(2010) Political Rehabilitation
Written to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and sent by email, 29 June 2010.
(2010) Red Confession with a Twist
Mark Aarons’s book The Family Files is a red confession with a twist. He tells his story and that of three generations of the Aarons family’s activity at the highest levels of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) with the aid of a unique documentary source: the 209 files, wire-tap transcripts and reports of the Australian security services in the National Archives. Aarons has written an interesting, honest assessment.
(2010) A Tribute to Jeff Shaw
The Hon. Jeff Shaw (1949-2010) QC, former union official, solicitor, barrister, politician, NSW Attorney General, Supreme Court Judge, probably feared his death would only engender reminders of his fall from grace and further shame for his family. Instead, there was an incredible outpouring of sympathy, support and respect, and a fresh, public assessment of the man and his life.
(2010) Get Governance Right and Governing Follows
Politics is a cruel business. Earlier this year the tough guys from NSW, senator Mark Arbib and national secretary Karl Bitar, demanded that prime minister Kevin Rudd drop the emissions trading scheme. Just drop it. He did.
(2008) Draft Letter to the National Secretary of the ALP re NSW Electricity Privatisation
This letter, never sent, was emailed to Premier Morris Iemma and Attorney General John Hatzistergos, dated 2 May 2008. John McCarthy QC helped me on the draft.
(2008) The McKell Model
The 1930s was a decade of ALP splits and rancorous factional warfare, which made the ALP unelectable. In the 1930s Labor lost three NSW State elections and helped lose the three Federal elections held in that decade. In 1939 Conference returned to the parliamentary party the right to elect its leader.
(2008) Letter to NSW ALP Caucus re Privatisation
Letter written by Neville Wran, Barrie Unsworth, Bob Carr, John MacBean and myself, dated 5 May 2008, and circulated to NSW members of the parliamentary Labor Party and more widely.
(2006) Neville Wran and the Labor Council of NSW
Part of the culture and practice of NSW Labor is the symbiotic, reinforcing relationship between the leadership of NSW political and industrial Labor. The Wran era, defined by Wran’s period as NSW Parliamentary leader (1973-86), is interesting in throwing light on that dynamic.
(2005) Steve Harker and the Promise of Politics
“Sparky”, as he was known in Young Labor, joined the Granville Central Branch aged 17. That was the beginning of an immersion in Labor politics, exposure to the personalities, factions, the froth, bubble, snap culture and traditions of NSW Labor.
(2004) The Eureka Stockade: A Typically Australian Turning Point that All of Us Can Honour
For 150 years, ambivalence, disagreement and controversy have marked debate about the Eureka Stockade. Even today, not all the facts are agreed on: causes, casualties, consequences. This week’s celebrations in Victoria are an opportunity to reflect on the significance of what happened on December 3, 1854, and why it remains relevant today.