The inside story: Great political books make a lasting impact

Some are insiders; others are outside observers. Their impact can be lasting. The Lucky Country by Donald Horne still lights up our debates about national identity and leadership 60 years later.

At the centre of the scandal about Scott Morrison's multiple secret ministries were the revelations contained in a book by political journalists. Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers wrote Plagued: Australia's two years of hell - the inside story as a contribution to understanding governance during the COVID-19 pandemic, interviewing the prime minister of the day.

The same lasting impact has been true of many other recent books. Recent prime ministers John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, and Malcom Turnbull have written revealingly about their governments and each of them has kept writing about other topics.

Important political books about recent Australian politics have also been written by journalists and academics. Nikki Savva, for instance, a political insider-outsider, has written several penetrating books, such as The Road to Ruin: How Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin Destroyed their own Government, analysing the contemporary Liberal Party from Tony Abbott to Scott Morrison.

Political books cover a much wider range than Australian political leadership. Climate change, political integrity, Indigenous affairs, the economy, gender, foreign policy, citizenship, immigration, and Australian identity are just some of the important topics.

A good recent example, shaping current constitutional debates, has been The Palace Letters: The Queen, the Governor-general and the Plot to Dismiss Gough Whitlam by Professor Jenny Hocking, which told the story of her indefatigable efforts fighting secrecy to reveal the correspondence between Governor-General Sir John Kerr and Buckingham Palace at the time of the 1975 dismissal of the Whitlam government.

Another was Superpower: Australia's Low-Carbon Opportunity by Professor Ross Garnaut, which argued the economic benefits of climate action. Subsequently Garnaut spoke to the Albanese government's Jobs and Skills Summit.

Australians better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their own society because of these books. In an age of falling trust in government and widespread disinformation we have never needed such books more.

Understanding our present means that we must better understand our past. Books like The Eighties: The Decade that transformed Australia, by historian Frank Bongiorno, or The Australian Moment: How we were made for these times, by journalist, George Megalogenis, or You Daughters of Freedom: The Australians who won the vote and inspired the world, by historian Clare Wright, come to my mind. We all have our own favourites. The possibilities are almost endless.

Quality books should be accompanied by encouragement and recognition.

Collins Booksellers and public affairs firm York Park Group have just announced a new Australian Political Book of the Year Award and I am fortunate to be one of the judges alongside outstanding political journalists and authors, Laura Tingle and Laurie Oakes. The winner will be announced at a function in Canberra on November 9 by the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, himself a political author.

In the meantime, nominations from publishers have been called for and finalised for the period of the 2021-2022 financial year. Plagued, published after 30 June 2022, was ineligible for this year's award but may be a contender next year.

The task of picking the winner is not easy. I thought that I was a well-read political fanatic, but when I received the 35 books nominated by their publishers, I found that I had already read just eight. I have now worked my way through the other 26. It has been a pleasant but mammoth task over a couple of months.

The list demonstrates the strength and breadth of political writing and publishing in this country. The authors, no names at this stage, include political leaders, journalists, social commentators, and political historians. Some draw on their own life experience, while others are primarily researchers and observers.

What are we looking for? The three judges are searching for the book that has "provided the most compelling contribution to the understanding of Australian political events and debates". A straightforward but at the same time difficult task.

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Several thought-provoking difficulties arise from my reading of the 35 contenders. All are written by Australians, though that is not specifically required. It seems we write about ourselves, but few others do. That says something about our middling place in the world.

The phrase 'Political events and debates' includes a variety of potential topics. Some, like studies of political leaders, parliamentarians, or lobbyists, are political in the narrow sense. Others, like studies of race, gender, identity, or the media, equally significant, are political in the broader, social sense.

Timeliness also strikes me as a factor that must be considered alongside quality. Political debates come and go, which means that some books more than others hit the spot and immediately feed directly, as Plagued did, into momentous debates.

While each of these books is of high quality and makes good reading, some are directly related to Australia while others are more about world affairs and international developments. The reader must situate Australia in the story for themselves. Does that make a difference in an award such as this?

Many of these books have already begun to make a compelling contribution and the contribution of some others may grow over time. But which has made the most compelling contribution already? Watch out to see what the judges think.