A new armband for Australian history, with Tony Abbott

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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