Many of Menzies’s ideas and values were old fashioned by the time he left office in 1966, but his legacy shapes the political debate in other ways.
Articles on Robert Menzies
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Bob Santamaria knew four Australian prime ministers. Is he the most significant figure in Australian politics never to have held office?
Daughters of Robert Menzies and Arthur Calwell say parliament wasn’t always a “fort”
The Conversation, CC BY79.2 MB (download)
Last week, Michelle Grattan moderated a very special discussion with the daughters of Menzies and Calwell at Parliament House. This podcast episode is a recording of that event.
In 1960, Harold Holt, the then-treasurer, urged the government to abolish import restrictions, resulting in a minor recession. This nearly swung the election in the ALP’s favour.
Historians attribute the Coalition’s election victory in 1949 to issues like bank nationalisation and the Communist Party. But the decisive issue was petrol rationing.
Whether they form the next government or not, the Liberals need to reconsider their reliance on neoliberal economics, which may no longer be serving the party – or the country.
As it approaches the election, the government’s economic pitch on its
record is being linked to the argument that the Coalition is the best
manager in uncertain times.
It’s hard to fault Morrison’s first fortnight, if you can get past his description of events that tore down a PM as “that Muppet Show”, and swallow any cynicism about his careful choreography.
Their longest serving leader built the modern Liberal Party after its predecessor collapsed in 1941– but it took him eight years and defeat in two elections.
Turnbull brought a Menzian style to his leadership, but the world has changed quite a bit since Robert Menzies.
In staying hostage to this right-wing lunge, rather than fighting to move it back to the mainstream, Turnbull erased his moderate face, destroying his only utility – electoral utility – to the Liberals.
Creating epithets for political opponents has a long history in Australia – and when it works, it can be devastating.
The continued embargo on documents relating to the dismissal of the Whitlam government point to the lingering imperial power that comes from an incomplete severance of colonial ties.
Canberra’s attitude to nuclear weapons has always been riddled with contradictions. Homegrown nuclear campaigners winning the Nobel prize have put the cat among the pigeons.
Politics Podcast: Judith Brett on The Enigmatic Mr Deakin
Judith Brett's biography, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, reveals the intense inner world of one of the most important fathers of Australian federation.
The University of Canberra’s Nicholas Klomp and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics.
While a lot of people just shrug impatiently at insider politics, a substantial number have turned to ‘outsider’ players.
Malcolm Turnbull’s claim that Robert Menzies’ party was meant to be one of the ‘sensible centre’ has some validity – but it may also be that that centre has shifted significantly, too.
If he was emphasising he’s a centrist, that is hardly a surprise, although when he translates it into policy it annoys the hell out of those on the right.
With fringe right parties feasting on the margins of conservative political discontent in Australia, deeper questions are being asked about whether the Liberal Party itself is at risk.
Top contributors
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Associate Professor of History, UNSW
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Director, Vice-Chancellor's Centre of Public Ideas (CoPI) and Donald Horne Professor of History and Public Ideas, University of Canberra
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Professor, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra
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Emeritus Professor of Political Science, Monash University
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Professor of History and Politics, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong
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Adjunct Professor of History, Adelaide University
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Professor Emeritus, School of Government and International Relations; Adjunct Professor, Centre for Governance and Public Policy, Griffith University
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Emerita Professor of Politics, Adelaide University
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Emeritus Professor of Politics, Monash University
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Senior Lecturer, School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University
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Tutor and PhD Researcher, The University of Queensland
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Professor and head of professional development GRS, James Cook University
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Professor in International History, Flinders University
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Researcher, Social History/Tutor in Medical Education, University of Dundee