Tales from Boomtown: Western Australian Premiers from Brand to Barnett

by Peter Kennedy

Veteran political journalist Peter Kennedy spent more than 40 years observing 11 Premiers of Western Australia - across an extraordinary period of change in Western Australia's history, from 1970 to 2013. His insider's accounts have revealed first-hand the issues linked with the jailing of two Premiers and a deputy Premier, the ruthless removal of a Premier mid-term, the election of the nation's first female Premier, and the sensational 'WA Inc.' Royal Commission. With the insightful commentary he is known for, Kennedy notes how the changes in the 11 Premiers reflected the development of the state, and reveals the personal maneuverings linked with a number of key decisions. Speaking to former Premiers, as well as former Prime Ministers and other national figures of Australia, the result is this book with its series of revelations that shed new light on the politics and politicians of the most dynamic period of Western Australia's colorful history.

Genres: Politics, History

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2014

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting and engaging overview of decades of Western Australian politics, and I learned a good deal and I'm glad I've got a copy for future reference.

Unfortunately, it could have been so much better: Kennedy has an odd tendency to softball most premiers who gave him an interview, primarily regurgitating their version of events, and this is to the book's detriment. This is particularly obvious with Peter Dowding, where Kennedy tells a really interesting take on his premiership based on Dowding's story, then acknowledges on the last page that it totally contradicts the WA Inc Royal Commission's findings, without any attempt to reconcile the two. This made me a little bit doubtful about taking much from the book as gospel without corroboration. He dances around responsibility for WA Inc almost to the point of comedy, and events like the Easton Affair only come out in any kind of sensible way because both Lawrence and Court were Premiers and so each gets their side of the story told in their respective chapters.

For some reason, Kennedy gets a lot more neutral on Carpenter and Barnett (probably in Carpenter's case because he wouldn't give him an interview), and those chapters are much better than those on the earlier figures. It's definitely worth reading, but it really does softball its subjects more than nearly any other non-hagiographical political history I've read.

[Noel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Politicians, never trust them.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book . Lacked a bit of the " behind the scenes" insight I was looking for . Did it hedge it's bets a little when it came to discussing some divisive characters? Yes, I think so. Having said that this is still an interesting read for those keen to know more about 20th C political life in Western Australia