Advance Australia Where?

by Hugh Mackay

Australia has undergone substantial change in the last 25 years. Hugh Mackay is one of Australia's most perceptive social commentators. In 1979, He began gathering qualitative information about societal trends and attitudes, through interviews and group discussions conducted with ordinary citizens. This book summarises these research and questions the direction we are heading in (eg widening gap between rich and poor, gender equality) and whether we are happy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia, Politics, Sociology, History

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Hugh Mackay is a social researcher and novelist who has made a lifelong study of the attitudes and behaviour of Australians. He is the author of twelve books, including five bestsellers. The second edition of his latest non-fiction book, Advance Australia…Where? was published in September 2008, and his fifth novel, Ways of Escape was published in May 2009.

He is a fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and received the University of Sydney’s 2004 Alumni Award for community service. In recognition of his pioneering work in social research, Hugh has been awarded honorary doctorates by Charles Sturt, Macquarie and NSW universities.

He is a former deputy chairman of the Australia Council, a former chairman of trustees of Sydney Grammar School, and was the inaugural chairman of the ACT government’s Community Inclusion Board. He was a newspaper columnist for almost 30 years and now writes occasionally for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The West Australian. He is a frequent guest on ABC radio.

- Biography from Hugh Mackay's website

Reviews

[Sally906 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hugh Mackay looks at the social changes in Australia in the 25 years leading up to 2007, and how Australian's have reacted to them.

He then goes on to see where Australian's are now and where we could possible be in the future. he looks at the loves of children, roles of women, our apparent current lack of interest in politics, shrinking households, increased spening in the arts, decreased spending in education, the future for pensioners and the role of technology.

Mackay points out that while we are relatively prosperous compaired to our parents - our lives are more precarious and we seem to have lost our meaning for living and feel just as powerless in the way we live our lives as our ancestors did.

Basically we have come a long way in 25 years, and we have certainly moved away from the problems that plagued us in the 1970s only to be faced with a whole new set of problems here in the first decade of the 21st century. Divorce rates have risen, birth rates have fallen; also on the rise is obesity, depression, anxiety, loneliness, drug use, alcoholism, gambling, porn consumption.

On the whole though Hugh Mackay has hope for our future. Easy to read most of his arguments have appeared in his newspaper column - he just expanded on his commentary. Some I agreed with, some of his predictions I feel may be a bit far fetched, and some of his arguments are dated already. Other than that it is well worth a read.

[Jane Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting analysis of where Australia is currently at. I agreed with some comments and disagreed with others. I think Hugh Mackay yearns in some ways for the good old days and doesn't always appreciate change. Makes you stop and think about certain things you take for granted such as women being able to have children and a career.

[Bec · Rating 2 out of 5]

Relevant if you want to understand the mood of Australia in the late 90's - 2007, otherwise, give it a miss.

[Gabrielle Trenbath · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was so much that I loved about this book. It seemed to take the pulse of Australian society and shows how the country has changed. Mackay’s general argument is that, to cope with the plethora of big issues that affect us such as terrorism/national security, the global economy and climate change (just to name a few)Australia has become increasingly insular and inward looking. He cites our inability to deal with issues on a personal level which makes us focus on things we can change for example home renovations and spirituality. MacKay feels that our keen interest in shows such as Better Homes and Gardians, Backyard Blitz and shows like CSI and Law & Order are an attempt to escape from having to engage with the big issues facing our society. It is easier to renovate your house than to “stop the boats” or reduce Aboriginal disadvantage, for example.

I found myself wanting to throw the book at the wall when I was reading the chapter on the Gender Revolution, not that I disagreed with it but because it was so spot on, especially how modern Australian females have little appreciation of the work done by generations of feminist women. His discussion about the changing nature of gender roles was also really interesting.

This is a great book about Australia and is well worth the read if you are interested about modern Australian cultural history.

[Mhinchley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hugh MacKay highlights the enormous cultural changes that have happened in Australia over the last 25 years, and how it has affected the social and cultural landscape of Australia today. I didn't find this book very insightful. Mackay covered a lot of ground that was not new to me (even though what he covers is interesting). The last section of the book, where he discusses the importance of a number of areas/issues in Australia's future (e.g the arts, climate change) seemed to be tacked on and does not flow with the rest of the book.

[Sal Goeldner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book's subtitle is 'How we've changed,why we've changed and what will happen next?. imho, Hugh Mackay is Australia's answer to Thomas Frey of the Da Vinci Institute. As a futurist, Mackay is a very astute observer and humorous recorder of social behaviour in Australia. His coverage on I.T and communications in particular makes fascinating reading.This book has so many implications for anyone involved in living in Australia!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a bit of a plod. Perhaps because I routinely watch current affairs programs and read the newspaper there was nothing in it that was news to me, and it wasn't well-written enough to overcome my sense of boredom. There are many better writers commenting on Australian society and politics than this author, and I wouldn't have bothered to finish it if it hadn't been a book group choice.
I can't even be bothered writing a review of it on my blog.

[Kazia · Rating 2 out of 5]

an interesting book thats keeps you engaged the whole way through if your interested in Australia and its social trends. I found it to mostly accurate to what I have been seeing around me as an Australian resident. What I don't like about this book is its ending few chapters, especially the tired old message about global warming, which I am becoming more and more convinced is a sham.Its good for finding out about the modern Australian mindset and its causes and consequences.

[Jo Brand · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of interesting points. Unfortunately it has not aged very well. The Financial crisis has changed peoples points of view.
I found it rather repetitive at times which i guess is because it is written more like an essay than a not fiction book.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I suppose this could be categorised in 'politics.' Anyway, it was fine. Some interesting observations, especially about the Gen-Y-ers, but overall fairly inconclusive.

[Fiona Ottley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but out of date now.

[John]

Well written and a good workable metaphor for the nation as one in a renovation process.