Making Progress: How good policy happens

Is big policy reform still possible? Does Australia have the political will to tackle generational issues such as climate change, the housing crisis, rising inequality and Closing the Gap? Legendary Labor policymaker Jenny Macklin believes that if Australia wants to remain prosperous and fair, big policy reform is not just possible, it's essential. Making Progress takes us into the policy engine room and details how Macklin went about developing transformational initiatives such as the Apology to the Stolen Generations, paid parental leave and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as well as delivering pension reforms that lifted one million Australians out of poverty. She explains how she became a policy wonk, and interviews key policymakers such as Julia Gillard, Brian Howe, Bill Kelty, Tanya Plibersek and Ross Garnaut, who share how they war-gamed ways to turn good policy ideas into reality. Part policy memoir, part war-room drama, part field guide, Making How Good Policy Happens is a political book with a message-and a method.

Jenny Macklin is former deputy leader of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party, the first woman elected to a leadership position in a major Australian political party. In the Rudd–Gillard governments, she was minister for disability reform, families, housing, community services. As minister for Indigenous affairs, she oversaw the Apology to the Stolen Generations and developed the Closing the Gap framework. She established Australia’s first national paid parental leave scheme, reformed the pension, led the design and implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and helped establish the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. She served as member for Jagajaga for twenty-three years.

Joel Deane is a poet, novelist, journalist and speechwriter. He has published eight books and been a finalist in numerous literary awards, including the Walkley Book Award, the Prime Minister’s Literary Award, and the Melbourne Prize for Literature.