David Clune, ‘Offered the people economic rainbows’ Jack Lang

Arguably no figure in Australian political history was as divisive as NSW Premier Jack Lang. To admirers, he was the man who stood up to a conspiracy of the British banks to protect poor Australians during the Great Depression. To detractors, he was a man who eschewed the basic principles of economics and morality, and brought Australian democracy to the brink of destruction. Dismissed by the Governor for ordering public servants to directly disobey federal law, he blew up the Labor Party which would spend years trying to stitch itself back together. Joining us to discuss Lang’s remarkable and destructive story is David Clune, author of the Australian Biographical Monograph of Jack Lang.

Dr David Clune OAM was the NSW Parliament’s Historian and is currently an Honorary Associate in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. He has written extensively about NSW politics and history, and is the author of the Australian Biographical Monograph Series entries for Jack Lang, William McKell, and Neville Wran.