Writer
Hal Colebatch
H.K. Colebatch is a political scientist who established the graduate program in social science and policy at UNSW. But he has not published any poetry, nor has he been awarded the Prime Minister's prize for Political History.
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The rise of the career politician: Ben Morton
Ben Morton’s appointment to federal Cabinet has been explained — correctly — as the PM rewarding his supporters in the party. But what skills and experience does he bring to the job, and what does this tell us about the work of politics? Continue reading »
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A Response to Greg Barns: what makes a story a good story?
Greg Barns has evidently found Pearls and Irritations a suitable venue for exercising his skills as a barrister – that is, making a good case for someone (or something). One of these skills is, of course, ignoring the factors that don’t support your argument. This doesn’t matter in court, where there is another barrister employed Continue reading »
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Eden-Monaro shows us the significance of the small players
Noel Turnbull’s blistering critique of commentary on the recent by-election leaves us asking (like Julius Sumner Miller) ‘Why is it so ?’ Continue reading »
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Reflections on Mathias Cormann’s resignation
Perhaps the most interesting, though less discussed, aspect of Mathias Cormann’s resignation is what it shows us about the professionalization of politics – Politik als Beruf, as Weber put it. Continue reading »