For the last about 14 months I have been working on a particular project at work which, last week, finally came to a close. This job has been both the best and he hardest job I’ve had: I’ve learnt a lot of stuff, met some really great friends and I’m now feeling quite burnt-out. Anyway, after some to-in and fro-ing last week, I’m starting in a new job tomorrow in a different area. I’m quite looking forward to it – it’s getting me right into the kind of work I’ve been hoping to do, so we’ll see how it goes. Look for me to start looking less tired and a bit more invigorated again in the near future.
I’m currently reading a book of great Australian speeches, called “Men and Women of Australia”. I read a great line in it the other day – actually, there have been many great lines in it, but one that really struck me was by Edmund Barton. It was in a speech delivered on 17 January 1901 – only two weeks after Federation, and thus two weeks into his term as Prime Minister. This is apparently the first policy speech by an Australian Prime Minister, and it made great reading. In speaking about the task before those who might be elected to the Commonwealth Government and his hope that the people would elect men equal to the task, he said:
“We can ask them – and they will respond – to train their views to the national aspect, as distinguished from the local aspect – to return men of principle who will uphold the dignity of the continent in Parliament. … I hope and believe that Parliament will not be degraded by any disorder, because men will recognise that better work can be effected when things are done decently and in order…”
So how did we get from there to here?
This may be of particular interest to anyone in Canberra. The academic remainders bookstore in Garema Place currently has the most recent edition of “A New Brittania” by Humphrey McQueen for only $6.95. I have an old copy of one of the 1970s editions that I bought second-hand while in uni, and I found it to be a very interesting and enjoyable book, so I’m looking forward to reading the new content in this edition.
 The book is interesting, since it argues that the Australian Labor Party was never a socialist party (depsite having socialist tenets in its official objectives), but it was always more concerned with nationalism, racism and middle-class interests. In making this point, McQueen also criticises many Australian historians who glossed over these aspects of the ALP’s history.
For $6.95, it’s definitely worth picking up.
The other books I’m actually reading at the moment are also quite interesting – “Men and Women of Australia” compiled by Michael Fullilove, and “How to Get Things Done” by David Allen. More about them another time.
What a difference between Carr and Brogden:
Carr surprises everyone by announcing his retirement. He steps down while accolades pour in, even if there is some debate about how successful his term in office was. And the biggest issues surrounding his departure were, “who can fill such big shoes?” and “will he run for Federal politics?”
Brogden resigns, surprising no-one and amidst several varieties of scandal. No-one wonders or cares what he’ll do next. The question of who will replace him isn’t being particularly debated, and it doesn’t seem like such a difficult step up for his successor.
Most interestingly, perhaps, is that with a change of leadership the NSW Liberals have probably lost whatever advantage they had with a relatively experienced leader vs a newly appointed Labor premier with many problems to fix. It should make for an interesting next couple of years in NSW politics.