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| Robert Manne | |
|---|---|
| Name | Robert Manne |
| Birth date | 1947 |
| Birth place | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupations | Academic, political commentator, essayist |
| Alma mater | Monash University, La Trobe University, University of Oxford |
| Notable works | "Australian Betrayal", "Good-and-Great Hatred" |
Robert Manne is an Australian scholar, public intellectual, and commentator known for his work on Australian politics, human rights, and Australian history. He has served in academic positions at major institutions and contributed to public debates in outlets such as The Age, The Australian, and Quadrant. Manne is noted for interventions concerning Indigenous Australians, refugee policy, and critiques of figures across the Liberal Party of Australia and the Australian Labor Party.
Manne was born in Melbourne in 1947 and grew up in Victoria (Australia). He studied at Monash University where he encountered debates about John Howard-era policies and Australian intellectual life, later undertaking postgraduate work at La Trobe University and at the University of Oxford. During his formative years he engaged with student politics linked to organisations such as the Australian Student Union and read broadly across texts by Karl Popper, Isaiah Berlin, Hannah Arendt, and Thomas Hobbes which informed his approach to issues also debated by figures like Paul Keating and Gough Whitlam.
Manne held academic posts at La Trobe University and later at Monash University, where he became a prominent professor in disciplines intersecting with public policy and history alongside colleagues from Australian National University and University of Sydney. His teaching and research addressed topics connected to Indigenous Australians, Australian political movements including the One Nation phenomenon, and international affairs involving countries such as Indonesia and institutions like the United Nations. He contributed to scholarly networks that included scholars from Harvard University, Oxford University, and Yale University through conferences and visiting fellowships.
As a commentator, Manne has criticised policy positions of leaders including John Howard, Tony Abbott, and Malcolm Turnbull while often engaging with arguments advanced by figures from the Australian Labor Party and intellectual currents associated with neoliberalism and social democracy. He has written extensively on reconciliation with Aboriginal Australians and critiqued policy responses to asylum seekers involving the Pacific Solution and detention practices tied to Christmas Island. Manne's public interventions have intersected with debates on multiculturalism, the role of media outlets such as The Australian Financial Review and The Guardian Australia, and international controversies involving George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.
Manne's books and essays engage with Australian history and policy, joining a corpus that references works by Henry Reynolds, Patrick Wolfe, and Inga Clendinnen. Major titles include explorations of betrayal and conscience in Australian politics and collections of essays published in forums such as Meanjin and Quadrant. His writing has addressed legal and constitutional matters discussed alongside landmark cases and texts linked to the High Court of Australia, debates over the Australian Constitution, and treatment of refugees in contexts involving Asylum Seekers Resource Centre narratives.
Manne has been a central figure in contentious public disputes with commentators and politicians including contributors to The Australian and activists aligned with Reclaim Australia. His critiques of prominent public intellectuals prompted exchanges with figures associated with Free Speech debates and institutions like Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Manne's positions on Indigenous history have provoked rebuttals from historians and commentators who engage with interpretations advanced by Keith Windschuttle and responses in outlets such as The Monthly and Australian Book Review.
Manne's contributions have been recognised by academic and civic bodies including fellowships and distinctions from organisations connected to Australian Scholarly Publishing networks and honours comparable to awards granted by institutions like Sydney University Press and national councils that celebrate contributions to public life. He has been invited to deliver lectures in venues associated with Australian Broadcasting Corporation forums and at universities such as University of Melbourne and Griffith University.
Category:Australian academics Category:Australian writers