Professor Frank Bongiorno
School of History
ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Frank Bongiorno is Professor of History in the ANU School of History.
Frank researches Australian history, especially Australian politics. He is the author of Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia and co-author of A Little History of the Australian Labor Party.
He is a regular contributor to the media, especially Inside Story, for which he was London correspondent from 2008 until 2011, and The Conversation. Frank has also written for Australian Book Review, The Times Literary Supplement, The Monthly, The Australian and Fairfax Media.
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Articles
Albanese’s government might not thrill, but it has shown unity and competence – and that’s no mean feat
The Coalition’s election campaign of 2025 has a strong claim to be considered among the worst since federation.…
Democracy Sausage: The pub test
Who won the four debates, and do they even change people’s minds? In a scenario where we end up…
Democracy Sausage: Bucking the precedent
How will Trump’s tariffs sway this campaign and Australia’s relationship with the US? Has Labor flipped the worldwide…
‘I don’t hold a hose, mate’: Australia’s political history is full of gaffes. Here are some of the best (or worst)
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a gaffe as a “blunder, an instance of clumsy stupidity, a ‘faux pas’.”…
Democracy Sausage: Hungry for hope in the new year
After a turbulent year for democracy, does incumbency offer an advantage anymore? What does this say about the…
Democracy Sausage: Shaking up the race
Biden has backed out of the presidential race, should he have withdrawn earlier? How will likely democratic candidate…
Democracy Sausage: God, unions and the Labor Party
What does Scott Morrison’s autobiography reveal about his time as Prime Minister? How have Australian political parties tended…
The fourth annual Democracy Sausage Awards
Who performed the most flagrant and self-interested political backflip? What was the risible explanation for a government or…
If there is to be any healing after the Voice referendum, it will be a long journey
The result of the Voice referendum on Saturday was unexceptional if considered in light of the constitutional history…
Democracy Sausage: Saying the quiet part out loud
How damaging is internal criticism within the Labor Party around the leadership’s positions on issues like AUKUS and…
Democracy Sausage: Is Labor’s long honeymoon over?
Is the Albanese government’s post-election honeymoon period finally coming to an end? Can the Liberal Party be a…
The Australian War Memorial must deal properly with the frontier wars
The recent media rounds of the new chair of the Australian War Memorial Council, Kim Beazley, appear to…
Australia is now almost entirely held by Labor – but that doesn’t necessarily make life easier for leaders
When Dominic Perrottet gave a gracious concession speech after his defeat in the New South Wales election on…
The history of referendums in Australia is riddled with failure. Albanese has much at risk – and much to gain
The Australian summer has not been kind to the proposal for a First Nations Voice to Parliament. A…
‘He played his ukulele as the ship went down’: the political year that was
Two summers did for Scott Morrison. The first was that of 2019-20, with its fire, smoke and ash.…
‘The spectre of serious civil violence’: how Australia reacted to the Whitlam dismissal
Millions of words have been said and written in condemnation and justification of the actions of the key…
The Liberal Party is in a dire state across Australia right now. That should worry us all
“The duty of an Opposition is to oppose”—attributed to Lord Randolph Churchill—is one of those quotations I remember…
Did Australia just make a move to the left?
Political commentators often use the idea of a political spectrum from left to right as shorthand for understanding…
Fact checking The Crown: ‘Di Down Under gets 5/100’
Season four of The Crown has dropped, ruffling some Royalists’ feathers on the show’s accuracy. ANU historian Professor…