Biography of Prime Howard describing the events leading to his entry to Parliament, first as a junior minister, then treasurer in the Fraser Government, his rise to the leadership, his period in Opposition and finally his election as Prime Minister in 1996. Also examines his early years as a member of the Young Liberals. Provides information about many notable political figures, as well as discussing his family life. Includes references and an index. Barnett is a journalist and former press secretary to Malcolm Fraser, who has worked in Parliament for 25 years. Goward worked as a radio journalist with the ABC for before taking a position as the Executive Director of the Office of the Status of Women in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

In this engaging and authoritative book, twenty-one historians, biographers and political analysts discuss and profile those who have attained Australia's highest office, and the forces that shaped them. Includes chapters on the ousting of Julia Gillard and the return of Kevin Rudd, the ensuing election and the final choice of Prime Minister.

'It's a tricky business, choosing a president.' said the PM. 'It needs a cool head, mature political judgement, and a finger on the pulse of the people. Fortunately for the country I happen to have an abundance of all three.' It's 1920. The Prince of Wales is visiting Adelaide as part of his Australian royal tour. During his stay at Government House, he falls deeply in love with a beautiful and innocent young maid. Their romantic union becomes one that could change Australia's history forever. Fast forward to 2016. The new Prime Minister is busy orchestrating the country's historic and complicated transition from Monarchy to Republic, while also trying to keep the voting public happy. The biggest question on everyone's lips is: who will become the first president? Noelene Jones, Australia's most celebrated opera singer, has made the decision to retire and is looking forward to a quiet life. If the choice for president becomes a public vote then she's got every chance of winning, but she has no interest in the job -- until she discovers a secret that inextricably tangles the line between Monarchy and Republic . . . While the boys club in government try to establish who the best man for the job is, Noelene Jones has her own plan. What if Australia's first president would be a woman?

Since Federation in 1901, 29 men and one woman have served in the position of Australian prime minister. From Barton to Morrison, they are the leaders who have helped forge Australia’s national identity. Some have had the position thrust upon them. Some have plotted and schemed their way to the top. Four have served more than once. Three have died in office. Eight have been unceremoniously dumped by their own party. Revised and updated to include the appointment of Scott Morrison, the death of Bob Hawke, and life after prime-ministership for Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Malcom Turnbull, this new edition tells the story of each of Australia’s prime ministers, setting their actions in the context of their time. In today’s world of quick-fire politics, it also looks to the future, and to how the public’s perception of politics and its leaders is changing in this era of instant communication and social media scrutiny.

Before he became Australia’s 29th Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull was a leading figure in the Australian republic movement. The Reluctant Republic, originally released in 1993 and with a foreword by Bob Hughes, was Turnbull's manifesto. It remains a hugely relevant outline for Australian republicanism. The book traces the constitutional relationship with Great Britain in order to reveal Australia’s identity as a nation, and explores the political and historical options and imperatives for an Australian republic. Turnbull presents his plan for Australia’s future as a republic and includes recommendations from the report by the Republic Advisory Committee to Prime Minister Paul Keating, of which Turnbull was chair.

It was the coup that killed Australian politics. Less than three years after taking government in a landslide election victory, Kevin Rudd was betrayed by his deputy and the factional powerbrokers of the Australian Labor Party, the 'Faceless Men', despite enjoying historically high personal and party approval ratings. The betrayal of June 2010 is the most significant Australian political event of the century. No prime minister including Rudd has since seen out a full term before being dethroned by their own caucus. But how did party games in Canberra spiral so catastrophically out of control?Kevin Rudd defeated John Howard on a platform of fresh ideas, progressive innovation and new leadership. He inherited two wars and the legacy of eleven years of conservative economic mismanagement. And within months of taking office, his new government would face the greatest economic cataclysm since the Great Depression - the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. But none of these deterred Rudd from his vision of bringing Australia into the modern age.In witty, forthright and audaciously honest prose, Rudd recounts his early triumphs and challenges in the hard business of government. But beyond the policy goals he kicked - from raising the pension to axing WorkChoices to laying the foundation for a decades-long Labor dream of paid parental leave - he takes us into cabinet, the prime minister's office and the back-corridor conversations that reshaped the country. We learn of the wheeling and dealing of governance as Rudd works with President Obama in the face of the financial crisis, apologises to the Stolen Generations and ratifies the Kyoto Protocol. Yet regardless of Rudd's efforts to combat climate change and his success in keeping Australia out of recession - the great moral and economic challenges of our generation - dark forces within his own party conspired against him. The unceremonious removal of a first-term prime minister from office shocked Rudd as much as it did the nation.Despite great pain, Rudd continued to serve his party, and his country, as backbencher and foreign minister. He documents his time in the wilderness before his brief resurrection as Labor leader and the 2013 election, retaking the party after it had truly 'lost its way'.After years of silence, the 26th Prime Minister of Australia is finally on the record about his time in government, in this second volume of his autobiography. This is the memoir of a prime minister full of energy and ideals, while battling the greatest trials of the modern age. This is Kevin Rudd's response to the ultimate political - and personal - betrayal.'Kevin is somebody who I probably share as much of a world view as any world leader out there. I find him smart but humble. He works wonderfully in multilateral settings; he's always constructive, incisive. And you know I think he is, like me, a pragmatic person. I think he comes to the job wanting to provide better opportunities not just for this generation but for the next. But I think you know he's somebody who isn't an academic, or just thinking about abstract ideas; I think he's constantly thinking in very practical terms about how to get something done.' BARACK OBAMA