Inside the Greens: The True Story of the Party, the Politics and the People

Description

A compulsively readable, critically important account of the history and future of the Australian Greens. A penetrating examination of the history and future of the Australian Greens The re-election of a Coalition government, after a lost decade of policy backflips and leadership volatility, has redrawn the political landscape. With a record quarter of voters abandoning the major parties at the last election, what lies ahead for the Greens, the 'third force' in Australian politics? In a nation divided over global warming, rising inequality and national security, can they agitate for forward-thinking policy, or will a refusal to compromise prove a stumbling block? Inside the Greens investigates the personalities, policies and turning points that have formed the party- from the fight to save Lake Pedder to the Stop Adani convoy; from heckling George W. Bush to the fateful decision to vote down the carbon tax; from party of protest to the balance of power in minority governments at state and federal level. It also exposes the Greens as they are today- a divided organisation reckoning with structural and strategic challenges. Beset by factional showdowns and suggestions of internal sabotage, can the party hang together? Has it strayed too far from grassroots activism? Can the Greens do politics differently and still succeed? Journalist Paddy Manning draws on previously unrevealed archival material and interviews with party friends, foes and key figures - including Bob Brown, Christine Milne, Lee Rhiannon, Adam Bandt and Richard Di Natale - to weave a compulsively readable account of where the Greens are heading, and what that means for Australia.

Paddy Manning has been a professional journalist for more than 15 years, working for Crikey, the Sydney Morning Herald/the Age, Australian Financial Review and the Australian. In 2000 he founded the magazine Ethical Investor. He has reported or researched/co-produced documentaries for ABC Radio National's 'Background Briefing' program and ABC TV's Four Corners. His previous books include Born To Rule- The Unauthorised Biography of Malcolm Turnbull, Boganaire- The Rise and Fall of Nathan Tinkler and What the Frack- Everything You Need to Know About Coal Seam Gas. In January 2018, he commenced as editor for The Monthly Today, the daily newsletter produced by The Monthly.