
A new armband for Australian history, with Tony Abbott
From Fire at Will by Will Kingston
November 19, 2025 · 56 min · Episode 141
About this episode
Will Kingston interviews former Prime Minister Tony Abbott about his new book and the narrative of Australian history.
Many Australians don't appreciate how extraordinary the Australian story is. A penal colony, that became a democracy, that became arguably the greatest Western liberal democracy in the world. On the contrary, the prevailing sentiment is a black armband view of the past. Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has sought to change that with his new book, 'Australia: A History'. Will and Tony discuss themes that run through the Australian story, and reflect on whether the country is still living up to the ideals upon which it was built. Follow Will Kingston and Fire at Will on social media here [https://linktr.ee/fireatwillpod]. Read The Spectator Australia here [https://www.spectator.com.au/].
People in this episode
Host: Will Kingston
Guest: Tony Abbott
Topics covered
- Australian history
- democracy
- politics
- cultural identity
- Tony Abbott
Keywords
- Australian history
- Tony Abbott
- democracy
- cultural identity
- penal colony
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Spectator Australia
Books & works: Australia: A History
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