Ascent to Power 1996
The Howard Government, Vol I
Published on 10. January 2018
220 pages
978-1-74224-402-0 (ISBN)
Description
In the first of four volumes on the Howard Government's nearly 12 years in office, The Ascent to Power covers the 1996 election and the practical challenges of the Coalition's first year in power, including its handling of the Port Arthur massacre, relationships with the Australian Public Service, management of Senate crossbenchers, and reversing the budget 'black hole' and repaying government debt. With contributions from John Howard, Liberal and Labor politicians, media commentators, key public servants, and academics, The Ascent to Power takes a critical look at the Howard Government's rise to power, its performance, successes, shortcomings, and failures, in what Paul Kelly calls the 'foundational year'. Drawing on unpublished documents from John Howard's papers held at UNSW Canberra, the book will shape future assessments of the Howard Government and help determine its enduring place in Australian history.
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11/2017
NewSouth Publishing
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Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- 1. Perspectives and polemics
- Part I: The Mood
- 2. Menzies' forgotten people and Howard's battlers
- 3. Howard and Keating as friends, rivals, combatants
- 4. A candidate's view of the 1996 campaign
- Part II: The Outcome
- 5. Learning from campaigns
- 6. Howard's battlers and the 1996 election
- 7. Did Labor lose or the Coalition win?
- 8. Compulsion and liberty in the trial of Albert Langer
- Part III: Assuming Government
- 9. Economic management
- 10. A vision for government
- 11. The foundational year
- 12. The new government's agenda
- 13. The public service history wars
- Part IV: Achievements and Challenges
- 14. The challenge of reforming gun laws
- 15. Revenues come and go, but entitlements go on forever
- Part V: Looking Forward
- Looking Back
- 16. 1997: The year in prospect
- 17. The view from Kirribilli
- 18. With the benefit of hindsight
- Appendices
- I. Extolling the Coalition's victory
- II. Explaining Labor's defeat
- Notes
- Afterword
- Acknowledgments
- Index
