Quarterly Essay 100: The Good Fight cover art

Quarterly Essay 100: The Good Fight

What Does Labor Stand For?

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Quarterly Essay 100: The Good Fight

By: Sean Kelly
Narrated by: Sean Kelly
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $6.95

Buy Now for $6.95

About this listen

The 100th issue of Australia's leading agenda-setting journal of politics, culture and debate

In Quarterly Essay 100, Sean Kelly considers the enigma of the Albanese government. With wide yet shallow support, will it change the country? Does it have big ideas, or is it content just to become "the natural party of government"?
Kelly gives a definitive account of Albanese's political style and asks what lies behind it. In speaking to a fragmented, disengaged electorate, the Prime Minister places a high value on moderation. Often that means ducking fights with entrenched interests. But this runs the risk of embedding an ever more unequal nation, led by a government that can seem gutless.

In this subtle and brilliant essay, Kelly explores whether Labor is still up for the good fight.

©2025 Sean Kelly (P)2025 Audible Australia Pty Ltd Australia & Oceania Elections & Political Process Politics & Government World Government Socialism
All stars
Most relevant
In late 2025, there's no cause for optimism about Australia's government. Kelly makes no bones about this. He also seeks to show this with more kindness than most people, including its voters, would.

While fairly recognising that if all that's needed is 6+ years of caretaker mode and not scaring anyone, it'll probably be fine, Kelly makes a solid and thoughtful argument for aiming a little higher, from several perspectives.

It's well written and read, and worth a listen, but far too generous and gentle. I question if, had Neville Chamberlain read this essay with proper names and dates switched out, he'd do anything differently.

An empathetic guide to making this government less useless

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I neither liked nor disliked this essay — I’m honestly not sure what to make of it. Quarterly Essay 100: The Good Fight is well-written and clearly thoughtful, but I finished it feeling a bit unsure about what the main point really was. Maybe that’s on me, but I think I’ll need a second listen to properly understand what the essay is trying to say about the Albanese government. Not a bad listen, just one that left me a bit confused rather than inspired.

Still not sure what I listened to…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.