Laurie Oakes is the most influential political journalist in Australia - if he says something has happened, the rest of the media (especially the Canberra Press Gallery) believe him and report it as news. He is respected by both political insiders and the wider public. He has worked in Canberra as a political reporter for 39 years and reported on 19 federal elections. He regularly finds the big story way ahead of everyone else. Currently the national political editor for the Nine Network he is the man who interviews all the big names. From 1987 to December 2007 he wrote a weekly column for the Bulletin and since its demise he has been writing a column for the Saturday Daily Telegraph in Sydney and the Herald Sun in Melbourne. POWER PLAYS is a selection of 150 of the very best and most timeless of Laurie Oakes' columns.

About the Author

Laurie Oakes is one of the most influential political journalists in Australia. For many years he has been the national political editor for the Nine Network, reporting and presenting daily stories and also doing the feature interview for the Sunday programme when it was on air. From 1987 to 2007 he wrote a weekly column for the Bulletin magazine and since that closed he has been writing a column for the Saturday Daily Telegraph in Sydney and the Herald Sun in Melbourne. Previous Books: Power Plays (TPB 9780733623653 Nov 08)

Reviews

This is an interesting and revealing book on many levels; from the anecdotal to a historical illustration of the growing sophistication of Australian politics from 1987 to 2007. This compilation of 'political essays' will gain wide appeal. Whereas history has been frequently 'written by the victors', our current politics allow the media to often shape directions, and this ends with history written by the analysts and commentators. If, like Oakes, they are worldly, competent, prepared to be as honest as possible, and able to develop an interesting story, they contribute to our knowledge of this exciting 'industry' and allow us to form judgements often not possible without their hard work. We are fortunate to have Oakes provide us with a view of Australian federal politics that contains minimal bias, a demonstration of being very close to the sources of power, a willingness to acknowledge the competence of some of his colleagues (Michelle Grattan, Paul Kelly), some very sound predictions (Latham's decline, Costello's leadership issue), and a refreshing admission of his internal doubts of the value of reporting some events, (Kernot and Evans affair). This is clearly a commentator with a sense of history. Barbara Cullen was CEO of the Australian Booksellers Association and now manages small business policy for the Victorian Government

'Shows the art of the columnist at its best' - Canberra Times 'The key to POWER PLAYS is the elusive blend of insight, gravitas, breadth and writing flair that only someone of Oakese' 'doyen' status can deliver' - Herald Sun