Nick Dyrenfurth

Frank Bongiorno

The Australian Labor Party is one of the oldest labour parties and was the first in the world to form a government. 2011 marks its 120th birthday This short and lively book tells the story of the ALPs numerous successes in winning government at all levels and making policy that has transformed lives.

A Little History of the Australian Labor Party

Graham Freudenberg

Paul Howes

William Guthrie Spence

History of the AWU is a first-hand account of the making of a union and the makings of a nation. It depicts the industrial and political struggles of workers in the late 19th century, and explains the motivations behind the people who forged Australia's most powerful and enduring blue-collar union. W. G. Spence was not only an observer of momentous events, he was also a leading participant in those events. With that in mind, Spence's book is more than just a record of the circumstances that led to the creation of the AWU. It is also an expression of the ideals that inspired the Australian labour movement and a manifesto for future generations of Australian unionists. With a foreword by Paul Howes, an introduction by Graham Freudenberg and a biography of Spence by Professor Nick Dyrenfurth, the updated History of the AWU is essential reading for everyone interested in how Australia came to be the country that it is today. Spence's history is the story of how misery and despair was transformed into hope and progress in Australia. Paul Howes Those of us who believe that a strong union movement is vital to the future success of the Australian Labor Party will welcome this new edition of History of the AWU by William Guthrie Spence. Graham Freudenberg Spence's histories blazed a trail for later scholars. Indeed, no serious student of the labour movement can avoid his giant contribution. Nick Dyrenfurth

History of the AWU

Philip Mendes

This is the first progressive book to argue that the BDS movement (boycott, divestment and sanctions) against Israel is the wrong way to broker peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; rather, it argues that peace will come ony when both Israelis’ and Palestinians’ legitimate claims to statehood are recognised – by both sides. The BDS movement (boycott, divestment, sanctions) against Israel has gained traction and publicity worldwide for a decade. Yet here, Philip Mendes and Nick Dyrenfurth – two politically progressive commentators – argue that BDS is far too blunt an instrument to use in such a complex political situation. Instead, they critically analyse the key arguments for and against BDS, and propose a solution that supports Israel’s existence and Palestinian rights to a homeland, urging mutual compromise and concessions from both sides.

The progressive path to peace between Palestinians and Israelis

Boycotting Israel is Wrong

Tim Soutphommasane

Following Australia's 2010 election, this invaluable discussion allows key political players and commentators to ask pointed and practical questions about what progressive politics in Australia mean today. Candid and surprising, this analysis covers a wide range of topics, including "What Should Labor Stand For? How Should Australia's Governments Relate to Each Other?" and "Can [Australians] Aspire to a Progressive Economics? "With contributions from Larissa Behrendt, David Burchell, Geoff Gallop, Paul Howes, and Lindsay Tanner, this ambitious examination sets out an agenda for progressive politics in all key policy areas under the next Labor government.

All That's Left

A ‘mate’ is a mate, right? Wrong, argues Nick Dyrenfurth in this provocative new look at one of Australia’s most talked-about beliefs. In the first book-length exploration of our secular creed, one of Australia’s leading young historians and public commentators turns mateship’s history upside down. Did you know that the first Australians to call each other ‘mate’ were business partners? Or that many others thought that mateship would be the basis for creating an entirely new society — namely, a socialist one? For some, the term ‘mate’ is ‘the nicest word in the English language’; for others, it represents the very worst features in our nation’s culture: conformity, bullying, corruption, racism, and misogyny. So what does mateship really mean? Covering more than 200 years of white-settler history, Mateship demonstrates the richness and paradoxes of the Antipodean version of fraternity, and how everyone — from the early convicts to our most recent prime ministers, on both sides of politics — have valued it. PRAISE FOR NICK DYRENFURTH ‘[A] detailed, nuanced and readable study, which charts the evolution of the concept in all its complexity’ The Sydney Morning Herald ‘[A] provocative and insightful book … the first significant exploration of what the author terms “our secular egalitarian creed” since Russel Ward’s path-breaking 1958 work The Australian Legend.’ The Australian

Nick Dyrenfurth

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