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'Greg Combet has been at the centre of some of the biggest battles of our time—the waterfront dispute, the collapse of an airline, compensation for asbestos victims, the campaign against unfair workplace laws and then climate change. From an isolated childhood on the Minchinbury estate west of Sydney, Combet's world changed dramatically with the early death of his father, a wine-maker.
Facing many challenges, he rose to lead the Australian trade union movement and become a senior minister in the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments. Along the way he has struggled with political ideology, the impact of work on his family and the relentless demands of the parliamentary life.
'The Fights of My Life is the story of a man who faces up to the power structures of politics, big business and the media. He now makes the case that the labour movement's work is far from done—the Labor Party and the trade unions must democratise to engage the next generation of activists to fight the good fight: to achieve a more fair and just Australia.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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“For the Historic Record” : Memoirs, History, and Australian Political Culture
2021
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Politics and History , June vol. 67 no. 2 2021; (p. 312-330)'Genres of written communication do not take place in a vacuum; rather they are fundamentally influenced by historical context and socio-political circumstance. In recent years, the political memoir genre in Australia has moved away from its tradition of personalised narrative towards a more assertive mode of historical representation. Drawing on empirical and oral history research, this article examines recent alterations in the genre as manifest in six political memoirs produced by senior members of the Rudd–Gillard Labor government. I conclude that Australia's embittered and combative political culture has driven changes in the aesthetic and epistemological features of the genre itself. This research demonstrates that the “trust deficit” embedded in contemporary democracies is manifest not only in the daily ephemera of public discourse, but also in long-form modes and genres of political communication.' (Publication abstract)
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Bringing Order to Chaos
2020
single work
essay
— Appears in: Inside Story , June 2020;'What do Labor memoirs reveal about the 2010 leadership change?'
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Australia Is Awash with Political Memoir, but Only Some Will Survive the Flood
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 9 September 2015; -
Destined for the Top - But along Very Different Paths
Two Lives in the Political Spotlight
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16 August 2014; (p. 31) The Canberra Times , 16 August 2014; (p. 20) The Age , 16 August 2014; (p. 35)
— Review of The Fights of My Life 2014 single work autobiography ; Hockey : Not Your Average Joe 2014 single work biography -
What Makes Them Run?
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Inside Story , September 2014;
— Review of Hockey : Not Your Average Joe 2014 single work biography ; The Fights of My Life 2014 single work autobiography ; He Who Must Be Obeid : The Untold Story 2014 single work biography'Three new political biographies reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the genre, writes Brett Evans'
-
Destined for the Top - But along Very Different Paths
Two Lives in the Political Spotlight
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16 August 2014; (p. 31) The Canberra Times , 16 August 2014; (p. 20) The Age , 16 August 2014; (p. 35)
— Review of The Fights of My Life 2014 single work autobiography ; Hockey : Not Your Average Joe 2014 single work biography -
What Makes Them Run?
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: Inside Story , September 2014;
— Review of Hockey : Not Your Average Joe 2014 single work biography ; The Fights of My Life 2014 single work autobiography ; He Who Must Be Obeid : The Untold Story 2014 single work biography'Three new political biographies reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the genre, writes Brett Evans'
-
Australia Is Awash with Political Memoir, but Only Some Will Survive the Flood
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 9 September 2015; -
“For the Historic Record” : Memoirs, History, and Australian Political Culture
2021
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Politics and History , June vol. 67 no. 2 2021; (p. 312-330)'Genres of written communication do not take place in a vacuum; rather they are fundamentally influenced by historical context and socio-political circumstance. In recent years, the political memoir genre in Australia has moved away from its tradition of personalised narrative towards a more assertive mode of historical representation. Drawing on empirical and oral history research, this article examines recent alterations in the genre as manifest in six political memoirs produced by senior members of the Rudd–Gillard Labor government. I conclude that Australia's embittered and combative political culture has driven changes in the aesthetic and epistemological features of the genre itself. This research demonstrates that the “trust deficit” embedded in contemporary democracies is manifest not only in the daily ephemera of public discourse, but also in long-form modes and genres of political communication.' (Publication abstract)
-
Bringing Order to Chaos
2020
single work
essay
— Appears in: Inside Story , June 2020;'What do Labor memoirs reveal about the 2010 leadership change?'