Earthquake (book)

Earthquake: the election that shook Australia
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton looking at each other with Dutton's head held lower than Albanese's. The text "EARTHQUAKE" appears in capital letters and red text at the top of the cover with a testimonial by journalist Laurie Oakes underneath. Niki Savva's name appears at the top of the cover.
AuthorNiki Savva
Working titleEarthquake: Signposts to the election that shook Australia
Subject2025 Australian federal election
PublisherScribe
Publication date22 November 2025
Media typePrint and digital
Pages432
Award2026 Australian Booksellers Association Book of the Year (shortlisted)
ISBN978-1-761-38189-8
Preceded byBulldozed: Scott Morrison's fall and Anthony Albanese's rise 
Websitescribepublications.com.au/books/earthquake

Earthquake: the election that shook Australia is a 2025 book by Australian journalist Niki Savva. The book was published by Scribe and chronicles events of the 2025 Australian federal election. Savva has previously written three other books covering events during the Liberal–National Coalition's terms in office from 2013 to 2022.

Background

Journalist Niki Savva worked in the offices of former prime minister John Howard and former treasurer Peter Costello, and previously wrote three other books on the Liberal–National Coalition's terms in office from 2013 to 2022, these books were titled The Road to Ruin: How Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin Destroyed Their Own Government, Plots and Prayers: Malcolm Turnbull's Demise and Scott Morrison's Ascension, and Bulldozed: Scott Morrison's fall and Anthony Albanese's rise.[1] The book was originally titled Earthquake: Signposts to the election that shook Australia.[2]

Content

In Earthquake, Savva examines factors that led to the Liberal Party's comprehensive defeat and the Labor Party's gains in the 2025 Australian federal election.[3] The book consists of Savva's columns from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age before it delves into details of how the 2025 election played out.[4]

The book details the surprise faced by the Liberal Party of the tax cuts announced in the 2025 budget and their MPs' confusion on which way to vote regarding the cuts. The book tells of Dutton's opinion that the tax cut "didn't matter" and his ultimate decision to repeal the tax cut legislation.[5] The book tells of Dutton's relationship with then-shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie, with Dutton claiming that Hastie "was lazy". The book says that Dutton personally vetoed a suggestion from Hastie to create a joint defence intelligence committee to focus on the AUKUS pact that had the support of senior government officials, Dutton disliked the plan as he feared that the committee would consist of Greens and independent MPs.[6]

Reception

Writing for The Conversation, journalist Mark Kenny praised the breadth of content included in the book with its wide-ranging testimonies, he also said that the book is "an important account" with insights featured from "both sides of the fence".[3]

Awards

The book was shortlisted for the Australian Booksellers Association Book of the Year prize.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Napier-Raman, Kishor and Brook, Stephen (16 June 2025). "Niki Savva set to release tell-all book on 2025 election". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 January 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  2. ↑ "Scribe acquires new Savva nonfiction". Books+Publishing. 18 June 2025. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 Kenny, Mark (16 December 2025). "Niki Savva's Earthquake is a damning account of the election that shook Australia". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 30 December 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Fagan, Siena (24 June 2026). "Niki Savva's 50 years in political journalism: from the Whitlam dismissal to Dutton's disaster". Honi Soit. Archived from the original on 27 June 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Savva, Niki (21 November 2025). "'We were like lemmings going over a cliff': Inside Dutton's $17 billion blunder". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 February 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  6. ↑ Savva, Niki (7 October 2025). "The meeting where Dutton and Hastie's relationship fell apart". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  7. ↑ "ABA 2026 Book of the Year Awards shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 27 April 2026. Retrieved 17 August 2026.

Further reading

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