On Making Progress

I started working on a project during the Covid lockdowns.

Jenny Macklin — former deputy leader of the Labor Party, former Rudd-Gillard government minister — wanted to write a book about politics. Not the usual book about politics — a memoir where the ex-pollie bangs on about themselves — but a policy-driven book that was all about what it takes to make a good idea a reality.

Full disclosure. I’m not a fan of the anything-it-takes school of politics. That kind of politics is more interested in politics as a sport. I’m more interested in politics as a vehicle to change people’s lives.

That’s why, when Jenny called me and asked whether I wanted to work with her on the book that became Making Progress, I said yes. How could I say no? After all, Jenny is the policy brain behind many of the most progressive reforms of this century, such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, paid parental leave, and the Apology to the Stolen Generations. She also is the person who tripled the tax-free threshold for Australian workers and delivered the biggest boost to the pension since Federation.

In a world full of pretenders, in other words, Jenny Macklin is the real deal.

So, during the Covid lockdowns, Jenny and I started interviewing policymakers about what it takes to make a policy idea a political reality. We talked to people like Julia Gillard, Ross Garnaut, Bill Kelty and Brian Howe. Jenny also explained how she became a policymaker herself — the work she did, the mentors she had, the mistakes she made, the lessons she learned.

And then we wrote Making Progress. It is not your typical political book.

In fact, you could call it a book in two halves.

The first half is a policy memoir — Jenny looking back at her journey as a policymaker. The second half is a policy brain-storm — Jenny conducting interviews with ten policymakers where she looks at the road ahead.

I’m biased, but I’m proud of Making Progress. I think it’s a rare kind of political book — both useful and readable.

And now I have my hands on a hard copy of the first edition.

And, very soon, you’ll be able to get your hands on a copy, too.

Making Progress: How good policy happens (Melbourne University Press) will be released on 17 April.