I was inspired to study economics at University after listening to Bob Hawke and Paul Keating talk about the need to transform and internationalise the Australian economy. I then saw the devasting impact of policy failures as a newly minted graduate during the early 1990s ‘recession we had to have’. I used my qualifications and interests to embark on a career as a policy adviser to various Australian governments. Over the years I’ve seen how views about reform in the 1980s and 1990s have become more polarised between those who look back fondly on this period as the ‘Great Reform Era’ involving extensive beneficial policy changes in the national interest, and those who see this period as a series of (mostly) failed policy experiment that have contributed to some of society’s present ills.  

I decided to pursue a PhD to provide the resources, structures and supports to enable me to pursue my research interests in Australian economic history, and particularly policy making since the 1980s and 1990s.  

COVID-19 and home schooling! And having the time to immerse myself in an area of policy and history that I find fascinating.  

Can I say COVID again? An unexpected bonus – for want of a better phrase – is being an interested observer of the growing debate about how Australia should respond to the present global economic crisis caused, and seeing how people refer to the experience of the 1980s and 1990s in a positive or negative light. 

Contemporary history is usually taken to mean recent history but it begs the question, what is recent? Is it the post-war period, or some more recent (shorter period)? Who decides the cut-off points? I think it could also apply to how people use or interpret history in the context of contemporary issues and events. A relevant example is how some people draw on the experiences of the reform in the 1980s and 90s to argue for or against policies to assist recover from the present economic crisis.

Paul Kelly’s The End of Certainty, The Cambridge Economic History of Australia, Ian McLean’s Why Australia Prospered, and just about any one of Peter Carey’s books.  

An economist – Ross Garnaut (an academic and one-time adviser to Bob Hawke); a journalist such as Paul Kelly or Laura Tingle; and a political scientist/historian such as Judith Brett or Stuart Macintyre.  

Given the uncertainty at present it is hard to say but the most logical thing for me is to return to policy advising, refreshed, reinvigorated and with a bunch of policy ideas. 

Walking and planning travel, spending time with family and friends (when allowed).  

Wine making!  

After years of working to the clock and in an office environment I think its fair to say I’m still finding my writing mojo. I’ve struggled at times to put the proverbial pen to paper. I’ve tried writing plans, setting goals, scheduling, pomodoros, and a bunch of other things. I find working at home hard, as I’m sure it is for many others, although strangely reading is less of a problem. There are just too many distractions – home projects, the kitchen, a young child who wants to play, neighbours who want to chat and so on. I think I need a routine and a quiet place to work away from home. While COVID limits the options, I’ll just have to remember not to put too much pressure on myself and continue to adapt to the new normal.