SEARCH
Justinian News

Does the NSW Law Society have rules about a solicitor who reposted racist and antisemitic remarks and urged "freedom minded" people to read the "brilliant" Mein Kampf... More >> 

Politics Media Law Society

My Role in Gough's Downfall ... Reporter-at-Large … Scoops that flushed out the deceit behind the Dismissal … Big anniversary chinwag in Canberra on November 11 … The combined forces of Kerr, Ellicott and cousin Garfield … Constitutional manipulation … Maurice Byers to the rescue ... Read more >> 

This area does not yet contain any content.
Free Newsletter
Justinian Columnists

Knit one, purl one ... Iron Lady of legal rectitude endorses Gageler ... The chief justice wants judges on the straight and narrow ... The cardboard cutout model of legislative supremacy ... The evils of judicial activism ... Procrustes on the dance floor with the Legislative-Judicial Foxtrot ... Read more >> 

Blow the whistle

 

News snips ...


 Hard on the heels of Prima Facie comes Inter Alia ... More >>

Justinian's Bloggers

Berlusconi's dream world ... Revenge politics in Italy ... Independence of prosecutors under attack ... Constitutional assault ... The years of lead ... Investigations reopened into old murders ... High drama at Milan's Leoncavallo ... Rome correspondent Silvana Olivetti reports ... Read more >> 

"If we’re only picking people who have got completely lily-white records then we’ll be missing out on a lot of people that can contribute to public life.

NSW Premier Chris Minns, endorsing Mal Lanyon, his pick for Police Commissioner, whose contributions to public life include shouting drunken obscenities at a paramedic who came to his aid, and commandeering a police launch for private entertainment on New Year's eve ... Read more flatulence ... 


Justinian Featurettes

Schmoozing and betrayal ... Judge Water Softener rides into Integrityville mounted high on his horse ... Judicial review of corruption finding ... Intriguing submissions ... Unprecedented assistance to morals monitor ... The scale of the sub-rosa intrigue ... Plenty to think about ... Ginger Snatch reports ... Read more >> 

Justinian's archive

News Desk Special ... Angelic death notices from the bar ... Soapy slips on FOI changes ... Unusual interlocutory costs order for Chris Dale ... Judge ticks off Abbott in letters' page ... Knock About's festive salute to the coppers ... January 19, 2015 ... Read more >> 


 

 

« I (also) Once Met ... Bob Hawke | Main | The "academy" under assault »
Friday
Aug272021

I Once Met ... Bob Hawke

Introducing I Once Met ... Readers' recollections about their encounters with the great, the good and the not-so-good ... First in a series ... Leverhulme has a brusque introduction to Bob Hawke in 1989 

Hawke: no tips from Colin Hayes or Bart Cummings

I had watched him on TV since I was a kid. I had seen him snarl at journalists like Richard Carleton and step in at the last minute to solve industrial disputes. 

I had shuffled awkwardly as he cried over his daughter. I had been up all night with him watching the America's Cup and I had seen him win four fascinating Federal elections.

I had heard stories about his affairs and his friendships with people like Laurie Connell. 

When he was interviewed he was always persuasive and often he answered with searing honesty. I longed for him to lead the Labor Party and when he became Prime Minister I cheered his triumphs - like stopping the Franklin Dam and leading the world against apartheid.

One of my friends, Jimmy Broderick, said he was a nasty piece of work but I defended him and put it down to Jim being a Liberal.

In my opinion, he was the perfect leader. He was my hero; someone I could be proud of.

Then, in 1989, on a grey Saturday afternoon at Elwick races in Hobart I was invited to a small makeshift room under the grandstand. The usual committee room was being revamped.

He marched in with three policeman and went straight to the television set on the wall. He was smaller than I expected. He wore a grey suit and had slightly hunched shoulders. There was an aura but paradoxically there was an unmistakable air of ordinariness.

About a dozen people were in the room. Each was introduced to the Prime Minister and his handshake was firm.

Over the next couple of hours, he barely spoke to us. I realised that for him, this was relaxation. The policemen were dispatched to the betting ring with his wagers. He was transfixed by the interstate races on the wall.

Now and again, he said something to someone. Trying to be interesting I ventured to say, "Prime Minister, you obviously put a lot of work into your bets". He nodded and said "I do". 

I was just a voter, one of that fabled amorphous mass, with which he had a great connection - according to the press. 

"Do you ring-up Colin Hayes and Bart Cummings for tips?"

The response was immediate. "No I fucking don't" he shouted. It was if I had accused him of child murder. "I work them out for my fucking self." He glared at me.

And that was it. I backed away gingerly towards the bar not daring to approach Bob Hawke again. 

Justinian invites contributions to I Once Met ... Email: justinian@lawpress.com.au

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.
Editor Permission Required
You must have editing permission for this entry in order to post comments.