Don Aitkin

Don Aitkin, historian and political scientist, was the Foundation Chair of the Australian Research Council, a member of the Australian Science and Technology Council, and a member and later chair of the Multi-disciplinary Assessment Committee of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, as well as a consultant to other Canadian research organisations. He is a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra, and his books include What Was It All For? The Reshaping of Australia (2005).

Don Aitkin reviews 'Leadership And The Liberal Revival: Bolte, Askin and the post-war ascendancy' by Norman Abjorensen

July–August 2008, no. 303 • 01 July 2008

Henry Bolte and Bob Askin were the ‘big men’ of state politics in the 1960s, when I was a young political scientist. Bolte I never met, and Askin I met only once, but I knew the latter’s deputy premier, Charlie Cutler, quite well. I grew up in northern New South Wales and throughout my life, it seemed, we had only ever had Labor governments. The premiers cycled by with an air of inevitable s ... (read more)

Don Aitkin reviews 'Groundswell: The rise of the Greens' by Amanda Lohrey

April 2003, no. 250 • 01 April 2003

First, a small tribute to Peter Craven and his colleagues for the establishment of Quarterly Essay (of which the above is the eighth issue). It is such a good idea that one wonders why it is such a recent innovation. A 20,000-word essay on an important contemporary issue, followed, in later issues, by responses to that essay, enable one to get one’s teeth into a matter of moment while it is stil ... (read more)

Don Aitkin reviews 'A Short Introduction to Climate Change' by Tony Eggleton

November 2012, no. 346 • 25 October 2012

Wikipedia lists fifty-three books that are currently available on the subject of climate change, and this new book will make fifty-four. Such books fall into one of two groups: they either support the orthodoxy or dissent from it. Tony Eggleton’s book is one that supports it. It is well written, clear in its argument, quite even-handed, and comprehensive. I enjoyed reading it, even though I have ... (read more)