In conversation with Joe Hockey

Listen to this ANU/Canberra Times Meet the Author conversation on the Experience ANU SoundCloud channel

Joe Hockey will be in conversation with Paul Kelly on his new book Diplomatic. A Washington memoir, written with Leo Shanahan, covering Joe Hockey's time as Australia's Ambassador to the United States. Donald Trump's unconventional presidency turned politics and diplomatic relations in Washington, DC on its head. When Joe Hockey found himself an unlikely diplomat in this new world order, his unorthodox deal-making instincts placed him in the hot seat at precisely the right moment in history.

Traversing the worlds of politics, business and diplomacy, Joe Hockey's Diplomatic is an insightful, honest and at times hilarious insider's memoir recounting the former treasurer's unique diplomatic style. It chronicles the evolution, depth and complexity of the US-Australian relationship, from the final year of the Obama administration, the triumph and chaos of the Trump presidency and then on to the two nations' shared future under President Joe Biden and beyond.

Ambassador Hockey immediately found himself in the middle of the historic 2016 presidential campaign between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Despite strong objections from his own government, Hockey reached out to the Trump campaign early on. Betting on the electoral appeal of the brash, anti-establishment candidate, Hockey secured priceless early diplomatic contacts within the Trump campaign and then his administration

Anchored by Hockey's direct interaction with Trump's dysfunctional White House, Diplomatic reveals for the first time the aftermath of the leaked phone call between the US president and Prime Minister Turnbull. Hockey recalls his personal dealings with Trump on the golf course and the cavalcade of characters who came in and out of Trump's Oval Office, including Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Mick Mulvaney.

Joe Hockey, who served as Australia's Ambassador to the United States of America in Washington, DC from January 2016 to January 2020, was responsible for Australia's relationship with the US during the final year of President Obama's tenure and the first three years of President Trump's term. Mr Hockey, who graduated from the University of Sydney with Bachelor degrees in arts and law, is founding partner and president of Bondi Partners, a strategic advisory and funds management business based in both Sydney and Washington, DC.

As Treasurer of Australia, Joe Hockey was responsible for all aspects of the Australian economy. In 2014, Mr. Hockey chaired the highly successful G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meetings. He initiated major infrastructure initiatives ranging from the implementation of asset recycling financing to the creation of the G20 Infrastructure Hub. He first entered Parliament in 1996 as the Member for North Sydney and spent more than sixteen years on the front bench. Over the course of his parliamentary career, Mr. Hockey served as a Minister in a number of different portfolios including Financial Services, Small Business and Tourism, Human Services and Employment and Workplace Relations.

Leo Shanahan, who holds a law degree and an arts degree with honours from the ANU, is a journalist, writer and corporate consultant, and has most recently held positions as the media editor of The Australian and chief business reporter for Sky News. Leo is an award winning journalist, including recipient of the News Award for Scoop of the Year, twice been nominated for the Walkley Award for business journalist of the year and won the National Press Club Financial Journalism for global and economic reporting.

Paul Kelly is Editor-at-Large on The Australian and previously Editor-in-Chief. Paul has covered Australian governments from Gough Whitlam to Scott Morrison. He is the author of 12 books on Australian politics and history including the influential The End of Certainty: Power, Politics and Business in Australia (1992) and Triumph & Demise: The Broken Promise of a Labor Generation (2014)

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A podcast will be made available after the event.