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The Stalking of Julia Gillard
This is the story of one of the most extraordinary episodes in recent Australian political history, of how a powerful media pack, a vicious commentariat and some of those within her own party contrived to bring down Australia's first woman prime minister.
'Don't write crap. Can't be that hard. And when you have written complete crap, then I think you should correct it.' Julia Gillard
When Julia Gillard took the reins of the Australian Labor Party on 24 June 2010 she did so with the goodwill of the majority of her party and a fawning Canberra press gallery. The man she had supplanted, Kevin Rudd, led an isolated band of angry Labor voices at this surprising turn of events. The collective political and media verdict was that his time, short though it had been, was up. But when Gillard announced in February 2011 that her government would introduce a carbon pricing scheme, Rudd and his small team of malcontents were already in lock-step with key Canberra and interstate journalists in a drive to push her out of the prime ministerial chair.
Never has a prime minister been so assiduously stalked. Cast as a political liar and policy charlatan, Julia Gillard was also mercilessly and relentlessly lampooned for her hair, clothes, accent, her arse, even the way she walks and talks. Rudd, on the other hand, could barely do any wrong. His antics were afforded benign, unquestioning prime-time media coverage.
This is the story about one of the most extraordinary episodes in recent Australian political history. It focuses on Team Rudd and the media's treatment of its slow-death campaign of destabilisation, with its disastrous effect on Gillard and the government's functioning. It is about a politician who was never given a fair go; not in the media, not by Rudd, not by some in caucus.
'Don't write crap. Can't be that hard. And when you have written complete crap, then I think you should correct it.' Julia Gillard
When Julia Gillard took the reins of the Australian Labor Party on 24 June 2010 she did so with the goodwill of the majority of her party and a fawning Canberra press gallery. The man she had supplanted, Kevin Rudd, led an isolated band of angry Labor voices at this surprising turn of events. The collective political and media verdict was that his time, short though it had been, was up. But when Gillard announced in February 2011 that her government would introduce a carbon pricing scheme, Rudd and his small team of malcontents were already in lock-step with key Canberra and interstate journalists in a drive to push her out of the prime ministerial chair.
Never has a prime minister been so assiduously stalked. Cast as a political liar and policy charlatan, Julia Gillard was also mercilessly and relentlessly lampooned for her hair, clothes, accent, her arse, even the way she walks and talks. Rudd, on the other hand, could barely do any wrong. His antics were afforded benign, unquestioning prime-time media coverage.
This is the story about one of the most extraordinary episodes in recent Australian political history. It focuses on Team Rudd and the media's treatment of its slow-death campaign of destabilisation, with its disastrous effect on Gillard and the government's functioning. It is about a politician who was never given a fair go; not in the media, not by Rudd, not by some in caucus.
320 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 71 reviews
September 7, 2013
Holy crap! The book left me with the flavor of rage and bitterness.
For those who are not from the antipodes, Julia Gillard was Australia's first female Prime Minister. She was widely lampooned by the media, and the opposition party held a fundraising dinner at which they served Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail: "small breasts, huge thighs, and a big red box." Fuck, imagine having to wake up and face that kind of personal attack every day. *shakes head*
The book, therefore, isn't about Australian politics: it's about misogyny in Australian politics. Specifically the way politicos and the media jointly framed savvy, intelligent, tough and uber-competent Gillard as a tearful, pleading, untrustworthy and weak political disappointment. I mean, yes, journalists re-frame events to fit their agenda, but the barefaced lies leave me incandescent, when it seems like every journalist was out for blood.
The writing is highly engaging, as if the author had taken you out for a yarn over a drink at your local.
For those who are not from the antipodes, Julia Gillard was Australia's first female Prime Minister. She was widely lampooned by the media, and the opposition party held a fundraising dinner at which they served Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail: "small breasts, huge thighs, and a big red box." Fuck, imagine having to wake up and face that kind of personal attack every day. *shakes head*
The book, therefore, isn't about Australian politics: it's about misogyny in Australian politics. Specifically the way politicos and the media jointly framed savvy, intelligent, tough and uber-competent Gillard as a tearful, pleading, untrustworthy and weak political disappointment. I mean, yes, journalists re-frame events to fit their agenda, but the barefaced lies leave me incandescent, when it seems like every journalist was out for blood.
The writing is highly engaging, as if the author had taken you out for a yarn over a drink at your local.
August 7, 2013
A profoundly personal, passionate, frequently sarcastic look at the wrecking ball behaviour of Rudd and cronies in the fight for the leadership of the Australian Federal Labor Party.
This is a scathing account of the machinations, which makes no bones about the side on which the author firmly sits. Having said that there is an obvious position being taken here, the lengths and depths to which the fight for power stretched, regardless of the outcome is breathtaking. The blatant use of sarcasm means you can almost hear the collective "you can't say that" mutterings going on. Personally I'm all for the application of a turbo flame-thrower and I'm just sorry that this book wasn't mandatory reading for much of the Labor inner-circle.
And that's the problem with books like this: the people that should read it in the main won't, and the people who are of a like mind regarding sides might not like the style, but they won't argue with the substance.
This is a scathing account of the machinations, which makes no bones about the side on which the author firmly sits. Having said that there is an obvious position being taken here, the lengths and depths to which the fight for power stretched, regardless of the outcome is breathtaking. The blatant use of sarcasm means you can almost hear the collective "you can't say that" mutterings going on. Personally I'm all for the application of a turbo flame-thrower and I'm just sorry that this book wasn't mandatory reading for much of the Labor inner-circle.
And that's the problem with books like this: the people that should read it in the main won't, and the people who are of a like mind regarding sides might not like the style, but they won't argue with the substance.
August 11, 2013
Walsh declares early on her book is not a defence of Gillard; rightly or wrongly I interpreted that to mean she was attempting to present a nonpartisan view of events that transpired. The tone was therefore more partisan than I expected, but didn't detract from my enjoyment of an at-times fascinating behind-the-scenes account of how the media and Kevin Rudd's loyal followers conspired to bring down Australia's first woman Prime Minister.
I was a close and frustrated (and quite partisan) observer of the relentless undermining of what was ultimately an effective government (measured by legislative change effected rather than popularity polls won) so it was at once satisfying and deeply demoralising to have my own impressions of a concerted and coordinated campaign against Gillard confirmed in a volume which tracks the chronology of that campaign.
It's an easy read, but not a comfortable one, and valuable as a contemporaneous account of political and publishing shenanigans which I have no doubt will be picked over for their impact on Australia's economic, social and political future in years to come.
I was a close and frustrated (and quite partisan) observer of the relentless undermining of what was ultimately an effective government (measured by legislative change effected rather than popularity polls won) so it was at once satisfying and deeply demoralising to have my own impressions of a concerted and coordinated campaign against Gillard confirmed in a volume which tracks the chronology of that campaign.
It's an easy read, but not a comfortable one, and valuable as a contemporaneous account of political and publishing shenanigans which I have no doubt will be picked over for their impact on Australia's economic, social and political future in years to come.
September 2, 2014
This is an eye-opening book into just how horrible the collusion of both the media (especially gallery journalists) and Kevin Rudd was from 2010-2013 in causing destabilisation and misrepresentation of Gillard's government, and the three years were considered by the media better to be a soap opera over any meaningful political coverage.
This ended in Tony Abbott being elected, and so much great policy being left completely uncovered by the media berating and Rudd's egotism. We should be ashamed of ourselves for buying into the Gillard-Rudd bullshit being peddled. The media coverage of politics needs a serious inquiry and overhaul, as it allowed for Rudd and his near psychopathic obsession with becoming leader to manipulate the 'anonymity' source idea for political gain, enough so that he eventually got the job back. Truly despicable, and while this book at times uses a few cringe-worthy turns of phrase, it blows the lid off on just how expansive the level of bile was against Julia Gillard and her government during those years.
This ended in Tony Abbott being elected, and so much great policy being left completely uncovered by the media berating and Rudd's egotism. We should be ashamed of ourselves for buying into the Gillard-Rudd bullshit being peddled. The media coverage of politics needs a serious inquiry and overhaul, as it allowed for Rudd and his near psychopathic obsession with becoming leader to manipulate the 'anonymity' source idea for political gain, enough so that he eventually got the job back. Truly despicable, and while this book at times uses a few cringe-worthy turns of phrase, it blows the lid off on just how expansive the level of bile was against Julia Gillard and her government during those years.
February 5, 2014
An impressive journalist delivers a very disappointing book.
I admit that I had high hopes for this one, partly because I was hoping for an inside look into Team Rudd or Team Gillard, which I admit was a tall order, but primarily because I was hoping for an insider's view of the Canberra press gallery and its many shortcomings. Written by a (former?) Canberra press insider, I'm afraid it didn’t deliver many insights that couldn’t have been made by anyone with an internet connection, a radio, a Sky News subscription, and access to a few major newspapers.
The odd thing is that I really enjoy Kerry-Anne Walsh's appearances on shows like the ABC's Insiders; her contributions there seem level-headed, balanced and well informed. In fact I found it hard to believe this book was written by the same person. About halfway through the book I started to wonder if perhaps the book had been partly written by an uncredited ghost author. I hope so.
Firstly, there was the book's tone. A lot of it was written in the style of a snarky blogger on the internet (a category of writers Ms Walsh seemed to detest). For example, on more than one occasion in the book she responded to things said by those she disagreed with by writing something like:
"(Hahahahaha. Side-splitting!)"
That is an actual quote from the book (Location 1039 in Kindle edition), and there were three other occasions when she said something similar. Is this supposed to be serious political writing? Often, a comment like this "hahaha" one would be her only rebuttal to the thing she objected to, as if no further explanation was required.
Rudd was often referred to as “the Ruddster” throughout the book, a childish term that should be out of place in a serious book on Australian politics, surely? Naturally, there was no similar appellation for Ms Gillard, except perhaps a couple of references to her as a red head.
When Ms Walsh quoted people or newspaper headlines she disagreed with, it seems they rarely ever just "said" or "state" anything. They "screech", "chirp", "bellow", "insinuate", ”twitter-trilled”, etc etc. As well as setting an oddly juvenile tone, these descriptors reveal a not-so-subtle bias.
I don't object to authors of political books having opinions and biases about the people and events they write about - in fact I prefer it when they wear their biases on their sleeve, clear for all to see rather than hidden behind careful language. But Ms Walsh's bias was so open and so melodramatically expressed that it was distracting. I'm no fan of Mr Rudd, not at all, but the relentless bias against him and his "team" in this book almost made me feel for him.
Ms Walsh never portrayed Rudd's motives for his actions as even partly pure or principled; they were always self-serving or mendacious. No school visit, no attendance at Mass, nothing was immune from Ms Walsh's view that everything Rudd said or did was all about Team Rudd getting at Team Gillard.
Although she claimed in her introduction that she would cover Ms Gillard's mistakes as well, these criticisms could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and consisted of such noble failings as being too "loyal" to Craig Thompson, or of desperately abandoning a doomed vote on her Malaysia Solution. In the latter example, Ms Walsh stated that Gillard's motivations were "extreme political anxiety to notch up this win", whereas Tony Abbot's motivations were "maliciously driven by pure politics". (Location 1160) So it’s not just Rudd that gets the unkind interpretations of motivations.
On more than one occasion, Ms Walsh used some of the very same tactics she decried when used by others. For example, not long after pointing out the risks and failings of journalists using anonymous sources with axes to grind, she revealed that for her insights into what Rudd was like to work with as PM she would be using an anonymous source with an axe to grind. She claims her sources are “impeccable”, but isn’t she missing her own point?
Ms Walsh spent most of the book decrying personal attacks on Gillard while simultaneously making snide comments about Rudd's personality and motivations (“toxic ambition”, “Jekyll-and-Hyde personality”, “bordered on the manic”, “overweening ambition”, etc).
Perhaps the nadir of this constant sliming of Rudd’s character was, near the end of her book, she quotes a "behavioural therapist" making observations about how Rudd's "feeling of superiority camouflages deep insecurity and a multifarious contradictory personality", and that his belief in himself is "close to delusional" and "he shouldn't be in politics". All this "analysis" was based on “observations” made not from personal interaction, but was based solely on press reporting and opinion pieces about Rudd - the same press Ms Walsh thinks is so unreliable. Why on earth would a reputable therapist agree to supply such quotes?
In fact, Ms Walsh used so many of the tactics she claimed to abhor in others, that rather than it being an example of hypocrisy, I started to wonder if this was a deliberate tactic on her part – perhaps it was a kind of satirical “me-too” approach designed to give the press gallery and the “Ruddites” a taste of their own medicine? Perhaps.
In the end, my biggest frustration with the book is that beneath all the bias, inconsistency, and juvenile tone were some very real and pointed criticisms of the media. Many of these criticisms could have been written by anyone that consumes the political media regularly, but none-the-less Ms Walsh makes some great observations based on her own experiences as well. The press really do have a lot to answer for in the whole Rudd-Gillard-Rudd drama.
What a shame these important issues were wrapped up in such a frustratingly hard-to-read package.
I admit that I had high hopes for this one, partly because I was hoping for an inside look into Team Rudd or Team Gillard, which I admit was a tall order, but primarily because I was hoping for an insider's view of the Canberra press gallery and its many shortcomings. Written by a (former?) Canberra press insider, I'm afraid it didn’t deliver many insights that couldn’t have been made by anyone with an internet connection, a radio, a Sky News subscription, and access to a few major newspapers.
The odd thing is that I really enjoy Kerry-Anne Walsh's appearances on shows like the ABC's Insiders; her contributions there seem level-headed, balanced and well informed. In fact I found it hard to believe this book was written by the same person. About halfway through the book I started to wonder if perhaps the book had been partly written by an uncredited ghost author. I hope so.
Firstly, there was the book's tone. A lot of it was written in the style of a snarky blogger on the internet (a category of writers Ms Walsh seemed to detest). For example, on more than one occasion in the book she responded to things said by those she disagreed with by writing something like:
"(Hahahahaha. Side-splitting!)"
That is an actual quote from the book (Location 1039 in Kindle edition), and there were three other occasions when she said something similar. Is this supposed to be serious political writing? Often, a comment like this "hahaha" one would be her only rebuttal to the thing she objected to, as if no further explanation was required.
Rudd was often referred to as “the Ruddster” throughout the book, a childish term that should be out of place in a serious book on Australian politics, surely? Naturally, there was no similar appellation for Ms Gillard, except perhaps a couple of references to her as a red head.
When Ms Walsh quoted people or newspaper headlines she disagreed with, it seems they rarely ever just "said" or "state" anything. They "screech", "chirp", "bellow", "insinuate", ”twitter-trilled”, etc etc. As well as setting an oddly juvenile tone, these descriptors reveal a not-so-subtle bias.
I don't object to authors of political books having opinions and biases about the people and events they write about - in fact I prefer it when they wear their biases on their sleeve, clear for all to see rather than hidden behind careful language. But Ms Walsh's bias was so open and so melodramatically expressed that it was distracting. I'm no fan of Mr Rudd, not at all, but the relentless bias against him and his "team" in this book almost made me feel for him.
Ms Walsh never portrayed Rudd's motives for his actions as even partly pure or principled; they were always self-serving or mendacious. No school visit, no attendance at Mass, nothing was immune from Ms Walsh's view that everything Rudd said or did was all about Team Rudd getting at Team Gillard.
Although she claimed in her introduction that she would cover Ms Gillard's mistakes as well, these criticisms could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and consisted of such noble failings as being too "loyal" to Craig Thompson, or of desperately abandoning a doomed vote on her Malaysia Solution. In the latter example, Ms Walsh stated that Gillard's motivations were "extreme political anxiety to notch up this win", whereas Tony Abbot's motivations were "maliciously driven by pure politics". (Location 1160) So it’s not just Rudd that gets the unkind interpretations of motivations.
On more than one occasion, Ms Walsh used some of the very same tactics she decried when used by others. For example, not long after pointing out the risks and failings of journalists using anonymous sources with axes to grind, she revealed that for her insights into what Rudd was like to work with as PM she would be using an anonymous source with an axe to grind. She claims her sources are “impeccable”, but isn’t she missing her own point?
Ms Walsh spent most of the book decrying personal attacks on Gillard while simultaneously making snide comments about Rudd's personality and motivations (“toxic ambition”, “Jekyll-and-Hyde personality”, “bordered on the manic”, “overweening ambition”, etc).
Perhaps the nadir of this constant sliming of Rudd’s character was, near the end of her book, she quotes a "behavioural therapist" making observations about how Rudd's "feeling of superiority camouflages deep insecurity and a multifarious contradictory personality", and that his belief in himself is "close to delusional" and "he shouldn't be in politics". All this "analysis" was based on “observations” made not from personal interaction, but was based solely on press reporting and opinion pieces about Rudd - the same press Ms Walsh thinks is so unreliable. Why on earth would a reputable therapist agree to supply such quotes?
In fact, Ms Walsh used so many of the tactics she claimed to abhor in others, that rather than it being an example of hypocrisy, I started to wonder if this was a deliberate tactic on her part – perhaps it was a kind of satirical “me-too” approach designed to give the press gallery and the “Ruddites” a taste of their own medicine? Perhaps.
In the end, my biggest frustration with the book is that beneath all the bias, inconsistency, and juvenile tone were some very real and pointed criticisms of the media. Many of these criticisms could have been written by anyone that consumes the political media regularly, but none-the-less Ms Walsh makes some great observations based on her own experiences as well. The press really do have a lot to answer for in the whole Rudd-Gillard-Rudd drama.
What a shame these important issues were wrapped up in such a frustratingly hard-to-read package.
October 31, 2013
The reality is, if you didn't like Julia Gillard, if you truly believe she was lying, back stabbing bitch who nearly ran the country into the ground (something that a lot of the facts do not bear out), you most probably won't like this book. If you do not agree with the view that Kevin Rudd is an egotistical, power hungry, narcissistic man, who struggled to make decisions, insisted on micromanaging the government into paralysis and refused to believe he was no longer the saviour Australia needed, you will dismiss it as the one eyed view of a pro Gillard loyalist - and nothing will change your mind.
The book reads very much like a diary or a blog. In fact Walsh makes sure in her introduction that you know this is the case. She doesn't pretend it's an indepth analysis of the Rudd/ Gillard stoush. Instead she recounts what she observed and saw over the period of time from Gillard taking the leadership, through to the unsuccessful second challenge. Unfortunately the book came out just after the final successful challenge which handed Rudd back the leadership. That's a pity because I would be interested to know what she thought about that whole incident!
What this book does is outline how Kevin Rudd and his small, but powerful band of followers (who, despite what the mainstream media and the Liberal party would have you believe, were not faceless, but very, very up front and obvious!)white anted and undermined the Gillard government and made it near impossible to get any good publicity. The mainstream media (also known as the fourth estate)bought into the whole thing, focusing on a leadership challenge that had no legs. (Rudd never had the numbers needed) Coupled with the fact that the media rarely, if ever reported on the success and skillful management of a minority government,* Gillard had little to no hope of retaining leadership, let alone government.
I believe this book gives a good account of the egotistical, self centred personality that Kevin Rudd appears to be. A man whose desire to lead over rode everything - including the best interests of the party he professed to love.
Walsh recounts and notes the major news stories during the time. She also notes the lack of coverage of other events. She shows the media's bias and how they failed in their duty to the Australian public. Little wonder people are losing faith in the fourth estate.
*Regardless of your view of Gillard and her government, they manged to pass close to 600 pieces of legislation during the minority government. Given the negotiation that would have had to happen to get any legislation passed, this can only be seen as successful and a testament to their ability to negotiate with independents and other members of parliament. In fact, an analysis by Nick Evershed in the Guardian online (http://www.theguardian.com/news/datab...), showed that Julia Gillard and her minority government passed more acts per day of their term than any other Australian government - ever!
The book reads very much like a diary or a blog. In fact Walsh makes sure in her introduction that you know this is the case. She doesn't pretend it's an indepth analysis of the Rudd/ Gillard stoush. Instead she recounts what she observed and saw over the period of time from Gillard taking the leadership, through to the unsuccessful second challenge. Unfortunately the book came out just after the final successful challenge which handed Rudd back the leadership. That's a pity because I would be interested to know what she thought about that whole incident!
What this book does is outline how Kevin Rudd and his small, but powerful band of followers (who, despite what the mainstream media and the Liberal party would have you believe, were not faceless, but very, very up front and obvious!)white anted and undermined the Gillard government and made it near impossible to get any good publicity. The mainstream media (also known as the fourth estate)bought into the whole thing, focusing on a leadership challenge that had no legs. (Rudd never had the numbers needed) Coupled with the fact that the media rarely, if ever reported on the success and skillful management of a minority government,* Gillard had little to no hope of retaining leadership, let alone government.
I believe this book gives a good account of the egotistical, self centred personality that Kevin Rudd appears to be. A man whose desire to lead over rode everything - including the best interests of the party he professed to love.
Walsh recounts and notes the major news stories during the time. She also notes the lack of coverage of other events. She shows the media's bias and how they failed in their duty to the Australian public. Little wonder people are losing faith in the fourth estate.
*Regardless of your view of Gillard and her government, they manged to pass close to 600 pieces of legislation during the minority government. Given the negotiation that would have had to happen to get any legislation passed, this can only be seen as successful and a testament to their ability to negotiate with independents and other members of parliament. In fact, an analysis by Nick Evershed in the Guardian online (http://www.theguardian.com/news/datab...), showed that Julia Gillard and her minority government passed more acts per day of their term than any other Australian government - ever!
July 13, 2013
Now I need another chapter. To finish the book properly. A new and updated edition. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to understand the role of the media in this sorry chapter in Australian politics.
June 4, 2015
I thought Julia Gillard was a poor choice by Labor to be Prime Minister. I thought Kevin Rudd was the most articulate intelligent Prime Minister Australia had since Gough Whitlam. Kevin seemed to have vision, integrity, smarts, charm, and inspired hope for a better way of governance.
I hated Julia Gillards nasal voice, her bogan accent spoke of mediocrity and a woman out of her depth.
During the time Ms Gillard was Prime Minister, I realised she is a woman of strength, compassion, warmth humour and integrity. And her voice became a reproach to my culturally snobbish pretensions.
The flaws in Kevin Rudd's character became more obvious and dissapointing. Mr Rudd professed to be a man who was dedicated to fair play and consensus politics. He was more concerned with his own inflated opinion of himself and white-anting PM Gillards work.
Yes, Ms Gillard learned to soften her diphthongs and modify her diction, but perception is a curious thing. The media in Australia proved itself to be stuck in the 1950s view of sexism. A small minded gutter-snipe named Tony Abbott was allowed unquestioned access to power by Australia's media while Ms Gillard was continually belittled. Even supposedly intelligent female journalists proved unable to provide balanced insights into the crass attacks on the Gillard government. I won't name names.
"The Stalking of Julia Gillard" shows the appalling record of attacks on the Gillard govt that were often empty gossip. Ms Walsh provides a book full of information that shows why Australia is currently (2015) run by a Stone Age goon with an attitude to ethics of a tobacco or asbestos company executive.
Thanks Australian media, your methods haven't really changed since a baby was attacked by a dingo, and a mother was sent to jail on the basis of over the back fence bullshit.
I hated Julia Gillards nasal voice, her bogan accent spoke of mediocrity and a woman out of her depth.
During the time Ms Gillard was Prime Minister, I realised she is a woman of strength, compassion, warmth humour and integrity. And her voice became a reproach to my culturally snobbish pretensions.
The flaws in Kevin Rudd's character became more obvious and dissapointing. Mr Rudd professed to be a man who was dedicated to fair play and consensus politics. He was more concerned with his own inflated opinion of himself and white-anting PM Gillards work.
Yes, Ms Gillard learned to soften her diphthongs and modify her diction, but perception is a curious thing. The media in Australia proved itself to be stuck in the 1950s view of sexism. A small minded gutter-snipe named Tony Abbott was allowed unquestioned access to power by Australia's media while Ms Gillard was continually belittled. Even supposedly intelligent female journalists proved unable to provide balanced insights into the crass attacks on the Gillard government. I won't name names.
"The Stalking of Julia Gillard" shows the appalling record of attacks on the Gillard govt that were often empty gossip. Ms Walsh provides a book full of information that shows why Australia is currently (2015) run by a Stone Age goon with an attitude to ethics of a tobacco or asbestos company executive.
Thanks Australian media, your methods haven't really changed since a baby was attacked by a dingo, and a mother was sent to jail on the basis of over the back fence bullshit.
August 12, 2013
The Stalking of Julia Gillard (2013) by Kerry Anne Walsh is a wildly partisan look at the decline of the Gillard government. If you were unaware that the Gillard government was impressively unpopular following Gillard’s reversal on the introduction of a C02 tax and that many journalists wrote articles suggesting that the ALP would lose dramatically at the next election were she not replaced then this book may have something for you. Alternatively if you too are solidly on the left of the Australian political spectrum you may find more evidence that Rupert Murdoch and his lizard henchmen run Australia. For anyone else it’s worth saving time and skipping the book. Downfall, by Aaron Patrick is much better. No doubt after the next act, that of the ongoing Federal Election, there will be some really interesting books about the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years.
Walsh gets some impressive facts wrong. On page 30 she talks about the 3 trillion dollar economy and after all is 100% difference in the size of the Australian economy important? Walsh is also one of the few people who believe that Gillard did not break a promise in introducing the Carbon Tax. Politifact covers the issue in more detail. Walsh happily elides mentioning the protests by environmentalists against what was perceived to be Gillard’s policy before the election. Not a word is said about the ‘Citizens Assembly’ that was to be held to reach consensus on the matter.
There is some irony in the book. Walsh is upset because right wing commentators are right wing commentators. They shouldn’t be you know. But apparently books as partisan as Walsh’s are just what we need instead. It’s also worth noting that Walsh is a commentator on Sky Agenda, shown on channels owned by Murdoch. Perhaps she is part of some dastardly plot of Murdoch’s to befuddle the Australian Left with silly conspiracy theories.
The story of how a reasonably popular first term Prime Minister was removed and the succeeded by someone who was initially popular but who made a number of serious political mistakes that snowballed is fascinating. But this book ignores most of that and just looks at articles critical of Gillard. There were a lot written. Many of them were pretty poor. However the reason they got traction was because the government was in trouble. The Gillard government depended on ALP votes of people who in normal circumstances would have been sacked. This was because Gillard had unwisely called an early election before establishing authority and then ran a poor campaign. On top of this leaks affected her. But ‘The Real Julia’ was the ALP’s own idiocy.
Rudd & Craig Thomson would have been calmly removed and ignored in a normal government. Gillard having to defend Union corruption was an awful look and reflected serious problems within the ALP. The Obeid scandal showed just what can happen when corruption is ignored
Rudd’s incredible ability to generate media interest is also given scathing treatment. Rudd is clearly an amazingly ruthless operator who works very hard at self-promotion. In government there also clearly real problems with the way Rudd ran the government. Walsh’s assertion that Gillard was drafted in and had no leadership ambitions is laughable. The Wikileak’s US diplomatic cables show that Gillard was sounding people out for a chance to become Prime Minister. There isn’t anything wrong with that, it’s hard to imagine many, if not most, senior politicians not doing the same. But pretending Gillard was loyal is unbelievable.
Partisan reviews of politics can, even if their central theme is a bit silly, be interesting as they bring up little known facts. Conspiracy theories are not nearly as entertaining as they become diatribes. The irony of Walsh complaining about one eyed views of politics is amusing for a little while but rapidly becomes tiresome. Skip this book.
Walsh gets some impressive facts wrong. On page 30 she talks about the 3 trillion dollar economy and after all is 100% difference in the size of the Australian economy important? Walsh is also one of the few people who believe that Gillard did not break a promise in introducing the Carbon Tax. Politifact covers the issue in more detail. Walsh happily elides mentioning the protests by environmentalists against what was perceived to be Gillard’s policy before the election. Not a word is said about the ‘Citizens Assembly’ that was to be held to reach consensus on the matter.
There is some irony in the book. Walsh is upset because right wing commentators are right wing commentators. They shouldn’t be you know. But apparently books as partisan as Walsh’s are just what we need instead. It’s also worth noting that Walsh is a commentator on Sky Agenda, shown on channels owned by Murdoch. Perhaps she is part of some dastardly plot of Murdoch’s to befuddle the Australian Left with silly conspiracy theories.
The story of how a reasonably popular first term Prime Minister was removed and the succeeded by someone who was initially popular but who made a number of serious political mistakes that snowballed is fascinating. But this book ignores most of that and just looks at articles critical of Gillard. There were a lot written. Many of them were pretty poor. However the reason they got traction was because the government was in trouble. The Gillard government depended on ALP votes of people who in normal circumstances would have been sacked. This was because Gillard had unwisely called an early election before establishing authority and then ran a poor campaign. On top of this leaks affected her. But ‘The Real Julia’ was the ALP’s own idiocy.
Rudd & Craig Thomson would have been calmly removed and ignored in a normal government. Gillard having to defend Union corruption was an awful look and reflected serious problems within the ALP. The Obeid scandal showed just what can happen when corruption is ignored
Rudd’s incredible ability to generate media interest is also given scathing treatment. Rudd is clearly an amazingly ruthless operator who works very hard at self-promotion. In government there also clearly real problems with the way Rudd ran the government. Walsh’s assertion that Gillard was drafted in and had no leadership ambitions is laughable. The Wikileak’s US diplomatic cables show that Gillard was sounding people out for a chance to become Prime Minister. There isn’t anything wrong with that, it’s hard to imagine many, if not most, senior politicians not doing the same. But pretending Gillard was loyal is unbelievable.
Partisan reviews of politics can, even if their central theme is a bit silly, be interesting as they bring up little known facts. Conspiracy theories are not nearly as entertaining as they become diatribes. The irony of Walsh complaining about one eyed views of politics is amusing for a little while but rapidly becomes tiresome. Skip this book.
May 23, 2016
'The Assassination of Julia Gillard' would be more apt. I'm no Labor fan by any stretch of the imagination but to say Gillard did not deserve to be treated the way she was would be the biggest understatement in Australian politics. I'm THRILLED to see Kevin Rudd's mask blown off completely, albeit way too late, revealing what some of us knew all along- he is a cruel, cunning undeserving excuse for a man with one hell of an unchecked personality disorder. I frankly hope everyone who bought into his facade feels like idiots now, only idiots usually never do.
I genuinely wish Julia Gillard all the best post politics and she's proving that she'll be fine. She's a good person. Her heart is in the right place. Kevin Rudd has to live with the torment of being Kevin Rudd for the rest of his life and he will never find peace.
I genuinely wish Julia Gillard all the best post politics and she's proving that she'll be fine. She's a good person. Her heart is in the right place. Kevin Rudd has to live with the torment of being Kevin Rudd for the rest of his life and he will never find peace.
September 16, 2013
There’s no denying that the last three and a half years have been a tumultuous time in politics – in fact, probably one of the most tumultuous. When Julia Gillard became the leader of the Australian Labor Party on the 24th June 2010, she also became Australia’s first female Prime Minister. But she wasn’t the public elect – they had elected former leader Kevin Rudd to the role (in a way, Australian voters elect the party but everyone feels they’re electing the leader. We have no role in who becomes leader of any party) in late 2007. Kevin Rudd had broken the stranglehold liberal leader John Howard had had on the country for the past 11 years. Kevin was popular with voters, but behind closed doors, his popularity was tanking.
According to his colleagues, Kevin Rudd is ambitious, ruthless, a megalomaniac, a workaholic who barely sleeps and demands the same of his staff, abusive, difficult and when it came to making the big decisions, useless. He would debate a potential reform or bill to put forward for hours but dithered on making actual judgements. It was fast becoming obvious to the party that he was impossible to work with and he was removed and Julia Gillard installed.
What Kevin Rudd also was, was a media darling and smart enough to bide his time and gather supporters. He staged a three year campaign to bring Gillard down, something that he accomplished earlier this year when he won a caucus ballot and regained leadership of both the ALP and the Prime Ministership after several failed attempts. But it wasn’t just Kevin Rudd that brought Julia Gillard undone.
The media more than played their role – she was ruthlessly attacked from all angles, opinion pieces and news pieces alike blasted her about everything from her appearance to her policies to her relationship to the way she even spoke or walked. She was outed or claimed to be about to be on the out by the media almost every week for her three year long reign, especially after in late 2010, she had to form a minority government with independents and the Greens after a hung parliament following an election. She faced a personal hatred and vilification, the likes of which no leader elsewhere had ever experienced. This is the story of how a man scorned and an army of press (mostly owned by extreme right-wing sympathiser Rupert Murdoch) brought down the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
Despite my tertiary background being in politics and international relations, it’s been a long time since I really paid a lot of attention to politics. However, when my local Federal member became Prime Minister on the 24th June 2010, that sort of changed. I live right in the heart of Julia Gillard’s (former) electorate and I watched at first, with interest and later with a lot of anger, at the way in which she was treated by the media. Rarely have I ever read anything so personal directed towards anyone before but coming from major opinion pieces and apparently “newsworthy” articles it seemed even worse. Taking apart her appearance, criticising her on the size of her bottom, attacking her hair, her clothes, wondering if her partner was actually a homosexual, calling her “deliberately barren”, it was a never ending barrage of bullshit, basically. Add in to that the numerous shouts of a spill being imminent and quite honestly, reading the newspapers and watching the TV was mostly ridiculous. Despite the fact that a lot of people like to claim that she accomplished nothing, Gillard’s goverment was in fact, rather successful. It passed many articles of legislation and implemented things like the National Disability Scheme, the NBN broadband scheme and over a hundred other things, which, in a minority government, is actually pretty impressive. That’s not to say she didn’t make mistakes – she did. And her lack of ability to project warmth and often confidence, was a detraction. Reciting prepared speeches did her no favours – where she really shone was when she went unprepared and unrehearsed and just let go. A former lawyer, she’s incredibly smart and very good at arguing a point. Anyone who has ever seen her misogyny speech directed towards former Opposition Leader (and now, unfortunately, our brand new Prime Minister, Tony Abbott) which went viral around the world, can attest to that. If you haven’t – watch it here.
I am well aware my politics are shining through here, in this review. I’ve never voted liberal (the Australian version of the Republicans) and I’m not ashamed to admit that I most likely never will. Their politics don’t line up with mine. I was a Gillard supporter in the latter part of her Prime Ministerial term but ultimately I think the same thing lets this book down. It wants to defend Gillard, or show exactly what she suffered/faced as leader and that’s one thing. But what this book does is basically what it accuses others of: getting too personal. It lambasts Kevin Rudd in childish and immature ways and it attacks news columnists and Tony Abbott the same way. I get that for a lot of people, there’s a frustration in the way she was treated (unless you swing to the right, and say things like her father probably died of shame). However, it really drags this book down because it becomes almost 300p of petty swipes at Rudd, Abbott, et al and it really became quite difficult to read. It would’ve been much better if it had remained impartial and honest and just allowed the actions and newspaper articles and opinion pages to speak for themselves about the sort of things that were happening. There’s actually no need to snipe, it just drags the book down to their level and detracts from the overall message.
This book is good if you are either an extremely passionate Gillard supporter and hate everyone else and want to wallow in that, or if you want a detailed look at the attacks she faced but don’t mind the fact that there’s a lot of really unnecessary stuff in here. If you’re looking for an unbiased, balanced account of the past three years, then I probably wouldn’t bother with this one – this time period is bound to spawn a plethora of books to analyse it, so maybe wait for one of those instead.
According to his colleagues, Kevin Rudd is ambitious, ruthless, a megalomaniac, a workaholic who barely sleeps and demands the same of his staff, abusive, difficult and when it came to making the big decisions, useless. He would debate a potential reform or bill to put forward for hours but dithered on making actual judgements. It was fast becoming obvious to the party that he was impossible to work with and he was removed and Julia Gillard installed.
What Kevin Rudd also was, was a media darling and smart enough to bide his time and gather supporters. He staged a three year campaign to bring Gillard down, something that he accomplished earlier this year when he won a caucus ballot and regained leadership of both the ALP and the Prime Ministership after several failed attempts. But it wasn’t just Kevin Rudd that brought Julia Gillard undone.
The media more than played their role – she was ruthlessly attacked from all angles, opinion pieces and news pieces alike blasted her about everything from her appearance to her policies to her relationship to the way she even spoke or walked. She was outed or claimed to be about to be on the out by the media almost every week for her three year long reign, especially after in late 2010, she had to form a minority government with independents and the Greens after a hung parliament following an election. She faced a personal hatred and vilification, the likes of which no leader elsewhere had ever experienced. This is the story of how a man scorned and an army of press (mostly owned by extreme right-wing sympathiser Rupert Murdoch) brought down the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
Despite my tertiary background being in politics and international relations, it’s been a long time since I really paid a lot of attention to politics. However, when my local Federal member became Prime Minister on the 24th June 2010, that sort of changed. I live right in the heart of Julia Gillard’s (former) electorate and I watched at first, with interest and later with a lot of anger, at the way in which she was treated by the media. Rarely have I ever read anything so personal directed towards anyone before but coming from major opinion pieces and apparently “newsworthy” articles it seemed even worse. Taking apart her appearance, criticising her on the size of her bottom, attacking her hair, her clothes, wondering if her partner was actually a homosexual, calling her “deliberately barren”, it was a never ending barrage of bullshit, basically. Add in to that the numerous shouts of a spill being imminent and quite honestly, reading the newspapers and watching the TV was mostly ridiculous. Despite the fact that a lot of people like to claim that she accomplished nothing, Gillard’s goverment was in fact, rather successful. It passed many articles of legislation and implemented things like the National Disability Scheme, the NBN broadband scheme and over a hundred other things, which, in a minority government, is actually pretty impressive. That’s not to say she didn’t make mistakes – she did. And her lack of ability to project warmth and often confidence, was a detraction. Reciting prepared speeches did her no favours – where she really shone was when she went unprepared and unrehearsed and just let go. A former lawyer, she’s incredibly smart and very good at arguing a point. Anyone who has ever seen her misogyny speech directed towards former Opposition Leader (and now, unfortunately, our brand new Prime Minister, Tony Abbott) which went viral around the world, can attest to that. If you haven’t – watch it here.
I am well aware my politics are shining through here, in this review. I’ve never voted liberal (the Australian version of the Republicans) and I’m not ashamed to admit that I most likely never will. Their politics don’t line up with mine. I was a Gillard supporter in the latter part of her Prime Ministerial term but ultimately I think the same thing lets this book down. It wants to defend Gillard, or show exactly what she suffered/faced as leader and that’s one thing. But what this book does is basically what it accuses others of: getting too personal. It lambasts Kevin Rudd in childish and immature ways and it attacks news columnists and Tony Abbott the same way. I get that for a lot of people, there’s a frustration in the way she was treated (unless you swing to the right, and say things like her father probably died of shame). However, it really drags this book down because it becomes almost 300p of petty swipes at Rudd, Abbott, et al and it really became quite difficult to read. It would’ve been much better if it had remained impartial and honest and just allowed the actions and newspaper articles and opinion pages to speak for themselves about the sort of things that were happening. There’s actually no need to snipe, it just drags the book down to their level and detracts from the overall message.
This book is good if you are either an extremely passionate Gillard supporter and hate everyone else and want to wallow in that, or if you want a detailed look at the attacks she faced but don’t mind the fact that there’s a lot of really unnecessary stuff in here. If you’re looking for an unbiased, balanced account of the past three years, then I probably wouldn’t bother with this one – this time period is bound to spawn a plethora of books to analyse it, so maybe wait for one of those instead.
April 3, 2015
A sad read. Like other readers I found the blog style annoying at first because of the anachronistic time references, but I got used to it. How the political events of this book are viewed by readers will, I suspect, depend more on their own views than the views of the book. For me, there is one aspect of this which over-rides all others and that is the part played by the Australian media. After spending over a decade working oversees I returned in 2013 to an Australia I barely recognised and was horrified by what had happened to our media. Now after 18 months back here I cannot think of any adjectives derogatory enough to describe the media, particularly the News Limited media, in which all attempts at factual reporting or even handed journalism have clearly been abandoned. In this book probably the best quote was from thuggish head-kicker Mark Latham who said, "the campaign against her (Gillard) in recent times has been a disgrace" and describes 2GB programming as, "one long hate session". He goes on to say, "It is a trend in our body politic that is most regrettable and is dragging down Australian democracy; no attention on the issues, no attention on the battle of ideas. It's the politics of hate, it's directed at Gillard and it's disgraceful". You could easily substitute the word "Gillard" with "Greens", or any number of people or groups who are targeted by, what Bob Brown so appropriately described as the "hate press". Brown was always extremely good at cutting through the crap and getting to the crux of an issue. I don't think I have ever agreed with anything Mark Latham has said before but I certainly concur with this, with the rider that words like "disgraceful" and "disgusting" are nowhere near strong enough to describe them. Similarly, I think the author's description of the News Ltd propagandists as "attack dogs" is grossly unfair on dogs! I would much prefer to use the quirky description that they use here in Queensland for those who are beneath contempt and describe them as "grubs".
The sad corollary of this whole sordid affair is not that Rudd destroyed the Labor Party (many other people in the party helped to do that!) and led them to a totally deserved electoral defeat, but rather that because of this Australia is now saddled with the most incompetent and embarrassing government I have seen in my lifetime, and the level of political discourse in this country has sunk to levels unimaginable 20 years ago. I have spent nearly 40 years teaching and working in politics and I have never seen it in such an appalling state as it is now. No wonder young Australians are turning off it in droves and the old parties struggle for members as they become increasingly less credible and relevant as time goes on. If nothing else, this book will help readers understand, in some small measure, one of the ways that we came to this catastrophe.
The sad corollary of this whole sordid affair is not that Rudd destroyed the Labor Party (many other people in the party helped to do that!) and led them to a totally deserved electoral defeat, but rather that because of this Australia is now saddled with the most incompetent and embarrassing government I have seen in my lifetime, and the level of political discourse in this country has sunk to levels unimaginable 20 years ago. I have spent nearly 40 years teaching and working in politics and I have never seen it in such an appalling state as it is now. No wonder young Australians are turning off it in droves and the old parties struggle for members as they become increasingly less credible and relevant as time goes on. If nothing else, this book will help readers understand, in some small measure, one of the ways that we came to this catastrophe.
November 4, 2014
The book attempts to relate the appalling saga of Labour Party politics from 2010 to 2013 and the role of the press in the downfall of Julia Gillard, our first female Prime Minister. While I agree with the propositions espoused by the author (that Gillard was treated appallingly by the press, her own Party and her political colleagues), the actual contents of this book turned out to be highly partisan rubbish that did nothing to effectively support that position. The book was a poorly constructed political commentary of an extremist nature (the very type of political commentary she claims to rail against). It was hard to get past the first few chapters where the author asserts that Rudd had heart surgery in an attempt to grab press attention. I was even more alienated by her sneering remarks about family rallying round Rudd's bedside for what was 'routine' surgery. The prose and quality of the contents of the book went downhill from there. The author appears to be so enmeshed in her own obsessions that she has lost sight of how to tell a credible and convincing story. The Gillard quote 'don't write crap' is ironically apt advice for the author of this book.
September 12, 2016
This book really needed to be retitled “the second chapter in your ongoing national nightmare”.
Walsh’s book chronicles the difficulties created for Prime Minister Julia Gillard by the destabilising conduct of leadership rival Kevin Rudd and by the media’s reporting of that leadership rivalry. Covering these two themes gives the book its great weakness: Walsh is simultaneously outraged by Rudd’s determination to white-ant PM Gillard and by the media’s persistent coverage of that undermining, both of which created an impression (reality?) of chaos and instability in the government of Australia’s first female Prime Minister. The book is current to 18 June 2013, and therefore ends six days before Rudd toppled Gillard in a leadership challenge.
The book’s other great weakness is that it reads like a personal diary or low-readership blog which was hastily expanded into a book before the Gillard/Rudd Labor government(s) receded into memory. White’s own voice is persistently present throughout: carping, sniping and whining. Other journalists are “Rudd’s main man at Fairfax” (p.66) or “briefed by the usual propagandists” (p.211). There are almost no revelations that wouldn’t have been known to anyone reading an occasional newspaper in the 2010-2013 period. This is what sets the book apart from Triumph & Demise, Paul Kelly’s wonderfully gossipy account of the same period.
What makes Walsh’s book depressing is that, as I said at the start, the Gillard government was only part of an ongoing national nightmare. Between 2007 and 2010 the government under Kevin Rudd was led by a man who was unstable and chronically unable to make decisions. Between 2010 and 2013 the Gillard government was led by a woman who could exert little or no control over her own party. The chaotic Rudd returned to the leadership for six months in 2013 before losing an election to Tony Abbott, whose prime ministership (2013-2015) consisted heavily of increasingly bizarre “captain’s calls”. In 2015 Mr Abbott was ousted as leader by Malcolm Turnbull, who in the 2016 Federal election managed to convert a more-or-less workable Parliament into one which may well be utterly unmanageable. If Walsh’s book has any merit, it’s to set out part of the reason Australians have lost faith in their government.
Walsh’s book chronicles the difficulties created for Prime Minister Julia Gillard by the destabilising conduct of leadership rival Kevin Rudd and by the media’s reporting of that leadership rivalry. Covering these two themes gives the book its great weakness: Walsh is simultaneously outraged by Rudd’s determination to white-ant PM Gillard and by the media’s persistent coverage of that undermining, both of which created an impression (reality?) of chaos and instability in the government of Australia’s first female Prime Minister. The book is current to 18 June 2013, and therefore ends six days before Rudd toppled Gillard in a leadership challenge.
The book’s other great weakness is that it reads like a personal diary or low-readership blog which was hastily expanded into a book before the Gillard/Rudd Labor government(s) receded into memory. White’s own voice is persistently present throughout: carping, sniping and whining. Other journalists are “Rudd’s main man at Fairfax” (p.66) or “briefed by the usual propagandists” (p.211). There are almost no revelations that wouldn’t have been known to anyone reading an occasional newspaper in the 2010-2013 period. This is what sets the book apart from Triumph & Demise, Paul Kelly’s wonderfully gossipy account of the same period.
What makes Walsh’s book depressing is that, as I said at the start, the Gillard government was only part of an ongoing national nightmare. Between 2007 and 2010 the government under Kevin Rudd was led by a man who was unstable and chronically unable to make decisions. Between 2010 and 2013 the Gillard government was led by a woman who could exert little or no control over her own party. The chaotic Rudd returned to the leadership for six months in 2013 before losing an election to Tony Abbott, whose prime ministership (2013-2015) consisted heavily of increasingly bizarre “captain’s calls”. In 2015 Mr Abbott was ousted as leader by Malcolm Turnbull, who in the 2016 Federal election managed to convert a more-or-less workable Parliament into one which may well be utterly unmanageable. If Walsh’s book has any merit, it’s to set out part of the reason Australians have lost faith in their government.
August 24, 2013
The stalking of Julia Gillard by Kerry-Anne Walsh was a disappointing read.
The first criticism is the style of writing; rather like a blog or extended diary entries. In my opinion this seems almost imperious and conceited as a published work which is a pity because Walsh is a very able political commentator.
The entire discourse of the book is about the personality failings of, and underhanded way Kevin Rudd sought to destroy Gillard's parliamentary leadership of the ALP. Whilst much has been written of this period and Rudd's behaviour, this book promised a much more nuanced and balanced look at this recent history.
Walsh is clearly in Gillard's corner & her malevolence towards Rudd becomes irritating. Walsh remarks acerbically on Rudd's time as foreign minister, on his religion and even his family. It all becomes a bit monotonous.
The complicity of the media in Rudd's aspirations also receives much space in Walsh's book. Again this is probably a true representation but the reader is bashed about the head with Walsh's ongoing diatribe.
I am certainly on the left of the political spectrum & I am concerned at the current state of the Labor Party in Australia. I am also concerned at the appalling treatment meted out to Gillard by the Opposition and the media in this country but believe 'The stalking of Julia Gillard' doesn't go anywhere near the analysis or study needed to understand the recent events. One and a half stars!
The first criticism is the style of writing; rather like a blog or extended diary entries. In my opinion this seems almost imperious and conceited as a published work which is a pity because Walsh is a very able political commentator.
The entire discourse of the book is about the personality failings of, and underhanded way Kevin Rudd sought to destroy Gillard's parliamentary leadership of the ALP. Whilst much has been written of this period and Rudd's behaviour, this book promised a much more nuanced and balanced look at this recent history.
Walsh is clearly in Gillard's corner & her malevolence towards Rudd becomes irritating. Walsh remarks acerbically on Rudd's time as foreign minister, on his religion and even his family. It all becomes a bit monotonous.
The complicity of the media in Rudd's aspirations also receives much space in Walsh's book. Again this is probably a true representation but the reader is bashed about the head with Walsh's ongoing diatribe.
I am certainly on the left of the political spectrum & I am concerned at the current state of the Labor Party in Australia. I am also concerned at the appalling treatment meted out to Gillard by the Opposition and the media in this country but believe 'The stalking of Julia Gillard' doesn't go anywhere near the analysis or study needed to understand the recent events. One and a half stars!
July 16, 2013
Leaks, rumours, polls and deniability: Kerry-Anne Walsh paints an ugly picture of Kevin Rudd’s road back to the prime ministership.
This book, which details the covert media campaign run by Kevin Rudd and his supporters over the course of the Gillard government, went to the printer just before Kevin Rudd’s return to the prime ministership on 26 June this year. In its final paragraph, Kerry-Anne Walsh predicts that if Rudd were to become PM again, the federal parliamentary Labor party ‘will have collectively surrendered its principles and its fate to one of the great wreckers in modern Labor’.
Stalking Julia Gillard does not claim to be a history of the Gillard government. It is more personal, and more passionate ...
Read the rest of this review at the Newtown Review of Books: http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2013/...
This book, which details the covert media campaign run by Kevin Rudd and his supporters over the course of the Gillard government, went to the printer just before Kevin Rudd’s return to the prime ministership on 26 June this year. In its final paragraph, Kerry-Anne Walsh predicts that if Rudd were to become PM again, the federal parliamentary Labor party ‘will have collectively surrendered its principles and its fate to one of the great wreckers in modern Labor’.
Stalking Julia Gillard does not claim to be a history of the Gillard government. It is more personal, and more passionate ...
Read the rest of this review at the Newtown Review of Books: http://newtownreviewofbooks.com/2013/...
September 16, 2015
A fascinating document of a period in our nation's history when the overwhelming majority of political journalists decided to give themselves a two year holiday, and phoned in endless leadership speculation articles instead of doing their jobs. (They also then tried to act like they weren't part of the problem.)
A timely reminder of just how fragile some of the underpinnings of our democracy are.
A timely reminder of just how fragile some of the underpinnings of our democracy are.
February 16, 2015
Took me a while to warm to and settle into the reading but then I couldn't put it down. A great read about a ridiculous situation that should never have happened.
October 10, 2017
This was a heavy-handedly biased (although fairly honest about that) and often emotionally written, at times very repetitive and not always well backed up rant which nevertheless managed to be interesting and to appear to make some good points.
The metaphor of "stalking" used in the title was not developed well, the author seemed to assume one meaning for it, when she would be aware that the most popular use of the word has quasi-sexual (negative) overtones which she simply ignored. I felt there needed to be a paragraph or short section explaining and justifying the use of the term, which admittedly was consistent. Similarly the author seemed determined to steer clear of any charges of "feminism" so while misogyny was alluded to as a contributing factor in the campaign/s of Rudd and various media personalities it was downplayed and often backgrounded.
Puzzlingly Walsh asserts that Tony Abbott is not a misogynist (p256) and this seems based on individual interpersonal interactions while completely ignoring his politics (even before he was PM). Seems like so long as you act like a gentleman you are not sexist? In that sense there is a sort of internalised censorship of any potential feminist observations that could be drawn, nevertheless albeit in a liberal-feminist way Walsh manages to construct "Julia" as a strong, intelligent, empowered and capable leader who was white-anted unfairly. I dare-say there is much truth in this and while I am not as much of a worshipper at the shrine of St Julia as this book would want its readers to be, I do think she did a better job than most PMs before her and any since.
There's both reflexivity "I am a journalist and I fall into these bad habits some time" and lack of reflexivity as Walsh paints the negative journalism games around politics as being about entertainment and media massage for favoured politicians, many times admitting that the readers/viewers/listeners were bored or impatient at being served up this dribble again and again, but never does she stop to consider (this might be a lawyer's censoring hand at work) that it might serve the interests of media OWNERS to encourage or force such shallow media behaviour and that this is not something that mysteriously developed out of nowhere.
In any case, this book told me more about the inner workings of politics and journalism than I knew before and one thing I will take away with me is the determination to lobby politicians more. I always had some sympathy for Julia Gillard. She might have been working a lot harder than I ever realised.
The metaphor of "stalking" used in the title was not developed well, the author seemed to assume one meaning for it, when she would be aware that the most popular use of the word has quasi-sexual (negative) overtones which she simply ignored. I felt there needed to be a paragraph or short section explaining and justifying the use of the term, which admittedly was consistent. Similarly the author seemed determined to steer clear of any charges of "feminism" so while misogyny was alluded to as a contributing factor in the campaign/s of Rudd and various media personalities it was downplayed and often backgrounded.
Puzzlingly Walsh asserts that Tony Abbott is not a misogynist (p256) and this seems based on individual interpersonal interactions while completely ignoring his politics (even before he was PM). Seems like so long as you act like a gentleman you are not sexist? In that sense there is a sort of internalised censorship of any potential feminist observations that could be drawn, nevertheless albeit in a liberal-feminist way Walsh manages to construct "Julia" as a strong, intelligent, empowered and capable leader who was white-anted unfairly. I dare-say there is much truth in this and while I am not as much of a worshipper at the shrine of St Julia as this book would want its readers to be, I do think she did a better job than most PMs before her and any since.
There's both reflexivity "I am a journalist and I fall into these bad habits some time" and lack of reflexivity as Walsh paints the negative journalism games around politics as being about entertainment and media massage for favoured politicians, many times admitting that the readers/viewers/listeners were bored or impatient at being served up this dribble again and again, but never does she stop to consider (this might be a lawyer's censoring hand at work) that it might serve the interests of media OWNERS to encourage or force such shallow media behaviour and that this is not something that mysteriously developed out of nowhere.
In any case, this book told me more about the inner workings of politics and journalism than I knew before and one thing I will take away with me is the determination to lobby politicians more. I always had some sympathy for Julia Gillard. She might have been working a lot harder than I ever realised.
January 7, 2018
I almost gave up on this book because it made me so depressed and angry. Instead, I gave up on reading and watching any news. My quality of life is improving.
October 30, 2013
Look, I hated what Kevin Rudd did not just to Julia Gilliard but also the Labour Party. He should be strung up for it. And the Daily Telegraph and The Age have never been the bastions of truth - ummm der! But I really hoped for more from this book. While I enjoyed it - it confirmed much of what I'd figured out years ago about the talent of Julia and the narcissism of Kevin - it became one long vent, one long personal editorial that the Daily Telegraph would have been proud of. It was just a little too angry, too emotive, too nasty for me. It lacked any balance, any sense of the subtlety that is politics. I'd like to give Kerry Anne Walsh, the author, the benefit of the doubt and say that it was rushed out to beat the election of 2013. I think a good writer such as she is, would like a second chance at finalising it. The subject matter really does deserve a good book, but this one is not it. I refer to March of the Patriots by Paul Kelly, or Recollections of a Bleeding Heart by Don Watson as good examples of the genre where the events spoke for themselves in the writing rather than being swallowed by the desperate anger of the writer. Rather than highlight Julia's great unnoticed achievements in this government, this book focussed on all the negative human traits - Tony Abbott would be proud. Julia left politics in a very dignified albeit premature way. I don't believe she wanted anyone to fight her battles for her, at least not in this way.There is a another book by Jacqueline Kent called Take Your Best Shot that I'd like to read that may fit the bill better. I've also heard good things about "Downfall".
If you are a Labourite, you will hate this book for the realisation of the fraud that Kevin Rudd perpetrated and the blind stupidity of the Labour Party caucus. If you are a Liberal you will hate this book for its total lack of balance. If you are neither you may enjoy it for its colourful and entertaining language in what is probably a boring topic for you. But as far as politics books go, this is unfortunately, no heavyweight.
If you are a Labourite, you will hate this book for the realisation of the fraud that Kevin Rudd perpetrated and the blind stupidity of the Labour Party caucus. If you are a Liberal you will hate this book for its total lack of balance. If you are neither you may enjoy it for its colourful and entertaining language in what is probably a boring topic for you. But as far as politics books go, this is unfortunately, no heavyweight.
October 14, 2013
*Long exhale*
I finished it. That's about the best thing I can think of to say right now.
This book had so much promise, especially to this Aussie, Labor-voting, left-wing, feminist who feels that our Julia got shafted in the machinations for control of the Labor party. The short version of the tale is that Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister, head of Labor. Julia Gillard seized control, made KRudd Foreign Minister, called an election, won the election and then copped a load of flak about her fitness to lead for the next two years until she was ousted by the same KRudd she had ousted two years before. Confused? You're not the only one, and like Kilroy, I Was Here.
It started off well enough, dismantling the myth that Julia was the witch who manipulated to gain power, portraying KRudd as the megalomaniac bordering-on-mentally-deranged politician who had to be in control. But then it disintegrated into one long rant after another, stuffed to pussy's bow with Aussie slang, throwing out statement after statement with little to back them up.
The book became a tiresome plod to the finish line, but I got there, even if there was a bit of scanning towards the end.
Julia Gillard is said to be writing a memoir. I'll look forward to that, and I suggest you do too.
I finished it. That's about the best thing I can think of to say right now.
This book had so much promise, especially to this Aussie, Labor-voting, left-wing, feminist who feels that our Julia got shafted in the machinations for control of the Labor party. The short version of the tale is that Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister, head of Labor. Julia Gillard seized control, made KRudd Foreign Minister, called an election, won the election and then copped a load of flak about her fitness to lead for the next two years until she was ousted by the same KRudd she had ousted two years before. Confused? You're not the only one, and like Kilroy, I Was Here.
It started off well enough, dismantling the myth that Julia was the witch who manipulated to gain power, portraying KRudd as the megalomaniac bordering-on-mentally-deranged politician who had to be in control. But then it disintegrated into one long rant after another, stuffed to pussy's bow with Aussie slang, throwing out statement after statement with little to back them up.
The book became a tiresome plod to the finish line, but I got there, even if there was a bit of scanning towards the end.
Julia Gillard is said to be writing a memoir. I'll look forward to that, and I suggest you do too.
November 21, 2013
It didn't beat me. I finished it.
All I a left with after reading this is absolute disgust at our policy cal figures on all sides of politics. Disgust at the media system that plays at king making, uses cheap and lazy reporting and hearsay. And disgust and frustration at us the voting public that has bought into this and supports the system by actually believing what appears in the media.
It is all theatre people. Surely some of you have realised that by now. The media and politics you see is managed, planted,staged, with I respect for you the voting public.
I stopped participating in mainstream media a few years ago as I hate being a passive participant in a con and the recipient of spoon feed lies.
Not an easy book to read. I am not sure why, it just didn't flow. Perhaps that is because it was a collection of journaled entries, but my achievement is that I finished.
All I a left with after reading this is absolute disgust at our policy cal figures on all sides of politics. Disgust at the media system that plays at king making, uses cheap and lazy reporting and hearsay. And disgust and frustration at us the voting public that has bought into this and supports the system by actually believing what appears in the media.
It is all theatre people. Surely some of you have realised that by now. The media and politics you see is managed, planted,staged, with I respect for you the voting public.
I stopped participating in mainstream media a few years ago as I hate being a passive participant in a con and the recipient of spoon feed lies.
Not an easy book to read. I am not sure why, it just didn't flow. Perhaps that is because it was a collection of journaled entries, but my achievement is that I finished.
November 30, 2013
I really loved reading this book. It was an antidote to the years of confusion from reading the mainstream media's interpretation of the political events at the time which seemed totally at odds with what appeared to be the evidence - when you could glean it though it all the anti Gillard nonsense. I loved that it was unapologetically partisan. I dare say it will only appeal to Gillard supporters which is a pity because it exposes the sham of political reporting in this country which seems to be an old boy network with unfortunate collusion from some of our more senior female political reporters. I hope some of them have the grace to feel ashamed of their shoddy and biased reporting. I also liked the exposing of Rudd as the primary source of destabilisation through Gillard's tenure aided and abetted by his mates in the MSM.
July 9, 2013
Relates the very sorry saga of Canberra press gallery complicity in the white anting of Julia Gillard, and the ALP, by Kevin Rudd from 2010 to 2013. Handy to see it all listed in one place but there is not a huge amount here that is new (well, not to someone who reads and watches the political commentary regularly, anyway). A bit more analysis in the book of why the press colluded in the way it did would have been interesting. There are some hints perhaps but Walsh does not really fully flesh them out.
January 20, 2016
A very detailed insight into the way the media demonised Julia Gillard from the first time she reluctantly took over the leadership. It tracks in detail Kevin Rudd's unrelenting attempts to regain power and destabilise the government at every turn. A disturbing insight into the blinkered viewpoint of the press gallery and the media's lack of reporting of important issues, legislation and policy of both sides of government. It reminds one that journalists have often been compared to used car salesmen, the sale is the important thing not the truth.
February 13, 2014
I found this fascinating, though sometimes in a can't look away from the car crash kind of way. This book is done from the blog entries and diary notes that the author made during the period so it's not an in-depth analysis of the why's and wherefore's. Certainly highlights Kev's complete obsession with getting back into the top job regardless of the cost.
July 26, 2013
Important, fascinating subjects (Rudd & Press Gallery), left hanging by lazy, poor Gallery style writing (or worse).
August 1, 2013
A must read if you are interested in Australian politics and the media. I doubt Kerry-Anne will get many Christmas cards from members of the Press Gallery!
October 6, 2013
sloppily written but well researched. a much needed clap back against the now entrenched opinions of the Gillard government from the Murdoch media and Kevin Rudd.
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