When I arrived in Australia in 1965, Robert Menzies was our Prime Minister. As soon as I became an Australian citizen in 1971, I became a rusted-on Royalist and Liberal voter, only to witness the relentless slide from Menzies to Morrison, from "I did but see her passing by and yet I love her till I die" to "I don't hold a hose, mate".
After Menzies' resignation on 20 January 1966, after he had served as Australian Prime Minister for a total of 18 years 5 months and 10 days, it's been political mediocrity ever since, with Bob Hawke setting the benchmark for the single greatest achievement by an Australian Prime Minister by skolling a yardie. This feat remained unchallenged for more than two decades until Tony Abbott munched an onion like it was an apple, and was finally topped off by Hillsong-attending Scott Morrison believing in miracles. We're paying the price for it now with a new Labor government that's led by a Prime Minister who tears up every time he recounts how he grew up in social housing and who's hellbent on repeating the Whitlam years without repeating their PR mistakes.
Niki Savva, Australia's renowned political commentator, author and columnist, revealed the ruinous behaviour of former prime minister Abbott and his chief of staff, Peta Credlin, that led to the ascension of Turnbull, in "The Road to Ruin". In "Plots and Prayers", she told the inside story of the coup that overthrew Turnbull and installed his conniving successor, Morrison.
Now she lays out the final unravelling of the Coalition at the hands of a resurgent Labor and the so-called teal independents which culminated in the historic 2022 election. With access to key players and her riveting accounts of what went on behind the scenes, "Bulldozed" is the final volume of an unputdownable and impeccably sourced political trilogy.
Fascinating reading!
