Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
By Peter Edwards, NewSouth, $49.99.
A NSW Supreme Court judge, Robert Marsden Hope (1919–99), is said to have shaped the structures, operations and doctrines of Australia’s intelligence agencies more than any other individual.
Historian and award-winning author of several books on Australia’s defence and foreign policies, policy-making and policy-makers, Edwards says an appraisal is overdue.
There needs to be “an assessment of the enduring legacies of his contribution to environmental conservation policy, both Commonwealth and state levels…” Throwing some light on a number of questions, the book “…will contend that Hope’s contributions to public affairs were greatly influenced by the nature of the private man. There are several paradoxes to be explained”.
Hope’s three inquiries into intelligence and security, which produced 16 substantial reports, occupied roughly a decade of Hope’s life, but they were not his only major contributions to public policy.
Hope became the foundation chair of the New South Wales Heritage Council, a position he held for 15 years, advising governments from both sides of politics.
To comprehend and to assess Hope’s influence on Australian policy, there is a need to understand not only the political and administrative environment within which he conducted his inquiries, but also the influences that shaped his personality and outlook.
Commissioned by three Prime Ministers to conduct major inquiries, including two royal commissions, Justice Hope prescribed the structures, legislation, operational doctrines and national and international arrangements that would ensure Australia had agencies that were effective in countering threats to its security, while also being fully accountable to the government, the law and the parliament.
Robert Marsden Hope left a “substantial legacy not only in the law but more substantially on two major areas of Australian public policy”. His legacy gives credibility and inspires confidence. This book does him justice.
