 Songwriting for Augie March is primarily initiated by Richards; he delivers demos to the rest of the band members who then collaborate with him to develop the music. Kathy McCabe of The Daily Telegraph suggests "almost every songwriter in Australia has name-checked [Richards] as one of the finest tunesmiths of his generation" and that "Richards is a storyteller who is spoken of in reverential terms by peers". Richards simply states that he enjoys "dabbling with words", and that people often appreciate him doing so. Despite this, Richards rejects the "literary" reputation he believes the band have gained. At the 2006 ARIA Awards, Midnight Oil's Rob Hirst called for more political songs; Richards told Simon Collins of The West Australian he saw great risk in writing political music, and would rather write music that rung true, so that "I can sing the song a thousand times after it's been written". Richards asserts he preferred to draw on everyday experiences than on literary influences. He also says that some of the music he writes is intentionally confusing.
