Quotes from Donald Horne

Regional interests and loyalties are even stronger among Australians than among Americans - in that in social life they exist almost without challenge. Canberra is a poor thing compared to Washington and there is no great metropolis like New York that sets many of the nation's trends. There is no generally acknowledged central city where the important things are believed to happen and it seems better to be.

Life in Australia is more equal and less competitive than in America; but there are dozens of similarities...migrations to a new land, the mystique of pioneering (actually somewhat different in the two countries), the turbulence of gold rushes, the brutality of relaxed restraint, the boredoms of the backblocks, the feeling of making life anew. There may be more similarities between the history of Australia and America than for the moment Australians can understand.

Perhaps all human effort is absurd. --pg112

the first move to a more tolerant Australia must come from controlling the aversion to Muslims that is at present the principal xenophobia in this country.

It may be that only when xenophobia stops working as an election winner will the way be cleared for a return to bipartisanship

The image of Australia is of a man in an open-necked shirt solemnly enjoying an ice cream. His kiddy is beside him.

A man who went to the 'footie' match on Saturday afternoon and played eighteen holes of golf was really doing his duty by the nation.