This volume investigates the complex administrative and political mechanisms that governed Australia during the final years of the Second World War. Sir Paul Hasluck, a distinguished historian and diplomat, utilizes extensive access to official government records and cabinet papers to analyze how the Australian federal government managed the transition from a wartime economy to the challenges of post-war reconstruction. The work provides a rigorous examination of the interplay between executive decision-making, legislative constraints, and the shifting demands of the Australian public during the 1942-1945 period.

This work is regarded as a foundational text for understanding the internal governance of Australia during the Pacific War. The depth of research and the author's proximity to the administrative machinery of the era make this an essential reference for historians of the period.