Keith Mason: ‘A Spectacular Series of Failures’ The Egon Kisch Affair

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer speaks to Keith Mason QC AC to discuss the Egon Kisch and Novak Djokovic cases.

Australia has a long history of trying to keep out people and viewpoints deemed ‘undesirable’. The recent saga with Novak Djokovic is just the latest in a series of attempts by Australian Governments to exclude high profile figures that stretch back into the early decades of the 20th century, and it is far from the only one to end in farce. Robert Menzies had his own experience of getting egg on his face endeavouring to block the entry of Egon Kisch when he was a Minister in the Lyons Government.

Kisch was a Czech Jew who came to Australia in 1934 to speak out against fascism. He was also a communist, and the Australian Government wanted to keep him out for fear that he would preach a Marxist gospel. The task of achieving this outcome fell to Robert Menzies, who had only recently entered the Federal Parliament but who nevertheless had been elevated to Attorney General because of his legal prowess. That prowess would be poorly displayed, as the Government bungled its repeated attempts to block then deport Kisch, succeeding only in giving him a higher profile.

Keith Mason AC QC is a former President of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, the highest civil court in the State of New South Wales. He has served as Chairman of the New South Wales Electoral Commission, a visiting professorial fellow at the University of New South Wales, and the chancellor of the Anglican diocese of Armidale. He has published widely on legal topics including judicial method, legal taxonomy, the law of restitution, and the interface of law, morality and religion.