Laurie Oakes talks politics - Sydney Morning Herald

Laurie Oakes enjoys a coffee as he reads the newspaper at his regular cafe, Grande's at Manuka. Photo: Rohan Thomson

Before he was the doyen of the federal parliamentary press gallery, Laurie Oakes was just like any other news-hungry Canberra reporter.

Arriving in the national capital while John Gorton occupied the prime minister's suite at Old Parliament House in January 1969, Oakes looked forward to an occasional late night phone call from one particular source.

"The red duck flies at night," the unnamed man would say, prompting a meeting reminiscent of something from the Watergate scandal. Rather than a Washington parking garage, Oakes would leave immediately for the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, near the Kings Avenue Bridge - where the rendezvous would take place.

"I got some very good stories out of the Red Duck from the dead of night," Oakes said. "I have a sentimental view of that particular spot from those late night meetings."

After decades as one of the most respected journalists in Canberra, Oakes has had a front-row seat to the key events in Australian political history. The Nine Network political editor's latest book documents the drama and palace intrigue of Canberra politics during the chaotic hung Parliament. Remarkable Times: Australian Politics 2010-13 tells the inside story of the battle between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard and the rise of Tony Abbott to the prime ministership.

For a man who "lives the job", life is centred at home and at Parliament House. Knowing the city's political landmarks better than most, Oakes said the first time he visited Canberra was before the construction of Lake Burley Griffin. "When I moved here, on January 6, 1969, Curtin was an outer suburb way out in the wilderness. Canberra has changed a heck of a lot since then. It was a really small town, although given what it had been people thought it was pretty advanced. Now, of course, it's a true city."

Often to be seen working on his laptop at Grande's cafe in Manuka or joining weekend crowds at the Fyshwick Market, Oakes said he enjoyed talking politics with locals and tourists around the capital. He said leading political journalists had to devote much of their lives to the vocation, bringing a sometimes smaller sphere of activity for his four decades in Canberra.

"If you're having a coffee, there are always people who stop for a yarn. These days they're mostly tourists who want to stop and talk politics and they come up and introduce themselves," he said. "It is nice to be recognised and it is also good that people are engaged with what is happening."

Oakes said the historic Kingston Hotel on Canberra Avenue was intimately connected with politics, through its association with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the nearby Russian Embassy and as a popular drinking spot for both sides of politics. It was here that the 36 faceless men left Arthur Calwell and Gough Whitlam exiled outside in the lead-up to the 1963 federal election, a key event in Oakes' biography of Whitlam as prime minister, released a decade later.

The 70-year-old said the grand Old Parliament House held special meaning for him, with the often cramped conditions proving helpful for finding stories and entertainment for young journalists.

"If there was something happening, you'd just about feel the vibrations," he said. "We were all close together: the journalists, the MPs, the ministers all used to go to the same parties in the buildings. We'd all play cricket in the corridor outside the Treasurer's office when Bill Snedden was Treasurer.

He rejects the stereotypes and criticism Canberra sometimes receives from the uninitiated and unappreciative.

"I think Canberra has its own culture. I find people are a bit different in what engages them and what they talk about," Oakes said. "Canberra's a unique place: two hours to the snow, two hours to the big smoke, two hours to the beach. It's a different kind of city and that's kind of reflected to what the people do."

Becoming the news himself last week, Oakes told this reporter that Prime Minister Tony Abbott was "thumbing his nose at voters" and called out Immigration Minister Scott Morrison for his arrogant treatment of journalists and the public's right to information.

"There's a limit to how much and how long they can do that. I think they can't afford to let damaging stories run," Oakes said.

"They will work that out eventually and I think eventually pressure will build up too, demanding more transparency.

"Tony Abbott promised transparency in government - he's delivering the opposite so far so I think that will break down as well."

In the days since the comments were read around the country, Mr Abbott has held his ninth press conference since taking office and Mr Morrison drew widespread ridicule for his increasingly combative press conferences on the so-called Operation Sovereign Borders.

"It even looked like the Prime Minister might have said 'good on you Scott'," Oakes said. "If that's the attitude then I think Tony Abbott's got a bit to learn."

Having famously leaked the entire 1980 federal budget, prepared by then-treasurer John Howard, Oakes said political reporting had changed as much as politics itself, defending the much maligned press gallery and its important role during the Rudd-Gillard rivalry.

"Partly because I was leaked the budget once, they've made sure it can never happen again. In those days, all the budget details were in the budget speech and now hardly any are in the speech … so to be leaked the lot you'd have to go away carrying half a ton of documents," he said.

He said the 24-hour news cycle and relentless social media appetite made the demands on reporters difficult.

"It makes what I have had to do over the years look pretty easy. Most of the time I have had one deadline a day but the modern young journo has dozens of deadlines a day, across platforms for papers, radio, television, websites," he said.

While the Red Duck might not be calling journalists in 2013, Oakes remains confident that Canberra will be well served as the national capital. He said reporters could be creative in finding scoops.

"In Old Parliament House, one of the great news gathering places and gossip exchanging places was the toilet,"

Oakes said. "Politicians used to discuss issues standing at urinal and journalists used to get leaks, so to speak."

■ Remarkable Times: Australian Politics 2010-13: What really happened by Laurie Oakes. (Hachette, $32.99.)