Catch and Kill The Politics of Power

Power is the only measure of a politician that matters: how they win power, how they use power, how they lose power. Catch and Kill is an inside account of the beguiling and nomadic nature of the unholy trinity of politics—the winning, the using, the losing. Joel Deane’s gripping study of the politics of power takes us into the inner sanctum of state and national politics in Australia, investigating how four friends—Steve Bracks, John Brumby, John Thwaites, and Rob Hulls—beat the factions, won office in Victoria, then tried to hijack Canberra. It delivers a slice of political gothic, exploring the heart of the contemporary Labor Party in search of the nature of power. 

Joel Deane is a poet, novelist, journalist, essayist, and speechwriter. He is a former producer for the MSNBC technology news show The Site, has penned reviews and essays for Australian Book Review, and written speeches for Labor politicians such as Bill Shorten, Steve Bracks, and John Brumby. He is the author of the novel The Norseman’s Song and the collection of poetry Magisterium, which was a finalist for the Melbourne Prize for Literature.