Accessibility Tools

  • Content scaling 100%
  • Font size 100%
  • Line height 100%
  • Letter spacing 100%

The New Conservatism in Australia by Robert Manne

by
February–March 1983, no. 48

The New Conservatism in Australia by Robert Manne

OUP, 290 pp, $25 hb

The New Conservatism in Australia by Robert Manne

by
February–March 1983, no. 48

Those who have hopes or fears of a Reagan–Thatcher hardline conservatism arising in Australia can forget it, if this newest attempt by the local ‘right’ to define itself is any guide. For a major topic, it is a listless, sickly growth from Australia’s whiggish soil that struggles – mostly unsuccessfully – for anything new to say.

Familiar old war-horses are trotted out saying predictable things, almost entirely in the spirit of left-bashing rather than of a constructive conservatism. Far from these being any glimmer of arguments for recession cures, smaller government or constructive critique of the Liberal Party, such subjects are not touched on.

Robert Murray reviews 'The New Conservatism in Australia' by Robert Manne

The New Conservatism in Australia

by Robert Manne

OUP, 290 pp, $25 hb

You May Also Like

Leave a comment

If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.

If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.

Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.