Former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke, officially launched the political memoirs of the former Premier of Victoria and board member of the Beirut Hellenic Bank the Hon Steve Bracks.
In the memoirs, entitled A Premier’s State – co-authored by journalist Ellen Whinnet – the former premier reflects on his ambition to make a difference, and how he achieved his goal. He talks about his early childhood growing up in a conservative but impassioned family that supported the Democratic Labor Party, and about his gradual evolution from left-wing university radical to pragmatic centre-left premier.
He reveals for the first time the background to his decision to take the party’s leadership from his friend John Brumby in 1999 – then to hand it back to John in 2007 when he sensationally resigned from office. He gives insights into how to run a successful government and how to manage the factions, and talks about everything from the impact of public life on his family, to forming minority government with independents.
This wide-ranging, thoughtful and incisive look at Steve Bracks’ life and his career encompasses not only his thoughts on the Labor Party, but on the state of Australian politics generally, both during his time in politics and after it.
A Premier’s State is available at all good bookstores Australia wide.