Politics, Parties and Issues in Australia: An Introduction

Suitable to use in a semester length introductory Australian politics course for university students but will also be useful for other students; and its free-flowing prose style gives it wide appeal to other readers. A clear, concise and lively introduction to politics, the political parties, and some crucial policy issues in contemporary Australia. Includes discussion of very recent events including Barack Obama's election to the US presidency. Politics is introduced as being part of our everyday lives and is approached broadly, on the premise that it is about the clash of different ideas and interests and the passions involved in this should not be drained in an unrealistic quest for 'objectivity'. Rather, expression of views should be encouraged, including to help open up questions, and to provoke expression of different views.