Airdate: Making Australia Great: Inside Our Longest Boom

Next week ABC premieres a three part series, Making Australia Great: Inside Our Longest Boom, that asks: How did we become the last rich nation standing? Can we make something of this moment, or has it already passed? What must we do to overcome the inevitable future shocks?

Author, journalist and Canberra insider George Megalogenis talks to Julia Gillard, Kevin Rudd, John Howard, Paul Keating, Bob Hawke, Malcolm Fraser, Peter Costello, Wayne Swan, Ken Henry, Ian Macfarlane, Glenn Stevens, Paul Volcker and more.

On his investigation of our past, present and future, George enlists the support of every former Australian Prime Minister and Treasurer from 2013 back to the 1970s, as well as a host of significant contributors and eyewitnesses to Australia’s success story.

Together they help George deliver the definitive history of modern Australia.

Their surprising comments provide wide ranging insights on the economy, society, culture and leadership.

George discovers a dramatic and counter-intuitive story and a compelling case that our economic strengths are way more interesting and complex than simply dumb luck or Australia being a mineral rich continent on China’s doorstep.

We made our own luck through decades of far sighted and challenging economic and cultural reforms, and learning from the painful mistakes we made along the way.

“This really is a landmark television series,” said ABC Head of Programming, Brendan Dahill.

“Never before have so many of Australia’s political, economic and cultural leaders been interviewed in such depth to tell a singular story and to share the screen as equals.”

The series is based on George Megalogenis’ book, The Australian Moment – winner of the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Non-fiction, the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction and the best selling non-fiction book in Australia in 2012.

Series Producer, Alex west. Director, Bruce Permezel. Production Manager, Robyn Young. Archive Research, Miriam Kenter. DOP, Peter Nearhos. Editors, Zac Grant, Dan Thomas.

8:30pm Tuesday March 17 ABC