The Worldly Art of Politics

Edited by Ken Turner and Michael Hogan

Politics is the task of liars, cheats and scoundrels and politicians are the lowest of the low. So runs, and has always run, popular opinion in Australia. And yet New South Wales has been one of the best governed, most peaceful and most prosperous of societies over the past 150 years.

How is the one compatible with the other?

The Worldly Art of Politics argues that the public image owes more to myth than fact, and that politicians mostly live hardworking, effective, insecure, and very public lives.

The book focuses on their contributions away from the spotlight of the Parliamentary bearpits. Some have special talents as committee workers, others as coalition partners (like the Nationals’ Charles Cutler), skilful administrators and negotiators (like Labor’s Reg Downing), or constructive party officers (like the Liberals’ John Carrick).

All, in their own fashion, “represent” the electorate. There is the stalwart seen as “one of us” (Jack Ferguson); the “good local member” (Michael Maher); the Independent (John Hatton and Richard Torbay); and the pathbreaker who achieves relevance for a minor party (Elisabeth Kirkby) or a formerly unrepresented group (Millicent Preston Stanley).

Overall, despite the lurid headlines, New South Wales politicians maintain a system in which ideas and conflicts and interests are openly articulated and peacefully resolved: a successful, working democracy.

Sesquicentenary 1856-2006 Responsible Government in New South Wales A NSW Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government publication.

Section 1 - The Need for Good Politics

Introduction

Ken Turner & Michael Hogan

Why politicians must be odious

Henry Mayer

The ethical standards of politicians

Gerard Carney

Section 2 - Representing a Constituency

Michael Maher: A Good Local Member

David Clune

Sir William Lyne: In His Electorate

Sir Joseph Carruther

A Tale of Two Independents

Frank Bongiorno

Jack Ferguson: Representing Workers

Rodney Cavalier

Millicent Preston-Stanley: Organising for women’s representation

Michael Hogan

A Plea for the Politican

John Osborne

Section 3 - Forms of Contribution

George Mure Black: Labor Publicist

Jim Hagan

Arthur Hill Griffith: Standard Bearer for Public Enterprise

Morris Graham

John Hatton: Independent MP

Henry Lee & Glenn Mitchell

Elisabeth Kirkby: Attention to Parliamentary Review

Ken Turner

Sir John Peden: Representing the Public Interest

Gareth Griffith

Charles Cutler: A Lesson in Coalition Partnership with Premier Askin

Paul Davey

Creative Committee Work: Random Breath Testing

Kevin Rozzoli

The Public Works Committee 1888-1930

Clive Beauchamp

John Carrick: the Influence of Head Office

Ian Hancock

Reg Downing: a Safe Pair of Hands

David Clune

Speechwriters: Are They Necessary?

Graham Freudenberg

Decision-Making in Greiner’s NSW Inc.

An Insider’s Perspective

Peta Seaton

Conclusion

Ken Turner & Michael Hogan

REVIEWS

… worth a look by people who teach politics at any level, or anybody interested in understanding the politician’s craft.

Stephen Matchett, The Weekend Australian, October 14-15, 2006

This volume is a collection of 22 vignettes spotlighting the contributions of lesser-known but important figures in New South Wales state politics over the previous century and a quarter. Some chapters deal with parliamentary and other institutional operations and practices, but the most engaging chapters are those which describe the contributions of the political ‘fixers’ and those stalwart ‘backstops’ who provide the backbone of experience, toughness and gravitas for any successful government.

The editors have covered a wide spectrum of political representation and interests …

For this reviewer, the highlights of the book, and the chapters which best reflect its title, are those which tell the story of the stalwarts referred to above. They put flesh on the bones of history, with a sympathetic account of several people who lived for politics and genuine public service. This book is a defence of politics and of politicians, in the face of what its editors regard as a worrying feature of public life today: the erosion of social capital, and the inability of the party system to adjust to concerns by the electorate that the public good is no longer being served. This book reminds us of how some politicians once got some things right.

… The Worldly Art of Politics is informative and highly readable, for the most part, thanks to some well-known contributors. It reminds us of the extent to which party political success depends on the depth of talent among players on both sides of politics, and of the fact that the most interesting characters on the political stage are likely to be found just right or left or behind those on whom the spotlight usually falls.

Australasian Parliamentary Review, Vol 22(1), Autumn 2006

EXTRACTS

Foreword

by Rodney Cavalier, Committee Chairman, Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government in NSW 1856-2006

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Foreword

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Published 20 October 2006
Publisher The Federation Press
Paperback/288pp
ISBN 9781862876156
Australian RRP $29.95
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ISBN 9781862876149
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1 x Treaty	$27.50
1 x Blackshield and William...	$125.00
1 x Restorative Justice - T...	$126.50
1 x Faces of Hate	$25.00
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Government / Political Studies

NSW Sesquicentenary of Responsible Government