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Paul Kelly (1) (1947–)

Author of The End of Certainty: The Story of the 1980s

For other authors named Paul Kelly, see the disambiguation page.

16+ Works 405 Members 5 Reviews

About the Author

Paul Kelly is the author of Triumph and Demise which won a John Button Prize for policy and politics in 2015. Kelly's book was selected for the $20,000 prize ahead of two other shortlisted titles: Power Failure (Philip Chubb, Black Inc.) and The Wife Drought (Annabel Crabb, Ebury). Paul kelly will show more be featured at the inaugural Kampot Writers & Readers Festival in Cambodia 2015. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Works by Paul Kelly

Associated Works

The Best Australian Essays 2011 (2011) — Contributor — 16 copies
The Best Australian Essays 2003 (2003) — Contributor — 15 copies

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Legal name
Kelly, Paul John
Birthdate
1947-10-11
Gender
male
Nationality
Australia (birth)
Country (for map)
Australia
Birthplace
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Education
University of Sydney
Occupations
Journalist

Members

Reviews

A strong work, although it is crippled and boosted in equal measure by its proximity to the events described herein.

Paul Kelly has been one of Australia's most respected political journalists for half a century, and The Hawke Ascendancy was published in 1984, only a year after Bob Hawke become Prime Minister. In that sense, this is a fascinating insider's account, written at a time when Labor was still in flux, and no commentator could have accurately predicted the 14 glorious years that would follow. Kelly knew his stuff well, though, and this account, which reaches from the Whitlam dismissal in 1975 to Hawke's rising in 1983 is perceptive, engrossing, and whip-smart. Having known so many of the players, and followed the day-by-day developments, Kelly can climb inside disagreements and schemes that would surely otherwise be forgotten. Ultimately it is a battle of two men, Bill Hayden and Bob Hawke, for leadership of the party, while others - notably Paul Keating, of course - weave in and out of the narrative. One of the unexpected consequences of reading this book 35 years later, for a member of my generation, is to be startled by how prominent Keating and Howard were more than a decade before they would take leadership. In this day where prime ministers and party leaders are dismissed at the drop of a hat, that takes some mental adjustment!

In contrast, however, the age of the book is also a disadvantage. Partly because, written, so soon after the events it describes, The Hawke Ascendancy inevitably focuses on some areas and issues that are no longer of interest except to the historian. Anyone trying to tell a history will inevitably expand upon some moments that future generations find irrelevant, while glossing over moments that will come to be infamous. Consider - rather less importantly, I know - commentaries on television and film DVDs. Often they're recorded immediately after production, meaning there's a lot of "you were so great in this scene!" and "it was raining that day, remember?" When you look at commentaries recorded years or even decades later, however, the participants have a sense of the work's place in history, and its appeal to fandom. As a result they are more likely to dwell in the spaces of long-term interest. All of which is to say that this book was urgent and white-hot in 1984; it is now an historical document in itself.

Still, there's a definite spark here from the friction between two situations: a book that is so close to its situation that we feel as if we are back in 1984, learning new things on every page, and a book that has no idea of what lies ahead for Hawke, Keating, and Howard, where we are effectively ahead of the writer on every page too. A mind-boggling reading experience in that sense.
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therebelprince | Oct 24, 2023 |
The authors examine and demolish the conspiracy theory propounded by Whitlam apologist Jenny Hocking, and "explain the implications of the letters for [Australia's] Constitution, democracy and the republic debate." Gough Whitlam regarded himself as a great reformist prime minister but his government's extravagant goals involved excessive cost and huge inflation, leading to his official dismissal and landslide unpopularity at the 1975 elections.
 
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bjenks | Sep 14, 2021 |
The dismissal of the Whitlam ALP government by the Governor-General Sir John Kerr on 11 November 1975 was the most dramatic event in Australian political history. The events surrounding the dismissal involved three of the most egotistical and stubborn men: Gough Whitlam, John Kerr and Malcolm Fraser. This book is a new account that draws on new sources, some of which were not previously available. The conclusion is damning of all three of the main players, but most especially of Kerr who defied convention in his actions. But it was also Whitlam's refusal to see the danger and act accordingly that was equally his undoing.

By 1977, the Queen had a deep distrust and dislike of Kerr and wanted him to resign, which he duly did on 8 December 1977.

Kerr tipped off Malcolm Fraser on the morning of 11 November that he was going to dismiss Whitlam as PM and set conditions on Fraser assuming the caretaker PM role.

Kerr kept his actions secret from Whitlam in the belief that Whitlam would dismiss him if he learnt of Kerr's thinking. Most observers agree that this was an act of deception that was counter to the convention that the Governor-General should act on the advice of the Prime Minister. And Whitlam and the ALP were entirely deceived into thinking that Kerr was onside with them. In turn, Kerr refused to counsel or warn Whitlam before acting to dismiss him.

Kerr sought advice from the Chief Justice of the High Court, Sir Garfield Barwick, a former minister in the Menzies Liberal government, and Sir Anthony Mason, another judge on the High Court. That advice tarnished the High Court, and subsequent Chief Justices have resolved to ensure that such an event does not recur in order to maintain the separation of powers of the different arms of government.

Whitlam never saw Kerr as a serious political player, believing that he lacked courage, strength and temperament for politics. Whitlam believed that the Governor-General was no more than a rubber stamp - a fatal misunderstanding of the man.

Whitlam tried to convince Kerr that the regal reserve powers were obsolete. But Kerr believed they still existed thanks to his mentors: H.V. (Doc) Evatt and Garfield Barwick; who believed likewise.

Malcolm Fraser was the person responsible for the constitutional crisis by engineering the Senate to block Supply, the money bills that helped pay for the running of government business. He believed that the Whitlam government was reckless, and like many on the conservative side he believed that the Liberals were "born to rule". His tactic was to use the Senate to force the government into another election - something that had never been used before. Whitlam felt that this contravened the principle that the government was elected by the people in the House of Representatives.

Fraser knew that Kerr feared that Whitlam would dismiss him, and so used this knowledge to encourage Kerr to act first.

11 November 1975 was the last date that an election to be held before the end of that year could be called. Both Whitlam and Kerr knew this. Whitlam wanted to call a half-senate election in order to break the impasse in the senate. However, Kerr knew that without the supply bills being passed the government would run out of money before a half-senate election. So Kerr favoured a full election and extracted a promise from Fraser that he would pass supply and hold a full election. Whitlam was confident of his position and oblivious of the alternatives that Kerr and Fraser had in mind.

Following the dismissal, Whitlam failed to inform his senators, as a result the supply bills were passed in the Senate thus denying Labor the chance of thwarting Fraser's agreement to pass the money bills and potentially unravel Kerr's agreement with Fraser. This was another tactical blunder on Whitlam's part.

The British, especially the High Commissioner in Canberra, were completely taken by surprise by the dismissal. They believed that Kerr had acted prematurely and could have let events run several weeks longer before action, if any, needed to be taken.

There is an oft repeated conspiracy theory that the CIA was involved in the dismissal of the Whitlam government because of a threat to the operation of the joint intelligence base at Pine Gap that occurred in parallel with the events surrounding the dismissal. Kerr refuted this, claiming that he acted without foreign intervention. There is no evidence that the CIA were involved, despite repeated claims. The political events of the day completely explain the situation.

Subsequent Labor leaders believe that Fraser was the real villain of the dismissal because of the blocking of the supply bills contrary to convention. Kerr was Fraser's unwitting agent. However, the events of the dismissal transformed the ALP so that it addressed the weaknesses of the Whitlam years as was evidenced by the Hawke-Keating years in government - the longest period of Labor government.

A couple of extracts from the last few chapters summarise the saga:
- "The legacy of the dismissal and the quest for vindication haunted Kerr for the rest of his life."
- "The moral ... is that Whitlam was his government's greatest strength and its greatest weakness."

I’m surprised that this account was not more damning of Whitlam than it was. Especially as the authors work for the Australian newspaper, part of the Murdoch empire and unashamed enemies of Labor. It appears to be a fairly balanced story that uses the facts gleaned from many sources, including words of many of the politicians from both sides and some journalists who lived through the saga. As it is a dry read, I give it 3 stars.
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Bruce_McNair | Dec 28, 2016 |
excellent perspective and some wonderful rewaearch - very well arranged with teh most significant aspects of a political dialogue analysed. I found that it allows for further inquiry through the footnoing if needed a text but a good read(I am bias due to my middle age was during the period)
 
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Brumby18 | 1 other review | Feb 2, 2010 |

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Works
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