The bloody refugees are stealing our jobs! Or is it the unions? Or maybe the dole-bludgers?

Australia was the first country to have a workers' party in power; the first country to introduce the eight-hour working day; one of the first to introduce a minimum wage. Women got the vote in Australia in 1902; it took the US until 1920 to do the same. As recently as 1985 we welcomed boat people with open arms (but now they're queue-jumpers). We're the country of the fair go - or so we like to think. But stereotypes and misconceptions abound when it comes to who's getting what piece of the Australian pie - and why we should be talking about it.

In this timely, thoughtful and entertaining book, Van Badham deconstructs the myths of Australian contemporary culture, showing exactly where the bloody hell we've come from and why it matters. Comprehensive and polemic, The Fairness Agenda will challenge popular assumptions about refugees, dole-bludgers, baby-boomers, unions, state education and migrants, tapping into the broader renaissance in left-wing thought that's inspiring generations young and old.