About Quadrant

Quadrant

Quadrant (quadrant.org.au) is Australia's leading intellectual journal of ideas, literature and political debate — a Sydney-based monthly magazine of essays, poetry, criticism and historical argument founded in 1956 at the height of the Cold War. Published by the non-profit Quadrant Magazine Ltd, it describes its principal purpose as the defence of the values, practices and institutions of a free and open society, and it has been a central venue for conservative and heterodox Australian thought for nearly seventy years.

Overview

Quadrant publishes ten issues a year, each containing around twenty substantial articles spanning literature, music, art, film, television, theatre and architecture, as well as history, philosophy, religion, politics, Australian society and Western civilisation. Its contributors have included past Australian prime ministers, distinguished philosophers, writers, academics and policymakers. The magazine's pages are open, in its own words, to any well-written and thoughtful contribution regardless of political tendency — though it is often described by critics as conservative, neo-conservative or right-wing, and it maintains a sceptical approach to political correctness. It is uncompromisingly in favour of freedom of thought and expression, insisting on civilised discourse, and takes tolerance to mean the willingness to listen to unpopular or unorthodox views that are well argued.

History

Quadrant originated in 1956 as the journal of the Australian Association for Cultural Freedom, part of the international Congress for Cultural Freedom movement that gave rise to similar publications across the Western intellectual world. From its beginnings, the magazine was dedicated primarily to preserving and enhancing cultural freedom — a goal its constitution still enshrines. As the magazine's own history puts it, the culture it defends derives from the Classical and Christian traditions of Greece, Rome and Jerusalem, as well as the British sceptical Enlightenment, especially the writers of eighteenth-century Edinburgh.

The magazine has always punched above its weight in Australian public debate. In its founding editorial tradition, it aimed to encompass the cultural traditions that endure within, and enrich, civilisation. Through the decades it has been at the forefront of debates on Australian historical writing, particularly on questions of Aboriginal history and the "history wars" — with contributors such as Keith Windschuttle arguing against what they saw as the shoddiness of much current historical and anthropological writing.

A famous piece of Quadrant lore concerns its printing: in 1964, when Rupert Murdoch was launching The Australian, the left-wing printers' union refused to print it, and at the eleventh hour a young Greek typesetter called Theo Skalkos saved the day, laying out the issue himself. Murdoch declared that Theo would never want for work again — and as part of the deal, Rupert would pay to publish Quadrant, provided Theo printed it. That arrangement was still in place four decades later when Keith Windschuttle became editor in 2008, with Skalkos — nicknamed "the Earthquake" — by then a mini media mogul. It ended in 2012 when Windschuttle read in the newspaper that Skalkos was in court on assault and firearm charges.

Windschuttle's editorship (2008–2023, with a brief partial break) defined the modern magazine. Under him Quadrant ran energetic campaigns on particular issues — including one on Cardinal George Pell. When the Australian legal system convicted the world's most famous Australian Catholic cleric of crimes his defenders argued he could not have committed, and Pell's guilt became leftist orthodoxy, Quadrant pressed its case on the misevaluation of evidence almost alone; Windschuttle also wrote what supporters call the best book on the Pell case. The bruising "Fabrication" debate over his book on colonial violence in Tasmania — in which, per the magazine's memorial, he was morally condemned and compared to writers who denied the Holocaust — became a touchstone of Australia's history wars. Windschuttle, who died in 2025 at 83, was remembered in the magazine as an editor who oversaw every issue personally and encouraged authors to give their best.

Following Windschuttle, Rebecca Weisser became editor — she took over the editorship from Windschuttle and later became acting editor or editor-in-chief (further details not publicly confirmed). The magazine continues to publish ten issues a year with a broad range of cultural and political material.

Editors and lineage

The editor's chair maps the magazine's intellectual history. Founding editor James McAuley, the Catholic poet who co-founded the journal with Richard Krygier in 1956, led it to 1967, briefly alongside Donald Horne as co-editor in 1964–1966. Peter Coleman — writer, journalist and later Liberal politician — edited Quadrant for two decades (1967–1988), followed by Roger Sandall (1988–1989), Robert Manne (1990–1997), who resigned after repeated disputes with the editorial board, and the journalist and self-described contrarian Paddy McGuinness (1997–2007). Keith Windschuttle served from 2008 to 2015, with John O'Sullivan editing from 2015 to 2017 before Windschuttle returned in 2017 and led the magazine until 2024, when journalist Rebecca Weisser became editor. The current masthead also includes John O'Sullivan as International Editor, Roger Franklin as Quadrant Online editor, Barry Spurr as Literary Editor, Alexander Voltz as Music Editor and George Thomas as Deputy Editor. The poet Les Murray served as the magazine's literary editor across much of its later history.

A landmark moment in the magazine's public role came in 1993, when historian Geoffrey Blainey delivered the Sir John Latham Memorial Lecture coining the phrase "black armband view of history" — the lecture was subsequently published in Quadrant (then edited by Robert Manne) and named Australia's "history wars," a debate in which Quadrant, under successive editors on opposing sides, remained a central venue.

The magazine's Cold War origins carry a noted historical footnote: the Congress for Cultural Freedom, the international movement that birthed Quadrant, was later revealed to have received covert funding from the CIA, including an annual grant to Quadrant documented by historians of the period. The magazine was published by Quadrant Magazine Ltd, the non-profit company, from the era when such funding arrangements ended.

Content and Positioning

Quadrant publishes essays on literature, music, art, film, television, theatre and architecture, as well as history, philosophy, religion, politics, Australian society and Western civilisation. It has no preconceived policy positions regarding historical interpretations and is open-minded on questions of religion and philosophy, judging material by the importance of ideas rather than requiring agreement. Its pages have carried past prime ministers, distinguished philosophers, writers, academics, experts and policymakers. A subscription offers print and digital access with member benefits from about $8.99 a month.

Coverage and Audience

The magazine is a national Australian journal with a global outlook, read by academics, writers, policymakers and engaged general readers across the intellectual right and centre. Its defence of traditional Western culture — Classical, Christian and Enlightenment traditions — defines its editorial identity and audience.

Ownership

Quadrant is published by Quadrant Magazine Ltd, a non-profit company whose constitution enshrines its principal purpose: the defence of a free and open society through literary and cultural activity of the highest standard. The magazine has online and book publishing offshoots under the same constitution. Historical links with Rupert Murdoch — whose printing subsidy ran for decades through Theo Skalkos — are documented in the magazine's own pages. Further ownership and financial details are not publicly confirmed.

Digital Presence

Quadrant maintains an active website at quadrant.org.au with magazine content, editorials, videos and book publishing, alongside print and digital subscriptions. The online presence extends its reach beyond the ten print issues a year.

Sources and Further Reading

• Quadrant, "About Us" — history, mission, editors and objectives.
• Quadrant, "Keith Windschuttle, 1942–2025" and "Remembering Keith" — editorship, campaigns and history.
• AboutUs, "Quadrant.org.au" — editorial stance and description.