristic humour and intelligence to argue that gender equity cannot be achieved until men are as…

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Quarterly Essay 74: The Prosperity Gospel – How Scott Morrison Won and Bill Shorten Lost

Erik Jensen

A dazzling and insightful look at the federal election, built from pen portraits and reports from the campaign trail.

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Quarterly Essay 73: Australia Fair - Listening to the Nation

Rebecca Huntley

In this vivid, grounded essay, Rebecca Huntley looks at the state of the nation and asks: what does social-democratic Australia want, and why?

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Quarterly Essay 72: Net Loss - The Inner Life in the Digital Age

Sebastian Smee

We live in an age of constant distraction. Is there a price to pay for this?

In this superb essay, renowned critic Sebastian Smee explores the fate of the inner…

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Quarterly Essay 68: Without America - Australia in the New Asia

Hugh White

America is fading, and China will soon be the dominant power in our region. What does this mean for Australia’s future?

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Quarterly Essay 67: Moral Panic 101 - Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal

Benjamin Law

Are Australian schools safe? And if they’re not, what happens when kids are caught in a bleak collision between ill-equipped school staff and a confected media scandal?

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Quarterly Essay 66: The Long Goodbye: Coal, Coral and Australia’s Climate Deadlock

Anna Krien

The Great Barrier Reef is dying. Extreme weather is becoming all too familiar. And the Coalition government is divided and paralysed.

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Quarterly Essay 65: The White Queen - One Nation and the Politics of Race

David Marr

Most Australians despise what Pauline Hanson stands for, yet politics in this country is now orbiting around One Nation.

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Quarterly Essay 64: The Australian Dream - Blood, History and Becoming

Stan Grant

In a landmark essay, Stan Grant writes Indigenous people back into the economic and multicultural history of Australia. This is the fascinating story of how fringe dwellers fought not just…

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Quarterly Essay 62: Firing Line - Australia’s Path to War

James Brown

Going to war may be the gravest decision a nation and its leaders make. At the moment, Australia is at war with ISIS. We also live in a region that…

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Quarterly Essay Issue 59: Faction Man - Bill Shorten’s Path to Power

David Marr

The top job is within Bill Shorten’s grasp. But who is he? How did he rise to become Labor leader? And does he have what it takes to beat Malcolm…

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Clivosaurus: The Politics of Clive Palmer: Quarterly Essay 56

Guy Rundle

In Clivosaurus, Guy Rundle observes Palmer close up, examining his rise to prominence, his beliefs, his deals and his politics - not to mention his poetry. Rundle shows that neither…

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Dragon’s Tail: The Lucky Country after the China Boom: Quarterly Essay 54

Andrew Charlton

In this timely Quarterly Essay, Andrew Charlton demolishes some myths about Australia’s long boom. Around 2000 Australia’s economy became tied to the supercharged rise of China. We had the good…

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That Sinking Feeling: Quarterly Essay 53

Paul Toohey

In Quarterly Essay 53, Paul Toohey looks at one of Tony Abbott’s signature promises: to stop the boats. Has his government succeeded? If so, at what cost?

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Great Expectations: Government, Entitlement and an Angry Nation

Laura Tingle

Rather than relaxed and comfortable, Australians are disenchanted with politics and politicians. In this brilliant short book - an expanded and updated version of her acclaimed Quarterly Essay - Laura…

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Man-Made World: Choosing between Progress and Planet: Quarterly Essay 44

Andrew Charlton

Across the globe, economists and environmentalists vie over who has the right response to climate change, population or food security issues. In this groundbreaking essay Charlton argues that our descendants…

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Bad News: Murdoch’s Australian and the Shaping of the Nation: Quarterly Essay 43

Robert Manne

In the third Quarterly Essay for 2011, Robert Manne investigates the forces that shape public debate in Australia. When it comes to key issues for the nation, who sets the…

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Quarterly Essay 3: The Opportunist - John Howard and the Triumph of Reaction

Guy Rundle

What have the Howard years meant for Australia? In this third election issue of Quarterly Essay, Guy Rundle answers this question and looks ahead to the type of government that…

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Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era

George Megalogenis

In the aftermath of the 2010 election, Megalogenis considers what has happened to politics in Australia. He dissects the cycle of polls, focus groups and presidential politics and explores what…

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Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era: Quarterly Essay 40

George Megalogenis

In the aftermath of the 2010 election, Megalogenis considers what has happened to politics in Australia. He dissects the cycle of polls, focus groups and presidential politics and explores what…

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Power Shift: Australia’s Future Between Washington and Beijing: Quarterly Essay 39

Hugh White

This essay considers Australia’s place between China and the US. As the power balance shifts and China’s influence grows, what might this mean for the nation? How to define the…

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Power Trip: The Political Journey of Kevin Rudd: Quarterly Essay 38

David Marr

This irreverent, controversial account is a ground-breaking, in-depth profile that traces Rudd’s years in Queensland, in China, in opposition and finally in government. Based on extensive research, observation and interviewing…

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What’s Right?: The Future of Conservatism in Australia AUDIO BOOK EDITION

Waleed Aly

What did George W. Bush and John Howard do to conservatism? In their wake, the conservative parties in the US and Australia seem to have lost their way. How did…

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What’s Right? The Future of Conservatism in Australia: Quarterly Essay 37

Waleed Aly

What did George W. Bush and John Howard do to conservatism? In their wake, the conservative parties in the US and Australia seem to have lost their way. How did…

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Australian Story: Kevin Rudd and the Lucky Country

Mungo MacCullum

In Australian Story, Mungo MacCallum investigates the political success of Kevin Rudd. What does he know about Australia that his opponents don’t? This is a characteristically barbed and perceptive look…

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Australian Story: Kevin Rudd and the Lucky Country: Quarterly Essay 36

Mungo MacCallum

Mungo MacCallum investigates political leadership in Australia, past and present. This is a barbed and perceptive look at the challenges facing the Rudd government and Australia. MacCallum argues that the…

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Radical Hope: Education and Equality in Australia: Quarterly Essay 35

Noel Pearson

Noel Pearson argues that nothing is more crucial to future success than a proper education, and that too many in our society are being left behind. He also looks critically…

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Quarterly Essay

Quarterly Essay 96: Minority Report - The New Shape of Australian Politics

Quarterly Essay 95: High Noon - Trump, Harris and America on the Brink

Quarterly Essay 94: Highway to Hell – Climate Change and Australia’s Future

Quarterly Essay 93: Bad Cop - Peter Dutton’s Strongman Politics

Quarterly Essay 92: The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess and How to Fix It

Quarterly Essay 91: Lifeboat - Disability, Humanity and the NDIS

Quarterly Essay 90: Voice of Reason - On Recognition and Renewal

Quarterly Essay 89: The Wires That Bind - Electrification and Community Renewal

Quarterly Essay 88: Lone Wolf - Albanese and the New Politics

Quarterly Essay 87: Uncivil Wars - How Contempt is Corroding Democracy

Quarterly Essay 86: Sleepwalk to War: Australia’s Unthinking Alliance with America

Quarterly Essay 85: Not Waving, Drowning

Quarterly Essay 84: The Reckoning - How #MeToo is Changing Australia

Quarterly Essay 83: Top Blokes - The Larrikin Myth, Class and Power

Quarterly Essay 82: Exit Strategy - Politics After the Pandemic

Quarterly Essay 81: Getting to Zero

Quarterly Essay 80: The High Road - What Australia can Learn from New Zealand

Quarterly Essay 79: The End of Certainty - Scott Morrison and pandemic politics

Quarterly Essay 78: The Coal Curse - Resources, Climate and Australia’s Future

Quarterly Essay 77: Cry Me A River - The Tragedy of the Murray-Darling Basin

Quarterly Essay 76: Red Flag - Waking Up to China’s Challenge

Quarterly Essay 75: Men at Work: Australia’s Parenthood Trap

Quarterly Essay 74: The Prosperity Gospel – How Scott Morrison Won and Bill Shorten Lost

Quarterly Essay 73: Australia Fair - Listening to the Nation

Quarterly Essay 72: Net Loss - The Inner Life in the Digital Age

Quarterly Essay 68: Without America - Australia in the New Asia

Quarterly Essay 67: Moral Panic 101 - Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal

Quarterly Essay 66: The Long Goodbye: Coal, Coral and Australia’s Climate Deadlock

Quarterly Essay 65: The White Queen - One Nation and the Politics of Race

Quarterly Essay 64: The Australian Dream - Blood, History and Becoming

Quarterly Essay 62: Firing Line - Australia’s Path to War

Quarterly Essay Issue 59: Faction Man - Bill Shorten’s Path to Power

Clivosaurus: The Politics of Clive Palmer: Quarterly Essay 56

Dragon’s Tail: The Lucky Country after the China Boom: Quarterly Essay 54

That Sinking Feeling: Quarterly Essay 53

Great Expectations: Government, Entitlement and an Angry Nation

Man-Made World: Choosing between Progress and Planet: Quarterly Essay 44

Bad News: Murdoch’s Australian and the Shaping of the Nation: Quarterly Essay 43

Quarterly Essay 3: The Opportunist - John Howard and the Triumph of Reaction

Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era

Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era: Quarterly Essay 40

Power Shift: Australia’s Future Between Washington and Beijing: Quarterly Essay 39

Power Trip: The Political Journey of Kevin Rudd: Quarterly Essay 38

What’s Right?: The Future of Conservatism in Australia AUDIO BOOK EDITION

What’s Right? The Future of Conservatism in Australia: Quarterly Essay 37

Australian Story: Kevin Rudd and the Lucky Country

Australian Story: Kevin Rudd and the Lucky Country: Quarterly Essay 36

Radical Hope: Education and Equality in Australia: Quarterly Essay 35