The Best Australian Political Writing 2009 is a collection of articles about the political climate in Australia over the course of twelve months. In 411 pages, a range of prominent Australian writers analyse the events that made headlines in this country during what editor Eric Beecher describes as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime-year’.

The year in question – 2008 – began with the new Labor prime minister’s formal apology to members of the Stolen Generations and their descendants. This parliamentary apology was regarded by numerous commentators as a momentous occasion and a shift from the conservative and controversial race politics of the Howard government. By the end of 2008, Australia found itself in the grip of the ‘global financial crisis’. As Beecher wryly observes, ‘everyone became an economics expert’, suggesting different sources of blame for this ‘crisis’ and different ways of combating it. Throughout the year, a number of other issues appeared on this country’s political landscape, including climate change and the debate surrounding Bill Henson’s photographs of naked adolescents.