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A Little History of the Australian Labor Party
Acclaimed historians Nick Dyrenfurth and Frank Bongiorno tell the story of the Australian Labor Party's rich history of more than 130 years and examine its central role in modern Australia.
The Australian Labor Party is one of the oldest labour parties in the world and the first to form a government. From the prime ministerships of Watson and Fisher to the tragedies of Hughes and Scullin, through the 1940s legends Curtin and Chifley to governments of Whitlam, Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard, A Little History of the Australian Labor Party recounts times of triumph and failure, as well as resilience. This updated edition examines Labor's recent performance in state and territory politics and takes the national story up to the Albanese government.
The Australian Labor Party is one of the oldest labour parties in the world and the first to form a government. From the prime ministerships of Watson and Fisher to the tragedies of Hughes and Scullin, through the 1940s legends Curtin and Chifley to governments of Whitlam, Hawke, Keating, Rudd and Gillard, A Little History of the Australian Labor Party recounts times of triumph and failure, as well as resilience. This updated edition examines Labor's recent performance in state and territory politics and takes the national story up to the Albanese government.
286 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 17, 2025
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) arose from the labour movement of the 1890s. They briefly formed government in Queensland in 1899--the first labour government in the world--and won federal government soon after in 1904. The ALP is currently in government and has adapted with the times to be a centre-left pillar of Australian democracy. They have fundamentally shaped modern Australia, implementing legislation that solidified workers' rights, Medicare, ended the White Australia policy, built a strong welfare state, created superannuation, enacted economic liberalisation, and established the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
This book provides a reasonable historical overview of the ALP. However, there is a significant bias towards recent history. For instance, the Whitlam government—arguably the most transformative in Australian history—barely got ten pages, whereas the Rudd-Gillard years received double the space. This was frustrating because I have lived through recent history. It would make more sense to provide greater elucidation on the party's machinations of bygone eras. Consequently, pivotal moments like abandoning the White Australia policy—once central to the labour movement—are glanced over without adequate explanation.
The ALP—a workers' party—has been astute in international relations. It was Curtin who shifted Australia towards America during World War II, and defied Churchill to bring Australian troops back to the Pacific Theatre. It was Whitlam who withdrew Australian troops from Vietnam. It was Crean who opposed the invasion of Iraq. It was the ALP who recognised the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1972, and it was the current Labor government that restored Australia's standing among Pacific Island nations and relations with the PRC following a decade of ineptitude by the Coalition government. In these turbulent times, may they win the upcoming election.
This book provides a reasonable historical overview of the ALP. However, there is a significant bias towards recent history. For instance, the Whitlam government—arguably the most transformative in Australian history—barely got ten pages, whereas the Rudd-Gillard years received double the space. This was frustrating because I have lived through recent history. It would make more sense to provide greater elucidation on the party's machinations of bygone eras. Consequently, pivotal moments like abandoning the White Australia policy—once central to the labour movement—are glanced over without adequate explanation.
The ALP—a workers' party—has been astute in international relations. It was Curtin who shifted Australia towards America during World War II, and defied Churchill to bring Australian troops back to the Pacific Theatre. It was Whitlam who withdrew Australian troops from Vietnam. It was Crean who opposed the invasion of Iraq. It was the ALP who recognised the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1972, and it was the current Labor government that restored Australia's standing among Pacific Island nations and relations with the PRC following a decade of ineptitude by the Coalition government. In these turbulent times, may they win the upcoming election.
May 21, 2024
Concise, fascinating, and a worthwhile read, but with more recent analysis from the updated chapter that feels like it almost verges into hagiography, and with some early chapters feeling like the recital of numbers without the colour and flare of personalities.
August 30, 2025
boooooo! a great idea let down by the infuriating pro-labor bias that makes this essentially useless for anyone who is looking to meaningfully educate themselves about this party
i'm not particularly well versed on early australian history, so when the book makes claims about early australian politics and labor's actions, i kind of just assumed it was mostly accurate. i do however know about recent australian politics, and the book is incredibly selective in how it presents information. take the campbell newman government (please!) and labor's admittedly historic obliteration of it; how did newman win government? what factors caused labor's loss? these are far less important than simply mentioning another labor win and as such are roundly ignored
the biggest and most obvious case is that of rudd and gillard. if you were to go by the picture painted by the book, they took over from beazley in a fairly benign and lovely fashion, and then gillard took over from rudd in a similarly quick and clean fashion. no mention of the brutal interpersonal politics or how it prefigured the coming decade of labor's collapse, no mention of rudd's entirely justified sense of betrayal or the equally justified sense of his megalomania. all we know is that rudd is now gone and gillard is in, presumably because she had some kind of whim that couldn't be ignored
these are not small exclusions! rudd's crusade to destroy gillard's government still ripples through the australian political landscape and the impact on what should have been a long term labor government shows itself in albo's self consciously professional style. while this is not necessarily a quick thing to discuss, it's hard to find a book where this kind of discussion would be better suited. instead we get this bizarre papering over of history to save the blushes of the party, because for some reason the authors don't consider the actual politics sufficiently relevant to the history of this political party
that's not to say that there's none of the usual labor apologia. early on in the book there's a mention that people often criticise labor for various reasons, not realising that they're repeating longstanding complaints about the party. and? the fact that the criticisms are longstanding and that labor remains unmoved by them doesn't change that there are many valid complaints to be made, but the book simply assumes that the reader has been sufficiently mollified by this hand wave and moves on
it's hard to know who this book is really for. it's certainly not for people looking for an unbiased view of the party. it comes across as more of a self-congratulatory pamphlet for those few labor die hards who truly live and breathe the party's self image, a group which these days would struggle to count enough members to fill a medium sized bus. if you aren't one of these people, don't read this book. read the far better "dreamers and schemers" which provides actual relevant context and doesn't feel the need to paper over the flaws of any of the major parties. if you are one of those people, then hello minister!
i'm not particularly well versed on early australian history, so when the book makes claims about early australian politics and labor's actions, i kind of just assumed it was mostly accurate. i do however know about recent australian politics, and the book is incredibly selective in how it presents information. take the campbell newman government (please!) and labor's admittedly historic obliteration of it; how did newman win government? what factors caused labor's loss? these are far less important than simply mentioning another labor win and as such are roundly ignored
the biggest and most obvious case is that of rudd and gillard. if you were to go by the picture painted by the book, they took over from beazley in a fairly benign and lovely fashion, and then gillard took over from rudd in a similarly quick and clean fashion. no mention of the brutal interpersonal politics or how it prefigured the coming decade of labor's collapse, no mention of rudd's entirely justified sense of betrayal or the equally justified sense of his megalomania. all we know is that rudd is now gone and gillard is in, presumably because she had some kind of whim that couldn't be ignored
these are not small exclusions! rudd's crusade to destroy gillard's government still ripples through the australian political landscape and the impact on what should have been a long term labor government shows itself in albo's self consciously professional style. while this is not necessarily a quick thing to discuss, it's hard to find a book where this kind of discussion would be better suited. instead we get this bizarre papering over of history to save the blushes of the party, because for some reason the authors don't consider the actual politics sufficiently relevant to the history of this political party
that's not to say that there's none of the usual labor apologia. early on in the book there's a mention that people often criticise labor for various reasons, not realising that they're repeating longstanding complaints about the party. and? the fact that the criticisms are longstanding and that labor remains unmoved by them doesn't change that there are many valid complaints to be made, but the book simply assumes that the reader has been sufficiently mollified by this hand wave and moves on
it's hard to know who this book is really for. it's certainly not for people looking for an unbiased view of the party. it comes across as more of a self-congratulatory pamphlet for those few labor die hards who truly live and breathe the party's self image, a group which these days would struggle to count enough members to fill a medium sized bus. if you aren't one of these people, don't read this book. read the far better "dreamers and schemers" which provides actual relevant context and doesn't feel the need to paper over the flaws of any of the major parties. if you are one of those people, then hello minister!
August 26, 2017
It’s all in the title: ‘A Little History of the Australian Labor Party’.
It’s very concise and gives a brief overview of how the party evolved through the country and through the states, it reads more like a checklist of names and bullet points than s biography of a century long political party. I attained a reasonable background of the ALP by reading this and understand its history more.
It could be better by providing a critical analyses of key moments in the party’s history so a discussion could be had in the book of why the party is the way it is today. It could’ve made the inner mechanisms of the party more clearer to understand too. But then we’d be looking at book that’s much larger and longer than 200 pages.
It’s very concise and gives a brief overview of how the party evolved through the country and through the states, it reads more like a checklist of names and bullet points than s biography of a century long political party. I attained a reasonable background of the ALP by reading this and understand its history more.
It could be better by providing a critical analyses of key moments in the party’s history so a discussion could be had in the book of why the party is the way it is today. It could’ve made the inner mechanisms of the party more clearer to understand too. But then we’d be looking at book that’s much larger and longer than 200 pages.
December 20, 2023
Dyrenfurth and Bongiorno provide a concise yet detailed account of the history of Australia's longest and largest political party, the Australian Labor Party. The book covers up until 2011 including both the Federal Party and the 8 state and territory branches of the party. It pays particular attention to the three party splits.
It rings true that the press has always been againt the Labor party and working people at large. Even in the formation of the party, the media distributed propaganda that Labor was waging a class war.
Moreover, conservative forces will always be steadfast in any attack even where concessions are made. Here Chifley shuts down the 1949 strike out of fear of communist infiltration but still faces the communist smear.
It rings true that the press has always been againt the Labor party and working people at large. Even in the formation of the party, the media distributed propaganda that Labor was waging a class war.
Moreover, conservative forces will always be steadfast in any attack even where concessions are made. Here Chifley shuts down the 1949 strike out of fear of communist infiltration but still faces the communist smear.
October 12, 2025
A Little History is an enjoyable read if you care about Australian politics, and even more so if you care for the ALP. It is however certainly not for everyone and is limited by its nature.
In its latest edition, the book manages to canvass Australia’s political history, from the origins of the ALP in the 1870s to date (the failure of the Voice referendum), through the lens of the Australian Labor Party.
It does so successfully, but given its breadth and short length, it does not explore much of anything in detail. Nonetheless, its concise pronouncements do deliver some lessons and may be of interest even to a casual reader. The authors’ commentary, focused on the extent of the ALP’s ambition, internal party reform, and coalition-building, provides further insight.
In its latest edition, the book manages to canvass Australia’s political history, from the origins of the ALP in the 1870s to date (the failure of the Voice referendum), through the lens of the Australian Labor Party.
It does so successfully, but given its breadth and short length, it does not explore much of anything in detail. Nonetheless, its concise pronouncements do deliver some lessons and may be of interest even to a casual reader. The authors’ commentary, focused on the extent of the ALP’s ambition, internal party reform, and coalition-building, provides further insight.
May 13, 2024
There have been longer books written on the ALP but this was a concise and up to date recounting of Labor history. If you are a political or history junkie, it probably won’t teach you a lot that is new. However, as an introductory primer or a recap for those already well versed, I’d recommend it.
November 3, 2021
A concise book on the ALP that is somewhat uncritical - a longer exploration may have been better but it was well researched and written.
August 4, 2025
A good historian makes past ages as vivid as the current one. A bad historian never rises above the mere recitation of facts. In A Little History of the Australian Labor Party, authors Dyrenfurth and Bongiorno reveal themselves to be bad historians, not good.
The latter portions of the book, which are about the leaders who governed shortly before and while the book was written, are much more vivid than the earlier sections, which are about people long since dead. Dyrenfurth-Bongiorno wrote about this these earlier eras as though they wanted us to feel their lack of pulse.
When writing about the origins of the ALP and of Australian political democracy, the authors bounce from one name to another so quickly that I found it impossible to remember who anyone was. We’re assured that so-and-so was fiery, or cunning, or one million other adjectives, but not once are they ever described in a way that made me feel and know their cunning or their wrath. Politics is very much (although not only) a game of personalities, and a book of political history needs to do much more than just drop names and a descriptive epithet.
It needs to tell stories.
Which it didn’t do.
If I were their editor, I would advise the authors to spend less time discussing the outcome of what seemed like every State election, and to focus instead on the broader evolution of the movement as a whole. Focus on Labor policies. Focus on what it won.
Focus on the fact that the ALP is the oldest political party in Australia; that it was the world’s first Labor government; that the ALP introduced paid parental leave, workers’ compensation, a minimum wage, the aged pension, compulsory superannuation, and virtually the entire modern welfare state; that Labor dismantled the White Australia Policy and welcomed immigration from non-Britons; that Labor leaders steered the nation through World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, the opening up of China to the world, and the Global Financial Crisis; and so on.
I do not recommend this book. It’s a dry read, with too little detail to be edifying, and too little story to be memorable. Frankly, it's a waste of time.
ADDENDUM: one good thing this book did was introduce me to the idea of a social wage. Since its inception, the Labor party has been joined at the hip to unions and their representatives. One of the most interesting subplots of the story of the ALP is its changing relationship with unions and manual workers. The ALP started life as a workers' party but evolved into a party of savvy technocrats whose message is aimed at service professionals and the ever-diversifying middle class. This evolution has led to many identity crises, not least of which was the battle over whether, and to what degree, they should honour or move beyond their union history.
This is timely because the legacy of the current Minns Labor government in NSW will be its pay rise negotiations with a wide variety of unions representing teachers, nurses and midwives, police, train drivers, psychiatrists, and more. Many have won historic and frankly exorbitant pay increases. However, not once have I heard of any of those unions arguing for what this book calls a "social wage", which means unions trading and forgoing their pay rise in exchange for increased investment in social goods such as transport, education, and healthcare. Considering that wages comprise well over 50% of the total State budget, reductions in these wages could be a massive source of public funding. But I don't see this talked about anymore. Unions look out for their members, but do they look out for the wider world?
DOUBLE ADDENDUM: Prior to reading this book, I was on the fence about the benefits of unions. After reading this book, and after learning just how much influence unionism had on the creation of the modern Australian nation, with its worker protections, award wages, leave provisions, and so on, I am now firmly convinced that collective bargaining and unionism have been a net positive for Australian society. I remain aware of their downsides (e.g., grift, corruption, their effects on productivity, etc.) but because of this book I am now a firm, if heavily caveated, supporter of the union movement.
EDIT 04/08/25: This book was referenced in Andrew Leigh's talk about factionalism in the Labor party. Leigh is arguably our greatest active politician, and in this excellent talk he makes the case for less factionalism in the Labor Party. He notes that over the course of his political career, he has comprised between 33% to 100% of the non-factional, independent Labor politicians. He cites this book as helping him understand the emergence of Labor factionalism. History doesn't need to be riveting, although we love it when it is. More important than history being riveting is it being accurate. I've given this book an extra star for that reason, as I suspect I used my focus on this one criterion to mark it far too harshly. On account of Leigh's endorsement, I'll give this book a reread.
The latter portions of the book, which are about the leaders who governed shortly before and while the book was written, are much more vivid than the earlier sections, which are about people long since dead. Dyrenfurth-Bongiorno wrote about this these earlier eras as though they wanted us to feel their lack of pulse.
When writing about the origins of the ALP and of Australian political democracy, the authors bounce from one name to another so quickly that I found it impossible to remember who anyone was. We’re assured that so-and-so was fiery, or cunning, or one million other adjectives, but not once are they ever described in a way that made me feel and know their cunning or their wrath. Politics is very much (although not only) a game of personalities, and a book of political history needs to do much more than just drop names and a descriptive epithet.
It needs to tell stories.
Which it didn’t do.
If I were their editor, I would advise the authors to spend less time discussing the outcome of what seemed like every State election, and to focus instead on the broader evolution of the movement as a whole. Focus on Labor policies. Focus on what it won.
Focus on the fact that the ALP is the oldest political party in Australia; that it was the world’s first Labor government; that the ALP introduced paid parental leave, workers’ compensation, a minimum wage, the aged pension, compulsory superannuation, and virtually the entire modern welfare state; that Labor dismantled the White Australia Policy and welcomed immigration from non-Britons; that Labor leaders steered the nation through World Wars I and II, the Great Depression, the opening up of China to the world, and the Global Financial Crisis; and so on.
I do not recommend this book. It’s a dry read, with too little detail to be edifying, and too little story to be memorable. Frankly, it's a waste of time.
ADDENDUM: one good thing this book did was introduce me to the idea of a social wage. Since its inception, the Labor party has been joined at the hip to unions and their representatives. One of the most interesting subplots of the story of the ALP is its changing relationship with unions and manual workers. The ALP started life as a workers' party but evolved into a party of savvy technocrats whose message is aimed at service professionals and the ever-diversifying middle class. This evolution has led to many identity crises, not least of which was the battle over whether, and to what degree, they should honour or move beyond their union history.
This is timely because the legacy of the current Minns Labor government in NSW will be its pay rise negotiations with a wide variety of unions representing teachers, nurses and midwives, police, train drivers, psychiatrists, and more. Many have won historic and frankly exorbitant pay increases. However, not once have I heard of any of those unions arguing for what this book calls a "social wage", which means unions trading and forgoing their pay rise in exchange for increased investment in social goods such as transport, education, and healthcare. Considering that wages comprise well over 50% of the total State budget, reductions in these wages could be a massive source of public funding. But I don't see this talked about anymore. Unions look out for their members, but do they look out for the wider world?
DOUBLE ADDENDUM: Prior to reading this book, I was on the fence about the benefits of unions. After reading this book, and after learning just how much influence unionism had on the creation of the modern Australian nation, with its worker protections, award wages, leave provisions, and so on, I am now firmly convinced that collective bargaining and unionism have been a net positive for Australian society. I remain aware of their downsides (e.g., grift, corruption, their effects on productivity, etc.) but because of this book I am now a firm, if heavily caveated, supporter of the union movement.
EDIT 04/08/25: This book was referenced in Andrew Leigh's talk about factionalism in the Labor party. Leigh is arguably our greatest active politician, and in this excellent talk he makes the case for less factionalism in the Labor Party. He notes that over the course of his political career, he has comprised between 33% to 100% of the non-factional, independent Labor politicians. He cites this book as helping him understand the emergence of Labor factionalism. History doesn't need to be riveting, although we love it when it is. More important than history being riveting is it being accurate. I've given this book an extra star for that reason, as I suspect I used my focus on this one criterion to mark it far too harshly. On account of Leigh's endorsement, I'll give this book a reread.
October 21, 2025
This aptly-named book is a really good overview of the history of the Australia Labor Party. Easy to read. Covers all the details without getting bogged down.
Read
October 9, 2011I bought it for my (labor member) father but decided to read it myself before handing it over. It's about as fair and balanced as Fox news but I'm sure he'll love it. Me? A little more criticism would've been nice but if you hover around the center-left and all you want is a very simple overview you could do a lot worse.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews