Law, Politics and Intelligence A Life of Robert Hope

Robert Marsden Hope (1919–99), a NSW Supreme Court judge, shaped the structures, operations, and doctrines of Australia’s intelligence agencies more than any other individual. 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. Not just a biography on Hope, Law, Politics and Intelligence also makes an important contribution to the history of Australia’s environmental policies, adds significantly to the debate on judges acting as Royal Commissioners, and contains new insights into the appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges, as well as the dismissal of the Whitlam Government. This landmark biography is a groundbreaking account of the life and times of a man who shaped the way our intelligence agencies have operated for four decades.

Peter Edwards is the award-winning author of several books on Australia’s defence and foreign policies, policy-making, and policy-makers. He was Official Historian and general editor of the nine-volume Official History of Australia’s Involvment in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975, including Australia and the Vietnam War (UNSW Press 2014). He is author of the acclaimed biography of the influential public servant Sir Arthur Tange, Last of the Mandarins. He is a Member of the Order of Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, and a former trustee of the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.