MRC Books

On the fiftieth anniversary of Churchill's death, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson celebrates the singular brilliance of one of the most important leaders of the twentieth century. Taking on the myths and misconceptions along with the outsized reality, he portrays - with characteristic wit and passion - a man of contagious bravery, breathtaking eloquence, matchless strategising, and deep humanity.

Edited by David Stevens

Paperback, 286 pages, $34.95

Release Date: June 2023

Dignity and Prosperity – The Future of Liberal Australia brings together, for the first time, Australia’s leading liberal luminaries or ‘grandees’ in one place for the purpose of reigniting a renaissance of the Liberal cause.

The distinguished contributors all have extensive experience in their respective fields, and now bring their expertise, knowledge, and insight to design a policy program based around the core values of liberalism – personal autonomy and personal responsibility, free market and entrepreneurship, opportunity and security, limited government and sound fiscal and economic management. They know that a strong economy leads to strong finances, which in turn provide for strong national defence and together create the foundations for a strong civic society. This is the virtue of a successful liberal democracy.

Paperback, 100 pages, $19.95

This new biography by Sean Jacobs, based on years of research, explores Neville Bonner’s hardscrabble beginnings and rise to become Australia’s first Indigenous federal parliamentarian. Despite a difficult start, and only a year of formal schooling, Bonner turned discrimination and setback into success, overcoming hard days in northern New South Wales and Queensland to represent Queensland as a Liberal Senator for 12 years in the national parliament (1971 – 1983). Bonner’s towering dignity to be a full participant in Australian society, and his constant capacity to see the good in all Australians, make him not only a great Indigenous Australian but one of our greatest Australians.

Sean Jacobs is a Papua New Guinean-born Australian writer, government relations and public policy specialist. He has worked at all levels of government in Australia, New Zealand and PNG, and holds a BA (International Relations) from Griffith University and Postgraduate Certificate in Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism from Macquarie University. His interest in Neville Bonner emerged after discovering Bonner’s story as a young policy adviser at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Jacobs currently lives in Brisbane.

The fifth and final volume of David Kemp’s landmark Australian Liberalism series explores how Australia's founding Enlightenment ideals were shaped into a unique national liberalism, embodied in liberal democratic institutions, political parties and shared values. Despite intense partisan loyalties, conservative and radical resistance, and a politics of unequal power and influence, inequality was addressed and personal freedom strengthened. The book examines the place of liberal ideas in governments from Harold Holt to Scott Morrison. It shows how reform urgency led to the nation's greatest political crisis in 1975, how prime ministers Fraser and Hawke struggled to manage an economy dominated by powerful union, business and global interests, how during twenty-four crucial years Hawke, Keating and Howard led one of the nation's greatest reform eras, and how social reform continued despite the leadership instability of the post-Howard era.

A Liberal State- How Australians Chose Liberalism over Socialism 1926-1966 explores the revival of Australian political liberalism after the Great Depression of the 1930s, and its sweeping domestic political triumph after World War II over utopian socialism and Labor's statism.

Kemp examines how Australians reasserted their claim to control their own lives, following decades of expanded government control over economic and social life, and intrusive wartime and post-war restrictions.

The third in David Kemp’s landmark five-volume history of liberalism in Australia focuses on the political battle after Federation (1901-1925) to achieve unprecedented levels of social and economic equality, while preserving both national independence and individual freedom. Through years of political conflict, Australians maintained their aspiration towards personal responsibility and autonomy.

In the second book in his landmark five-volume Australian Liberalism series, David Kemp tells how Australians, inspired by their new democracy, attempted to use their freedom to build a society without social and economic conflict. Hardback.

This is the first book in a landmark five-volume Australian liberalism series by David Kemp. It tells the story of how Australians became a free people, gaining the liberties they desired to take control of their lives, the right to govern themselves and the capacity to address their own political problems through democratic institutions. Hardback

An unsettling assessment of how - and when - war with China might break out and the consequences for the world, from bestselling author and ex-major general the late Jim Molan

What are Australia's options in confronting a rising and belligerent China?

For the first time in nearly 80 years, war on our doorstop is not just possible, it is likely. Former army major general and Liberal Party senator Jim Molan fought wars, reviewed intelligence, participated in government and conducted business in hotspots across the world, making him an expert in evaluating risk and reward in perilous military situations.

In this sober assessment, penned just before he died, Molan examines the present and growing danger of China's rise, not just to Taiwan, Japan and other countries in the immediate region, but also to the geopolitical balance of power as it has existed since the end of World War II. He suggests what China's endgame is, how war might start, what war with China would look like and, importantly, what Australia's best interests and options are. Acknowledging the increasing awareness of possible conflict, he stresses how important it is to prepare for the right war, not the war we would prefer to fight, or the one we think might never happen.

From the standpoint of a true patriot and in the spirit of man to man, Sir Robert Menzies stresses, in The Forgotten People, both the rights and the duties of the people and of Parliament. He states clearly what the Liberal Party’s position is, what its aims are, and the part that every citizen must play if the war is to be won. He looks toward the future, the post-war world, and shows how we must work and plan today to combat the dangers that will inevitably beset tomorrow. He examines the meaning and achievements of democracy; he analyses the implications of President Roosevelt's four freedoms; and he upholds the dignity and the rights of the "forgotten people"--the middle classes, the "backbone of this country."

No leader did more to shape modern Australia than Robert Menzies. And no election was as important as that of 1949, when Menzies’ landslide victory heralded an unprecedented era of modernisation, expansion and prosperity. Menzies was the most successful of his or any other generation. His convictions and power of persuasion forged a nation driven by individual aspiration. Hardback.

Robert Menzies sculpted language with the skill of a craftsman, choosing words carefully and shaping them with dexterity.

Edited by David Furse-Roberts, this timeless volume contains a selection of his sharpest observations drawn from thousands of speeches, lectures and broadcasts delivered over 40 momentous years in public life.

His reflections on topics ranging from liberalism, freedom and democracy to foreign policy and Australian national identity are anchored in principles and values that are no less relevant today.

Covering more than 20 years of Menzies’ public life, these speeches, some of them recovered as typewritten manuscripts from private vaults, comprehensively reveal for the first time the full wit, wisdom and power of Australia’s eminent leader and orator. Diligently and affectionately compiled by David Furse-Roberts, this collection is guaranteed to inform and entertain. Hardback.

How did Menzies develop as the giant of Australian politics?

Sir Robert Menzies is a towering figure in Australian history. As the nation's longest-serving prime minister, he transformed and ultimately dominated the political landscape, implementing policies that laid the foundations of modern Australia. The story of Menzies and his governments is essential to the Australian narrative: the centrality of political liberalism, the defence of democracy through trying times, and the expanding horizons of our identity, prosperity and appreciation.

The Young Menzies: Success, Failure, Resilience 1894-1942 explores the formative period of Menzies's life, when his personal outlook and system of beliefs that would help shape modern Australia were themselves still being formed. Contributors look at Menzies's ideas prior to their political practice and examine their context and origins. This period is also the time in which Menzies first attained power, though in difficult circumstances, when the focus of the nation was on survival. It was in losing office that Menzies was given the impetus to develop his vision for post-war Australia.

This is the first of a four-volume history of Menzies and his world, based on conferences convened by the Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne. Contributors include Frank Bongiorno, Troy Bramston, Judith Brett, Nick Cater, Justice James Edelman, David Furse-Roberts, Anne Henderson, David Kemp, Angela Kittikhoun, Greg Melleuish and Scott Prasser, with a foreword by Geoffrey Blainey.

John Howard spent decades under media scrutiny, and while his credentials as a political leader, devoted family man and sports tragic are beyond dispute, in this autiobiography he reveals more about himself. He traces his personal and political journey from childhood in the post-WWI era through to the present day, painting a fascinating picture of a changing Australia. Revised and updated to include the 2013 election. Softback.

John Howard spent decades under media scrutiny, and while his credentials as a political leader, devoted family man and sports tragic are beyond dispute, in this autobiography he reveals more about himself. He traces his personal and political journey from childhood in the post-WWI era through to the present day, painting a fascinating picture of a changing Australia. Hardback.

John Howard could convey more in a single speech than most politicians articulate in a lifetime. Through tragedy, discord and triumph, he addressed the mood of the nation with uncommon good sense. This selection is a reminder of the values and conviction that made our second longest-serving Prime Minster such a persuasive orator. Hardback.

John Howard could convey more in a single speech than most politicians articulate in a lifetime. Through tragedy, discord and triumph, he addressed the mood of the nation with uncommon good sense. This selection is a reminder of the values and conviction that made our second longest-serving Prime Minster such a persuasive orator. Softback.

The Ascent to Power, 1996 takes a critical look at the Howard Government’s rise to power; its policies and priorities, successes and shortcomings in what Paul Kelly calls the ‘foundational year’. It covers the 1996 election, relationships with the Australian Public Service and Senate crossbenchers, reversing the budget ‘black hole’ and gun law reform following the Port Arthur massacre. With contributions from John Howard, other politicians, media commentators, key public servants and academics, The Ascent to Power, 1996, will inform future assessments of the Howard Government and its place in Australian history.

Over the 23 years and nine federal elections won by the Coalition between 1949 and 1972 – justifiably defined as the Menzies era – Australia saw huge economic growth, social change and considerable political turmoil. John Howard, who grew up under Menzies, expertly covers it all, including, the attempt to ban the Communist Party, the Petrov Affair, the great Labor Split of 1955, alliance with the United States, shifting focus towards Asia, Vietnam War, and the recovery of the Labor Party under Whitlam. This magisterial book offers a comprehensive assessment of how Menzies laid the foundation for modern Australia.

This collection of speeches from Tony Abbott's prime ministership is imbued with Abbott's - and the Liberal Party's - values of freedom, enterprise, patriotism and love of family. Topics include indigenous affairs, taxation, terrorism, history, trade, the environment, bureaucratic red tape, religion and more. These speeches eloquently encapsulate that uniquely Australian style of optimism which throughout our history has, even against the odds, underpinned our prosperity. Hardback.

A collection of nine major speeches delivered by former prime minister Tony Abbott ahead of the 2013 Federal Election setting out the values, directions and policy priorities of his government.

Fraser in Office is a long-overdue reappraisal of Australia’s 22nd Prime Minister. It examines Malcolm Fraser’s prime ministership in historical context, recognising the challenge of restoring good government after the Whitlam years. Unclouded by later political disputes and separated from the extraordinary manner by which he entered office, Fraser emerges as a leader of considerable substance.

Author: Denis White

Foreword: David Kemp

Jeparit Press (an imprint of Connor Court Publishing and The Menzies Research Centre)

Paperback, 104 pages, $24.95

Robert Menzies’ famous Forgotten People speeches captured the hopes of Australians as they looked forward to a better life after World War II. While times have changed, Menzies’ themes of freedom, opportunity and responsibility remain. In this unique volume, leading modern liberals rewrite Menzies’ speeches for the 21st century.

Loathed by the Left, praised by Boris Johnson. Back in print six years after it was launched by John Howard, Nick Cater’s witty and incisive analysis of his adopted country remains the original and best guide to today’s cultural landscape.

Do today’s politicians have the courage to make hard choices? Or has the furious pace of modern politics put an end to the age of reform?

 In Quiet Achievers, Oliver Hartwich looks at New Zealand’s record on spending, tax and welfare.

 He discovers that while Australia has been avoiding difficult decisions, the Kiwis have been silently forging ahead.

The Liberal Party has dominated Australian politics since its formation in 1944. Road to Freedom tells the fascinating story of the party's beginnings and how values fed the aspirations of a vibrant middle class to create one of the world's most free and prosperous nations.

Throughout her long and distinguished career in Australian public life, Enid Lyons stood out as a woman of strong character and high principles. Her commitment to advancing the status of women in Australian public life was unwavering.