During this period in Opposition, Abbott wrote "Battlelines", a biography and reflection on the Howard Government, and potential future policy direction for the Liberal Party. In the book, Abbott said that in certain aspects the Australian Federation was "dysfunctional" and in need of repair. He recommended the establishment of local hospital and school boards to manage health and education, and discussed family law reform, multiculturalism, climate change, and international relations. The book received a favourable review from former Labor Party speech writer Bob Ellis and "The Australian" described it as "read almost universally as Abbott's intellectual application for the party's leadership after the Turnbull experiment".