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Henry Mayer Book Prize for Australian Politics
Subcategory of Awards Australian Awards
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History

'This prize is offered biennially by the Australian Political Studies Association for the best book on Australian politics (including political history) published during the previous two years. It is funded by income generated by the APSA endowment established, in 2009, by the Henry Mayer Trust.' (https://www.auspsa.org.au/page/henry-mayer-book-prize-australian-politics)

Latest Winners / Recipients

Year: 2009

joint winner y separately published work icon Black Politics : Inside the Complexity of Aboriginal Political Culture Sarah Maddison , Crows Nest : Allen and Unwin , 2009 Z1579952 2009 single work non-fiction

'Why do Aboriginal communities struggle so hard to be heard in mainstream politics? How do remote and urban communities respond to frequent dramatic shifts in federal and state Aboriginal policies?

'Since the early 1990s Aboriginal Australia has experienced profound political changes with very real and lasting implications, from the Mabo land rights case in 1992, to the abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 2005, to more recent attempts to reduce the autonomy of remote communities. Sarah Maddison identifies the tensions that lie at the heart of all Aboriginal politics, arguing that until Australian governments come to grips with this complexity they will continue to make bad policy with disastrous consequences for Aboriginal people.

'Based on original interviews with influential Aboriginal leaders including Mick Dodson, Tom Calma, Alison Anderson, Jackie Huggins, Warren Mundine and Larissa Behrendt, Black Politics seeks to understand why Aboriginal communities find it so difficult to be heard, get support, and organise internally. It also offers some suggestions for the future, based on the collective wisdom of political players at all levels of Aboriginal politics.' (Publisher's blurb)

Joint winner with Beyond Right and Left by David McKnight.

Year: 2004

winner y separately published work icon Crow Feathers : An Indigenous Collection of Poems and Images Rebecca Edwards (editor), Janelle Evans (editor), Townsville : Black Ink Press , 2003 Z1053510 2003 anthology poetry This anthology introduces the poems of 28 new and emerging Indigenous poets and artists in the public arena, to enter the dialogue of Australian poetry, and to join established Indigenous Australian poets and artists. (Source: Introduction)
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