A History of Conservatism in Australia, with Prof Greg Melleuish

The Political Animals

In this episode, Jonathan is joined by Prof Greg Melleuish for a conversation about conservatism in Australia. They explore the dominant liberal tradition in Australian history and the place of conservatism in that tradition, the reasons why the language of conservatism emerges late in Australian political history, the general conservative nature of Australian settler culture, the evolution of the Liberal Party of Australia into a party with liberal and conservative wings and the recent influence of American conservatism on the developing conservative movement in Australia.

Greg Melleuish is Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry at the University of Wollongong, where he teaches Australian politics. He has written widely on Australian political thought and is the author of Cultural Liberalism in Australia, Despotic State or Free Individual and (with Dr Stephen Chavura) The Forgotten Menzies.

The Political Animals is hosted by Dr Jonathan Cole, an academic, writer, speaker and translator specialising in political theology: the intersection of religion and politics. Jonathan was a senior terrorism analyst at Australian intelligence agency the Office of National Assessments where he worked on Islamist terrorism and the global jihadist movement. He is the author of The Reign of God: A Critical Engagement with Oliver O'Donovan's Theology of Political Authority and Christian Political Theology in an Age of Discontent: Mediating Scripture, Doctrine, and Political Reality.

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