A Step to the Right

"...the person I regard as Australia's best Foreign Affairs Minister." - John Howard

"Across his career, Downer brought a formidable intellect and relentless work ethic to his job. During his years as foreign minister, and his activism across the years that followed, he would play a leading role in how Australia positioned itself in the world - and in forging the nation's future. This book seeks to tell that story." - From The Prologue

By the time Alexander Downer left office, he had surpassed "Doc" Evatt and Dick Casey to become Australia's longest-serving Foreign Affairs Minister. Over nearly twelve years on the chessboard of global politics, he negotiated with some of the world's most powerful leaders to promote and protect Australia's interests.

It was a modern-day odyssey. During those years, Downer navigated wars in distant regions, violent upheavals, and terrorist attacks close to home. He worked to strike a delicate balance between the competing interests, values, and priorities of the United States and China - and to forge a more constructive relationship with Indonesia, Australia's giant neighbour to the north.

By the end of his tenure, few were better placed to interpret the interplay of politics, strategy, and principle that explains why global events unfolded as they did - and why they continue to do so today.

This book is the first comprehensive account of Downer's remarkable political journey. It traces his early passion for politics while growing up in the Adelaide Hills, his childhood memories of playing cricket at The Lodge under the watchful eye of Robert Menzies, and his first taste of international diplomacy as a trainee diplomat. It follows his rise in the 1990s as a formidable political force - including his brief and turbulent stint as the youngest-ever federal Liberal Leader.

From the beginning, Downer attracted critics and detractors who mocked him as a "toff" and a "silver-spooner." Yet through it all, he developed the resilience and resolve essential for the rough and unpredictable world of international politics.

With March 2026 marking the 30th anniversary of the Howard Government's election, this book offers a timely opportunity to re-examine how Downer helped shape Australia's reputation as a reliable and constructive neighbour and ally at the dawn of the 21st century. It also explores his unique insights into enduring global issues: the rise of a more assertive China, the fragmentation of Western democracies, Vladimir Putin's aggression in Eastern Europe, and the ongoing quest for peace in the Middle East.

This biography marks Tony Parkinson's return to the form. In 2000, he published Jeff: The Rise and Fall of a Political Phenomenon, his acclaimed portrait of Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett - another of the Liberal Party's "big beasts." After nearly three decades in journalism, Parkinson spent two years as an adviser in Downer's office, gaining a rare inside view of foreign policy under the Howard Government.

For many of today's teenagers, that era may seem like distant history - a time before the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, and before Barack Obama, Donald Trump, or Joe Biden entered the Oval Office.

Yet this book is not just a story about the past. It also explores the choices Australians face in the present and the future. It asks what lessons can be drawn from the Howard Government's approach to leadership, policy, and diplomacy - and whether that experience offers a template for how Australia might navigate the challenges of a very different world.