[Edition 33] SYDNEY, Tuesday: Students of Australian history have new lessons to learn following the release of a new book on East Timor by former PM Gough Whitlam.

In It Wasn't My Fault, Whitlam sets out in a cold, analytical and exhaustively-researched way how everything ever bad that has happened in East Timor was the fault of every other politician of the time except him.

It follows on the recent publication of a book on East Timor by former PM Malcolm Fraser, Don't Look at Me, which blamed everything ever bad that has happened in East Timor on every other politician of the time except Fraser.

Whitlam is currently also working on a sequel to his best-seller, The CIA Are To Blame For The Tragedy Of 1975, provisionally entitled My Legacy and How Wonderful It Is. He is also expected to re-release his fashion guide, Looking Good at the Opening of Envelopes.

However, his efforts pale into comparison with Fraser, who in recent years has released seven volumes of memoirs, one for each year of his prime ministership. Entitled The Wondrous, Not Wasted Years, Fraser argued that while he was Prime Minister he didn't in fact (a) support Robert Mugabe, (b) do nothing for Aborigines when he was actually in a position to do so, or (c) belong to the Liberal Party.

Next month sees the publication of further revisionist histories by former PMs including, The Financially Responsible 80s and Me by Bob Hawke, and The Recession the Liberals Caused by Paul Keating. John Howard's reinterpretations of indigenous issues and One Nation are eagerly awaited once he leaves office.

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