Two authors. Two books. Two very different histories of Australia. Tony Abbott's Australia: A history and Mark McKenna's The Shortest History of Australia were released within weeks of each other. They share similar references, but diverge in key areas, especially when it comes to how the country should reconcile with its Indigenous past. So what is the real story of Australia?

The conversation Australian history's great divide: how writers view our past was recorded at the Sorrento Writers Festival on 23 April 2026.

Speakers:

Tony AbbottAuthor Australia: A history and moreAustralian Prime Minister 2013 to 2015President, Australian Liberal Party

Mark McKennaAuthor, The Shortest History of Australia and moreProfessor of History at the University of New South Wales

Sally Warhaft (host)Anthropologist, writer and broadcasterEditor, Well May We Say…The Speeches That Made Australia

Further information:

The Australian Wars with Rachel Perkins and Henry Reynolds — a watershed event at the Australia War MemorialBig Ideas, ABC Radio National, 4 February 2026

Who can we become? Thomas Mayo and Ray Martin speak Black and White about Australia's futureBig Ideas, ABC Radio National, 3 March 2026

Victoria's new treaty with First Peoples — a turning point for Australia?Big Ideas, ABC Radio National, 9 December 2025

A new future for Black and White Australia — Thomas Mayo, Margo Neale, David Marr with Natasha MitchellBig Ideas, ABC Radio National, 15 May 2024