The Bear Pit: A Life in Politics

In the 1981 NSW election the Liberal Party won only one seat back from Neville Wran's ALP: Willoughby, won by 34 year old Peter Collins. Five years later Peter was deputy leader of the Liberals and in 1988 the newly elected Premier, Nick Greiner, handed him the Health portfolio, one of the toughest assignments in state politics. The Bear Pit is Peter Collins' story - his rapid elevation to deputy leadership, his role in the parliament long known as 'the bear pit', his battles as a cabinet minister, the defamation case which nearly brought him to financial ruin, the dark days of Opposition, his betrayal by colleagues who staged an eleventh-hour coup in a powerplay as breathtaking as it was suicidal. Under a new leader, the party for which he had worked for a quarter of a century went on to suffer the greatest defeat since its creation five decades before. The Bear Pit tells this story from the inside, revealing much about how politics is played out by the people we elect. But it's not all about politics. It's about growing up in half a dozen places in the country and Sydney's suburbs, about student days during the Vietnam War and days as a TV journalist in the Whitlam era. It's about lifelong passions - for the performing and visual arts, for public service, for Australia's history. It's about family and friends. And enemies, covert and overt. Being rejected at the State election, being kneecapped by Labor, being the daily target of interest groups, were risks I always knew I was running - but a suicidal last minute coup defied all political logic. No one would fall for that, I thought. But in politics you learn something new every day. Unlike Labor, which has nurtured (and used) its history, the Liberals and their coalition partners have chosen to ignore their past and to take for granted their successes. The Bear Pit is a rare contribution to the non-Labor story. No other state Liberal has written so frankly about life in politics or the inner workings of non-Labor politics. Here is public life as our representatives live it. With twelve years in either ministerial or leadership roles, I was driven to work each day knowing that I could end up catching the bus home. Roman generals had slaves walk behind them on their victory parades reminding them that, whatever their conquests, they were mere mortals. We have morning newspapers. At the heart of the life set out in The Bear Pit is a choice which led to work which dealt with the big issues and made a difference to his community. At a price: two broken marriages, and betrayal. Peter Collins acknowledges the dark side of politics, the failures as well as the successes, the bad fait

Table of Contents:
Preface Abbreviations 1. Growing up to a Newer World 2. University Days 3. Soldier, Sailor 4. Television Journalist 5. Liberal Staffer 6. Into the Bear Pit 7. Opposition Frontbencher 8. In Government at Last 9. Year of Disaster 10. 'Nothing Personal, It's Politics' 11. Minister for Arts 12. Treasurer 13. Leader of the Opposition 14. Preparing for Government 15. The Assassins Strike Index

About the Author :
Peter Collins was born in Lismore and educated in New South Wales and Queensland schools. Before graduating from Sydney University he worked for the Liberal Party; after graduation as an ABC TV reporter and a barrister. He has always maintained an active interest in the defence forces: he holds the rank of Commander in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve, and Honorary Colonel in the Army's elite 1 Commando Regiment in which he earlier served as Lieutenant. His other great interest is the arts: he was the first chairman of the Brett Whitely Foundation and is an active supporter of many film, art and theatre organisations. Peter has four sons: Ben, David, John and Peter.