Afternoon Light

Summer Series 2023-4 Part 4: Andrew Norton, Ted Ling & Michael de Percy

In this special summer series of the Afternoon Light podcast you can enjoy the presentations delivered at our November 2023 conference entitled ‘The Menzies Ascendency: Implementing a Liberal Agenda and Consolidating Gains 1954-1961’. This fourth episode features Andrew Norton’s paper ‘Menzies and Higher Education’, Ted Ling’s paper ‘Robert Menzies, Canberra’s Apostle’ (begins 23:35), and Michael de Percy’s paper ‘Australia in the Atomic Age: Menzies’s legacy and nuclear’s unrealised potential’ (begins 46:05).
Professor Andrew Norton is Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy at the Centre for Social Research and Methods at the Australian National University. He was previously the Higher Education Program Director at the Grattan Institute. In the late 1990s he was higher education adviser to the then Minister for Education, Dr David Kemp.
Dr Ted Ling is a former employee of the National Archives of Australia and the National Library of Australia. He has a personal interest in the former National Capital Development Commission established by the Menzies government in late 1957 to coordinate Canberra’s expansion and development. Ted is the author of the research guides on Government Records about the Australian Capital Territory, published in 2013 and the records relating to former Prime Minister Robert Menzies, published in 2021. Ted also has a PhD in Northern Territory history from Charles Darwin University in 2010.
Dr Michael de Percy FRSA FCILT is Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Canberra. His qualifications include a PhD in Political Science from the Australian National University, a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) from the University of Canberra, and a Bachelor of Arts from Deakin University. He is a graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, where he received the Royal Australian Artillery prize. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and Vice-Chair of the ACT and Southern NSW Chapter, Vice President of the Telecommunications Association (TelSoc - Australia's oldest learned society), Public Policy Editor of the Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, and a member of the Australian Nuclear Association. He was appointed to the Australian Research Council's College of Experts in 2022.

Summer Series 2023-4 Part 3: Bob Bowker, Sean Jacobs & Elizabeth Buchanan

In this special summer series of the Afternoon Light podcast you can enjoy the presentations delivered at our November 2023 conference entitled ‘The Menzies Ascendency: Implementing a Liberal Agenda and Consolidating Gains 1954-1961’. This third episode features Bob Bowker’s paper ‘Menzies, Eisenhower and Suez’, Sean Jacob’s paper ‘Skilful handling: Menzies and the West New Guinea dispute’ (begins 29:25), and Elizabeth Buchanan’s paper ‘Menzies and the Antarctic Treaty’ (begins 42:44).
Dr Bob Bowker is the author of Australia, Menzies and Suez: Australian Policymaking on the Middle East Before, During and After the Suez Crisis. He is also the co-editor, with Matthew Jordan, of Australia and the Suez Crisis 1950-1957, an edited volume of 449 official documents outlining the Australian approach to and role in the crisis. Bob is a specialist on the Middle East and Islamic issues and a former Adjunct Professor of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at ANU. Prior to this, he served with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, undertaking five postings in the Middle East, including as Australian Ambassador to Jordan (1989-92) and as Australian Ambassador to Egypt (2005-08).
Sean Jacobs is a Port Moresby-born Australian writer, government relations and policy specialist. He has worked with all levels of government in PNG, Fiji, New Zealand and Australia. He currently works in local government in Australia. Sean is the author of three books, and has published with the Diplomatic Courier, International Affairs Review, Small Wars Journal, The Spectator and the Australian Institute of International Affairs. He is a graduate of Griffith and Macquarie Universities.
Dr Elizabeth Buchanan is a 1st Sea Lord (1SL) Five Eyes Fellow for the Royal Navy. She is a Non-resident Fellow of the Modern War Institute at West Point Military Academy and an Adjunct Fellow of the Griffith Asia Institute. Dr Buchanan was a Lecturer of Strategic Studies with Deakin University at the Australian War College, Canberra. Her research interests include Arctic and Antarctic geopolitics, and her PhD thesis examined Russian Arctic strategy.

Summer Series 2023-4 Part 2: David Lee, Selwyn Cornish, & Paul Brown

In this special summer series of the Afternoon Light podcast you can enjoy the presentations delivered at our November 2023 conference entitled ‘The Menzies Ascendency: Implementing a Liberal Agenda and Consolidating Gains 1954-1961’. This second episode features David Lee’s paper ‘The Menzies Government and the Origins of Australia’s Open Economy, 1956-61’, Selwyn Cornish’s paper ‘RG Menzies and the Creation of the Reserve Bank of Australia’ (begins 16:44), and Paul Brown’s paper on ‘Alick Downer’s Immigration Program’ (begins 44:02).
David Lee is Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Canberra. He is the author inter alia of John Curtin, Connor Court, 2022 and The Second Rush: Mining and the Transformation of Australia, Connor Court, 2016.
Selwyn Cornish is Honorary Associate Professor in the Research School of Economics at the Australian National University, and the Official Historian of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Dr Paul Brown is a published author awarded a Bachelor of Arts (History Honours) at the University of NSW for a thesis on the Balfour Declaration and Palestine 1917 and a Doctorate from the University of Wollongong for his study of Alexander Downer’s Formative Family Policy Influences. He has also contributed to various publications including the chapter ‘The Progressive Conservatism of Alexander Downer’ in Greg Melleuish’s study Liberalism and Conservatism. He has also given papers at history conferences.

Summer Series 2023-4 Part 1: Paul Kelly, Anne Henderson, & Paul Strangio

In this special summer series of the Afternoon Light podcast you can enjoy the presentations delivered at our November 2023 conference entitled ‘The Menzies Ascendency: Implementing a Liberal Agenda and Consolidating Gains 1954-1961’. This first episode features the keynote address delivered by Paul Kelly, Anne Henderson’s paper on ‘Menzies, Evatt, and the Labor Split’ (begins at 21:55), and Paul Strangio’s paper on ‘The Labor split in Victoria: The bedrock of Menzies’s ascendancy’ (begins at 38:47).
Paul Kelly is The Australian newspaper’s Editor at Large. He is the author of nine books on Australian politics and history including the influential The End of Certainty: Power, Politics and Business in Australia (1992) and Triumph & Demise: The Broken Promise of a Labor Generation (2014), his account of the Rudd–Gillard era. He co-wrote The Dismissal: In the Queen's name (2015) with Troy Bramston.
Anne Henderson AM is the Deputy Director of the Sydney Institute. She is a prolific and respected author, having published books on Enid Lyons, Joseph Lyons, Mary Mackillop, Patrick Glynn and more. In 2014 she published Menzies at War, a detailed account of Menzies’s years in the political wilderness between his two stints as prime minister, which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for History. Earlier this year, she published Menzies Versus Evatt: The Great Rivalry of Australian Politics.
Professor Paul Strangio is an Emeritus Professor of politics in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. A political historian, he is the author and editor of twelve books on Australian politics. His specialist areas of research are political leadership and political parties. Paul has also been a longtime commentator on Australian and Victorian politics in both the print and electronic media.

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.

Ross Walker, ‘But you’re Prime Minister Harold’ Holt before Cheviot

Harold Holt is best remembered for his disappearance off Cheviot beach on 17 December 1967 – which has been the subject of conspiracy theories, documentaries, a docudrama, and these days even a meme page. Lost under all this sensationalism is that fact that he was a remarkable figure in Australian politics for many decades before the incident. A protege of Robert Menzies but a moderniser in his own right, he left an enduring legacy across the arts, Australia-US relations, and as the prime minister who delivered the 1967 referendum. Joining us to discuss Holt’s life and career is biographer Ross Walker, author of Harold Holt: Always One Step Further.
Ross Walker was for many years a high-school teacher of English and English Literature, about which he has published several books and many articles. He has a doctorate in American literature, and specialised knowledge of Australian and American politics, especially during the 1960s.

James Franklin, ‘A heterogeneous society’ Arthur Calwell’s impact on Australia

Although he came awfully close to winning the 1961 election, Arthur Calwell is generally remembered as one of the least successful Opposition Leaders of all time. He shares a distinction with H.V. Evatt in having lost three separate elections, and is often viewed as the last embodiment of old-style Labor politics before Gough Whitlam’s modernisation of the party. However, this depiction overlooks a significant contribution to the Australian nation, most notably as the first Minister for Immigration. While remaining a staunch supporter of White Australia, Calwell oversaw the inauguration of the great post war migration boom that laid the basis for our modern multicultural nation. Joining us to discuss Calwell’s life and contribution is James Franklin, co-author of a new entry in the Australian Biographical Monographs series.
Want to learn more? Read our Book of the Week entry for Calwell’s memoir Be Just and Fear Not.
James Franklin is an Honorary Professor at UNSW, and the co-author of the new Australian Biographical Monograph on Labor Leader Arthur Calwell. He is an expert in the philosophy of mathematics and Australian Catholic history. James’s previous books include Corrupting the Youth: A History of Philosophy in Australia, The Real Archbishop Mannix (with Gerry O Nolan), and Catholic Thought and Catholic Action. He is also the editor of the Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society.

Robert Porter, ‘Making a contribution to Australia’s National Development’ Rio Tinto in Australia

The Australian economy has long been reliant on the mining industry, so it is easy to forget that we once thought that our iron ore was a scarce resource which needed to be hoarded. It was only during the latter part of the Menzies era that pioneering businessmen realised that Australia had vast resources which could enrich both themselves and the nation. Originally entering the Australian market to source uranium for the British atomic program, Rio Tinto would seize the opportunities available to it to become an icon of the Australian stock exchange. Joining us to discuss the history of Rio Tinto and its impact on the nation is Robert Porter, author of the new book Rio Tinto in Australia.
Want to learn more? Read our On This Day on Menzies’s Mining Boom.
Dr Robert Porter worked in the corporate sector, including in resource companies and now researches and writes business histories. His publications include: Paul Hasluck. A Political Biography; Below the Sands. The Companies that Formed Iluka Resources; Consolidated Gold Fields in Australia, the Rise and Decline of a British Mining House, 1926-1998; The Path to Palladium. Most recently, he authored Rio Tinto in Australia: The Origins and Formation of an International Resources Company 1954 – 1995. He lives in Melbourne.

Dashiel Lawrence, ‘A profound connection’ A historical perspective of Australia-Israel Relations

The horrific events of 7 October and the conflict that has since arisen have exposed deep divisions in Australian society. At a time when attitudes towards the state of Israel are the subject of fierce and often bitter debate, it is worth taking a moment to step back and reflect on how Australia’s relationship with Israel has evolved over the years. It is often forgotten that Australia played a central role in the creation of a Jewish state in the aftermath of World War Two, while Robert Menzies positioned himself firmly on the side of Israel during the Suez Crisis. It is only since the 1970s that this once strong bipartisan support has come into question. Joining us to discuss these complex issues is Dr Dashiel Lawrence, author of Australia and Israel: A Diasporic, Political and Cultural Relationship.

Brett Mason, ‘Like a spider in a web’ The Aussie who rescued JFK

President Kennedy famously met a tragic and untimely end. Yet, if it were not for a little-known Australian named Reg Evans, a young Lieutenant Kennedy may well have met an earlier and largely anonymous fate. Hear the fascinating story of an 80 year old rescue mission that forever changed both American politics and world history. And discover how this fateful moment acted as a snapshot of the burgeoning relationship between Australia and the United States. Joining us this week is Brett Mason, author of the new book Saving Lieutenant Kennedy: The heroic story of the Australian who helped rescue JFK.
Want to learn more? Read our Book of the Week article on Kennedy’s To Turn the Tide.
Brett Mason is Chair of the Council of the National Library of Australia and Adjunct Professor in Law at the Queensland University of Technology. He was formerly Australia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. From 1999 to 2015 he was Senator for Queensland and served in the Howard and Abbott ministries. His most recent books are Wizards of Oz: How Oliphant and Florey helped win the war and shape the modern world, and now Saving Lieutenant Kennedy: The heroic story of the Australian who helped rescue JFK.