During the workshop reference was made to dozens of autobiographies, biographies and administrative memoirs that may help us to understand better how government and the public service work, why they work (if they do) in the way that they do, and how individuals, particularly senior politicians, both shape government and are, in turn, influenced by their political and administrative colleagues and processes. The quality of all these works is uneven; it is a wonder some found a publisher. Others will be read, and mined, for years to come. The spread of publications across the federal and state arenas is also uneven, as it is across the various public sector agencies.

The term ‘political biography’ is of doubtful value, suggesting as it does some compartmentalised genre separate from the that of history or biography. Rather, what we are seeking are biographical accounts that contribute to our understanding of the Australian political and administrative systems. We are fortunate that we have many such works available to us. But many more are needed; from politicians, their staff, party officials, public servants and academics, journalists and others.