John (“Johno’) Richard Johnson, shop assistant, union leader, politician, raffler of puddings, chocolates, Melbourne Cup sweeps – anything for a quid for the ALP – passed last Wednesday morning from a world which had long failed to understand him.
Michael Danby is a passionate man, unusual for today’s breed of careful, calculating, uncontroversial politicians. He takes up causes. His exuberance can stun, occasionally his choice of words eviscerates. There is something unnerving about a character that calls on the rest of us to think.
The Show, sub-titled Another Side of Santamaria’s Movement, is authored by Mark Aarons with the assistance of John Grenville, a one-time enthusiast and activist in, turned fierce opponent of, Bob Santamaria’s anti-communist campaign.
Race Mathews new book on Catholic influence – once prominent now largely faded – on the ALP in Victoria is a fascinating story.
Santamaria: A Most Unusual Man, Gerard Henderson’s biography of Bartholomew Augustus Santamaria (1915-1998) is well researched, controversial, and insightful. The first book-length biography of Santamaria, the subtitle A Most Unusual Man immediately suggests that the work is no hagiography.
Kep Enderby, QC, barrister, civil libertarian, politician and judge, is best known for his role as federal Attorney-General in 1975, advising the prime minister Gough Whitlam at the time of the Dismissal.
Tanya Plibersek’s push to compel all Labor MPs to a binding vote in support of same sex marriage is a sincere stance emanating from personal conviction. Her passionate conviction, nonetheless, does not trump the conscience of others. That is why her unreasonable position must be rejected by the ALP, regardless of where individuals stand on the marriage issue.
John Joseph Whelan, unionist, police officer, man of many careers and service, raconteur, family man, was born June 9, 1934, and passed away peacefully after a determined battle with Alzheimer’s, on Sunday August 16, 2015, aged 81.
Greg Sheridan’s recently published memoir shows him to be a superb writer and a romantic. Unfortunately, the latter trait colours his assertions recently published in The Australian about the officers of the Labor Council of NSW and the NCC.
Michael O’Sullivan was leader of the Federated Clerks Union, a superannuation pioneer and a corporate governance advocate. He was the chair of the $7 billion CareSuper fund (a director from 1996 to 2012) and president for a decade to 2011 of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors.