{"product_id":"dick-hamer-the-liberal-liberal-9781925321067","title":"Dick Hamer: the liberal Liberal","description":"He was the reformer who made Victoria a leader in social equality,  the  arts, and the environment. He and his government built the  underground  rail loop, decriminalised homosexuality, abolished  capital punishment,  and outlawed sexual discrimination in the  workplace.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe was the reformer who made Victoria a leader in social equality,  the arts, and the environment. He and his government built the  underground rail loop, decriminalised homosexuality, abolished  capital punishment, and outlawed sexual discrimination in the  workplace.\u003cbr\u003e Hamer and his team ended the demolition of the inner suburbs,  preserved the best of the state's buildings and landscapes, and set  aside large areas of diverse ecosystems as national parks. They gave  Melbourne key infrastructure such as the West Gate Bridge and the  Thomson Dam, extended the city's tramlines for the first time in half a  century, and built art galleries, libraries, and theatres all over the  state.\u003cbr\u003e Yet Dick Hamer was a Liberal: a Toorak boy educated at Victoria's  best schools, who served for years under the conservative Sir Henry  Bolte before taking the reins himself and making the Liberal Party a  spearhead of reform from 1972 to 1981.\u003cbr\u003e Hamer was a different kind of politician. He was intelligent,  fair-minded, courteous, and hard-working, and governed with the longterm  interests of his people in mind. He never tried to manufacture issues  or direct debates for short-term political gain.\u003cbr\u003e Victorians recognised this, and elected him three times in a row  as their premier - the last Liberal premier in Australia to have  achieved this feat. He stands as the exemplar of important qualities in  the Liberal tradition. \u003ci\u003eDick Hamer: the liberal Liberal\u003c\/i\u003e is the  first biography to be written of this remarkable man, who so embodied a  quality now lacking in our public life: integrity.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Tim Colebatch","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43516767633469,"sku":null,"price":33.25,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/7689\/2989\/files\/9781925321067.jpg?v=1787572463","url":"https:\/\/www.palmleaf.com.au\/products\/dick-hamer-the-liberal-liberal-9781925321067","provider":"Palmleaf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}