Joo-Cheong Tham; UNSW Press, 2010; 336 pp;
$49.95 (paperback)

The effects of money in politics are topics of heated debate in media and political circles in most liberal democracies. Yet despite, and perhaps because of, this controversy we remain unsure of how money percolates politics and the best ways to reduce its harmful effects. Most of the efforts to investigate these issues, and thereby improve our knowledge of the financing of politics, have focused on the United States. In other liberal democracies there are similarly complex money–politics issues but less has been written about them. Tham’s book is a bold attempt to shed light on the significant political finance debates in Australia.

Graeme Orr; The Federation Press, 2010; 320 pp;
$125 (paperback)

As a young recruit to the Commonwealth public service in 1984, I recall being taken to the National Press Club to hear an address by ‘our’ minister, the late Mick Young, Special Minister of State, on major changes to the electoral law including the creation of the Australian Electoral Commission, the first general increase in the size of the federal parliament since 1949, above the line voting for the Senate and the registration and public funding of political parties and candidates. At the time, it seemed, the subject matter was eclipsed for dullness only by the then-notorious rubber chicken of the press club; but perspectives change. After many years’ involvement in supporting legislative and committee processes in the Senate, including as secretary to the Select Committee on Political Broadcasts and Political Disclosures (inquiring into the so-called ‘ad ban’ Bill, successfully challenged in Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth [1992] HCA 1), it is impossible not to be drawn by Graeme Orr’s new book, The Law of Politics: Elections, Parties and Money in Australia.

Stephen Gray; Allen & Unwin, 2011; 296 pp;
$29.99

This powerful and provocative book explores an unspoken but important part of Australia’s history: the motivations and the role of the administrators and patrol officers who carried out the Indigenous ‘protection’ policies in Northern Australia. In short, Stephen Gray uncovers another side of the ‘Stolen Generations’ debate, the as-yet unheard voices of the ‘protectors’. Gray starts by juxtaposing the two national apology speeches of February 2008 in order to capture the dramatic divergence within white Australian views about our Aboriginal past. On the one hand, newly-elected Prime Minister Rudd alluded to racism, pseudoscientific theories of racial superiority and the profound injustice and inequality of past policies. In contrast, opposition leader Nelson spoke of benign intentions, goodness and acting in the best interests of the child. Gray describes this divergence as representing two Australian tribes, in a ‘war of words, perspectives and views of the world’ (p 5).  He then confronts the question of what white Australia really meant when it apologised for its past? Why is mainstream Australia still so equivocal about the Apology?

Various artists; Liberation DVD/CD;
$29.99

For music fans and masterminds alike, `RocKwiz’ has become a Saturday night staple. This feisty SBS TV show, recorded at St Kilda’s Esplanade Hotel, combines a pop trivia quiz and live music, moderated with raucous humour by hosts Julia Zemiro and Brian Nankervis. At its heart is the Orkestra: James Black (keyboards/guitar), drummer Peter Luscombe and bassist Mark Ferrie. This pro threesome has a prodigious repertoire, from baby boomer to contemporary hits as they provide musical clues or back a succession of guest players.

Lisa Miller; Raoul;
$25.00

Lisa Miller’s first `Car Tape’ CD started out as a covers side project in 2002 during a career lull, but became the Melbourne singer’s most successful recording. Nowadays, although the cassette tape concept seems even more retro — when iTunes playlists are the go — Miller embarks on her follow-up with characteristic chutzpah, revisiting old, occasionally unfamiliar songs with often audacious arrangements that owe much to co-producer and guitarist Shane O’Mara and his Yikesville home studio. O’Mara loves to crank up the effects and he turns it on for the opener, a gritty makeover of the Willie Dixon blues ballad `Hidden Charms’, while on David Crosby’s evocative `Traction in the Rain’ he kicks in the reverb.