Dimensions
154 x 233 x 25mm
This book, the result of many years of research and interviews, reveals for the first time what ordinary Australians think about politics and politicians and what they consider are the key issues facing Australia today. This unique series of snapshots of Australian political culture takes us from the Depression through the post war boom, the economic changes of the 1980s to the early 2000s and the war on terror. Based on interviews done in the 1950s, the 1980s and the early 2000s, twenty-two ordinary Australians talk about politics and its place in their lives. The portraits are sharply etched to read like well-crafted political short stories.
Many questions are answered: How do they imagine the Australian nation and whom do they see as the most needy Australians? How have their lives been affected by government? How important were their parents in shaping their views? What has been the role of later experiences – of war, of migration, of political activism, of work and family life?
