Tiberius with a telephone : the life and stories of William McMahon / Patrick Mullins
- Bib ID:
- 8038226
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Mullins, Patrick, author
- Online Access:
- Online Version:
- Instructions for using this ebook
- Access Conditions:
- National edeposit: Available onsite at national, state and territory libraries
- Description:
-
- Brunswick, Victoria, Australia : Minneapolis, Minnesota : Scribe Publications, 2018
- ©2018
- 1 online resource.
- ISBN:
-
- 1925693325
- 9781925693324
- Summary:
-
The oddly compelling story of a man regarded as Australia's worst prime minister. William McMahon was a significant, if widely derided and disliked, figure in Australian politics in the second half of the twentieth century. This biography tells the story of his life, his career, and his doomed attempts to recast views of his much-maligned time as Australia's prime minister. After a long ministerial career under Menzies, McMahon became treasurer under Harold Holt, and fought a fierce, bitter war over protectionism with John McEwen. Following Holt's death in 1967, McEwen had his revenge by vetoing McMahon's candidature for the Liberal Party's leadership, and thus paved the way for John Gorton to become prime minister. But almost three years later, amid acrimony and division, McMahon would topple Gorton and fulfill his life's ambition to become Australia's prime minister. In office, McMahon worked furiously to enact an agenda that grappled with the profound changes reshaping Australia. He withdrew combat forces from Vietnam, legislated for Commonwealth government involvement in childcare, established the National Urban and Regional Development Authority and the first Department of the Environment, began phasing out the means test on pensions, sought to control foreign investments, and accelerated the timetable for the independence of Papua New Guinea. But his failures would overshadow his successes, and by the time of the 1972 election McMahon would lead a divided, tired, and rancorous party to defeat. A man whose life was coloured by tragedy, comedy, persistence, courage, farce, and failure, McMahon's story has never been told at length. Tiberius with a Telephone fills that gap, using deep archival research and extensive interviews with McMahon's contemporaries and colleagues. It is a tour de force -- an authoritative and colourful account of a unique politician and a vital period in Australia's history.
- Full contents:
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- Intro; About the Author; Title Page; Copyright Page; Dedication; Contents; 1 End to End; 2 Building Character; 3 The Ghostwriter; 4 Shelter and the Law; 5 The Central Figure; 6 A Time of Transformation; 7 Rumours; 8 Lowe; 9 Gaps; 10 Red; 11 Disgust; 12 The Colours of Ambition; 13 The Undoctored Incident; 14 Control; 15 Perception; 16 War and Strife; 17 Exposure; 18 Preparing the Way; 19 Lauding the Headmaster; 20 Protection (I); 21 Protection (II); 22 The Story and the Fact; 23 Cold Water; 24 Privilege; 25 The New Man; 26 Fragments and Credit; 27 Subsequent Plots; 28 Loyalty; 29 A New Stage.
- 30 Le Noir31 Battles; 32 A Transient Phantom?; 33 A Natural Development; 34 Activity and Responsibility; 35 The Crumbling Pillars (I); 36 The Crumbling Pillars (II); 37 The Crumbling Pillars (III); 38 The Crumbling Pillars (IV); 39 The Stories Told; 40 Survival Mode; 41 On Edge; 42 Constant Threats; 43 The Unequal Struggle; 44 Dither and Irresolution; 45 Tributes; 46 'Where We Are Heading'; 47 Finishing; 48 In Calm and in Crisis; 49 As Matters Stand; 50 In the Wilderness; 51 Never; 52 Persistence; 53 A Liberal View; Acknowledgements; McMahon government cabinet and ministry; Abbreviations.
- Notes:
-
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on November 26, 2018)
- Subject:
-
- McMahon, William, 1908-1988
- Liberal Party of Australia
- Politicians -- Australia -- Biography
- Australasian & Pacific history
- Australia
- Biography & Autobiography - Political
- Biography & Autobiography - Presidents & Heads Of State
- BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY -- General
- Biography: historical, political & military
- History - Australia & Oceania
- HISTORY -- Australia & New Zealand
- Political leaders & leadership
- Political Science - General
- Political Science - Practical Politics
- Political Science / World / Australian & Oceanian
- Politicians
- Politics & government
- Politics and government
- Australia -- Politics and government -- 1945-
- Australian
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2018
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.