You are warmly invited to join us for the launch of our latest book

“Unity in Autonomy” Edited by Dr Zachary Gorman.

The book will be launched by The Hon. Angus Taylor MP, Member for Hume and Shadow Treasurer on

Wednesday 6th November 2024
Old Parliament House

Canberra

6.30pm – 8.30pm

ABOUT UNITY IN AUTONOMY
Australian liberalism is the nation’s oldest political tradition, yet its belief in freedom of thought and action has often inhibited its adherents from joining together in common purpose.

Resolving this dilemma was the task which lay before Robert Menzies and the varied supporters of the liberal cause in the wake of the disastrous 1943 federal election wipeout. Their solution was Unity in Autonomy – a new party with a clear ‘philosophy’ to inspire and unite people behind the principles of freedom, opportunity, enterprise and individual dignity, combined with the autonomy of state divisions to organise and articulate liberalism in their own way. This landmark history of the founding of the Liberal Party is the first to explore the party’s pervasive federalism, and how forging a structure that can uphold core principles while accommodating local differences, has helped the party long outlive its centre-right predecessors.

Introduction – Zachary Gorman

1. A Party with a Philosophy – David Kemp AC

2. Organisational Federalism – Andrew Kemp

3. Founding The Liberal Party of Australia: How Women Made A Difference – Anne Henderson AM

4. ‘Bold We Brag’: The New South Wales Division – Zachary Gorman

5. The Origins and Early Years of the Victorian Liberals – Stephen Wilks

6. Queensland Liberalism: The Queensland People’s Party 1943–49 – Lyndon Megarrity

7. South Australia’s Liberal and Country League in the Formation of the Liberal Party of Australia – Baden Teague

8. The Wild West: Formation of the Liberal Party of Western Australia – Sherry Sufi

9. Conservative Arcadia: Non-Labor Parties in Tasmania 1903 to 1950 – Stefan Petrow

10. The Australian Capital Territory: Liberalism’s furthest frontier – Gary Humphries AO

11. The Liberals Up North – Shane Stone AC

12. The Country Party, the foundation of the Liberal Party, and the birth of the modern Liberal-Nationals Coalition – John Anderson AC and Terry Barnes

ABOUT THE HON ANGUS TAYLOR MP
Angus entered politics in 2013 when he was elected as the Liberal Federal Member for Hume in New South Wales.
Building on his background in economics, Angus was appointed to parliamentary committees on employment, trade and investment, and public accounts. He was also chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.
Angus was promoted to Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister with special responsibility for Cities and Digital Transformation in February 2016. He was reappointed to the frontbench after the 2016 Federal election and became Minister for Law Enforcement and Cyber Security in December 2017.
Angus was promoted to Cabinet as the Minister for Energy in August 2018, and reappointed as the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction in May 2019. In October 2022 Angus added the Industry portfolio to his duties, serving as the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction until May 2022.
In June 2022 Angus was appointed as the Shadow Treasurer.
Prior to entering parliament in 2013 Angus was a Director at Port Jackson Partners where he was a strategy and business advisor on the resources, agriculture, energy and infrastructure sectors. Prior to this he was a partner at global consulting firm McKinsey & Co.
Angus has a Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours and University Medal) and a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Sydney. He also has a Master of Philosophy in Economics from Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. His thesis was in the field of competition policy.
In his private capacity Angus has founded or advised a number of small, fast growing start-up businesses, particularly in the agriculture sector.
He lives at Goulburn with his wife Louise and their four children.

ABOUT DR ZACHARY GORMAN

Dr Zachary Gorman is the Historian and Research Manager for the Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne. An expert on the history of Australian liberalism, he has authored or edited eight books covering figures like Robert Menzies, George Reid, Joseph Cook, Joseph Carruthers and William Wentworth.