The fog on the hill : how NSW labor lost its way / Frank Sartor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sartor, Frank, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Australian Labor Party. New South Wales Branch.

Australian Labor Party.

Political leadership--Australia--New South Wales.

Political leadership.

New South Wales--Politics and government--21st century.

New South Wales.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (303 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Carlton, Victoria : Melbourne University Press, 2011.

Summary:

The crisis in New South Wales Labor is so deep and has such significant ramifications that we need a massive dose of unadulterated, no-holds-barred honesty. The man who can deliver this honesty is Frank Sartor. An independent outsider who became a Labor minister in 2003, Sartor impressed and irritated insiders and the commentariat in equal measure. As minister for a number of important portfolios in successive Labor Governments, Sartor was perfectly positioned to see the way the Labor machine operated—the factionalism, the deals, the incompetence, the shortsightedness—as it went through four premiers in its last six floundering, backstabbing years. Sartor's thoughtful and acerbic pen skewers the failings and often-risible hubris of politicians. He pulls no punches in ascribing actions to a number of his former colleagues, but not as an exercise in denigrating opponents, but to illustrate the main actors, their mindsets, and the genesis of some of the New South Wales government's major mishaps. The Fog on the Hill is essential reading for anyone interested in the evolving landscape of Australian politics. It will be a ready handbook for political aspirants, public servants and all students of political science. Much more, though, it will fascinate all those who value our democracy and want our country and its governments to succeed.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Introduction

1 The road to state politics

2 The quaint notion of good government

3 How the unions, the party machine and the caucus lost the plot

4 The temporary premiers

5 Treasury's waiting room

6 Politics and political interference in the harbour foreshores

7 Deciding Developments in the public interest

8 Political donations or political poison

9 Making sense of the planning jungle

10 Transport-Our greatest challenge unmet

11 'The Transaction' and its many consequences

12 High electricity prices and the solar bonus scheme

13 The 'Greening' of NSW-An advantage lost

14 Never let the truth get in the way of a good story

15 Why NSW Labor lost so badly

16 The need for real reform

Acknowledgements

Notes.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780522861075

0522861075