Aaron Patrick

The first draft of history is written by journalists. Credlin and Co is a detailed account of the government that promised to be grown-up but broke that promise along with many others. There are no revelations here but there is a comprehensive and objective account of what may well be judged one of Australia's worst governments. Patrick shows Prime Minister Tony Abbott's lack of judgement, leadership and ability to make the change from Opposition Leader to Prime Minister. The result was detrimental for the Coalition Government and it was detrimental for Australia because Abbott exacerbated the already poor opinion Australians had of politicians. Lack of trust, respect and regard for our political leaders ultimately damages our system of government and that is detrimental for all of us.… (mais)

This is a fascinating and easy to read book which describes the corruption which has become endemic in the Labor Party and the Unions in Australia.

It documents the rise and rise of Bill Shorten, the struggle for control of the Unions in Victoria and New South Wales, the scandal relating to Julia Gillard's one-time partner and his slush fund, Peter Slipper and his very offensive sexual harassment emails to James Ashby, Craig Thomson's misuse of Union funds (he even used his union card to buy a cherry ripe), and Eddie Obeid's "pretty" farm acquisition with its huge coal deposit underneath.

My jaw kept on hitting the floor as I read this book which contained too much information for me to take it all in and it calls for a re-read.

It ended before the latest removal of a sitting Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and finished with the supposition that Labor would lose the next election, scheduled for this year, and that Bill shorten would take over as Leader of the Opposition and, hopefully, get the labor Party back on track. Now that Kevin Rudd is in the hot seat all bets are off.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Australian Politics; it is a real eye-opener.… (mais)