Australian Politics and Government is a comprehensive 2003 comparative study of Australian state and Commonwealth governments and their politics for over forty years. In addition to major chapters on each state in the Australian federation, the book includes chapters on the Commonwealth government and the two self-governing territories. These are supplemented by a chapter summarizing the distinctive characteristics of Australian government and its various components. Australian Politics and Government has been written to link with the Australian Government and Politics website (http://elections.uwa.edu.au). This website is based on a searchable database which contains a wealth of information on Australian government and politics since 1890.

'… offers an interesting slant on comparative Australian politics … Each chapter is elegantly written and carefully edited. There is abundant additional information in the form of graphs and tables and also an extremely useful bibliography. It is a study I would recommend to students as a good groundwork introduction to the comparative study of the Australian political scene and one which also provides important source of information.'

Source: Cercles

'… the book has an essential thematic and organisational unity. What provide this unity are not just strong editorial guidance but also a consistent analytical orientation and – above all – a common database … a work of careful social science scholarship … this is a significant, foundational work that will provide the benchmark for the study of Australian state and commonwealth politics for many years to come.'

Source: Public Administration