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They could be chalk and cheese.
One is a distinguished and influential expert on international relations - calm, softly spoken and highly respected around the world for his considered views.
The other is an angry political brawler and right-wing culture warrior, relegated to fringe obscurity in the NSW upper house after flaming out of mainstream politics and picking up the One Nation baton.
Both have their origins in the Labor Party and both have been in the headlines for very different reasons.
Gareth Evans added his voice to concerns about AUKUS and its implications for Australian sovereignty, joining other Labor luminaries Kim Carr and Bob Carr in questioning the nuclear subs deal. Speaking from experience as foreign minister during the Hawke-Keating years, he warned of the perils of shackling ourselves too closely to the US.
Mark Latham, who's had to quit his upper house seat in order to seek another eight-year term as NSW One Nation leader, found himself at the centre of an ugly confrontation in Sydney when a small group of LGBTQ protesters were set upon by a large mob of counter-protesters.
In an utterly predictable, look-at-me moment, Latham was a keynote speaker at a church forum on religious freedom and parental rights. What followed was an echo of the weekend disturbance in Melbourne, only more violent. It's the kind of thuggery we don't want to see on our streets.
Perhaps the protesters should have ignored the event because by turning up and getting the violent response they did, they've only elevated Latham's agenda, giving it the oxygen it should be denied.
So how did it come to this? Two high-profile Labor alumnis on very different trajectories.
Latham floated to the surface in the wreckage of the post Hawke-Keating years. He narrowly defeated Kim Beazley in the 2003 leadership contest after the resignation of Simon Crean. In 2004, Labor was thoroughly defeated by the Coalition and Latham quit politics the following year.
Then came his memoir The Latham Diaries - an excoriating critique of the ALP brimming with insults and ire and a signal he was turning sharply to the right. He briefly co-hosted the shrill Sky News program Outsiders before being punted for being, well, too shrill. He returned to politics at state level, first with the Liberal Democrats and then One Nation. An angry man in search of a spotlight, mining outrage with a megaphone.
Evans has charted a far more dignified and purposeful course.
Political career over, he became president and CEO of the International Crisis Group. He's served on the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty and the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament. He's written 14 books, been named among the top 100 most influential people in the world, and has held posts at universities. Yet, for many Australians, he's been largely out of sight, until now.
Gareth Evans is a person of whom Australia and the ALP can be proud.
Mark Latham is not.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Has Mark Latham passed his use-by date? What do you think makes him so angry? By raising concerns over AUKUS, have the Labor elders like Keating, Carr and Evans done what the sitting MPs should have? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- A deal has been struck to move ahead with the legislation necessary to set up the referendum on the Voice to Parliament. The opposition has agreed to support the bill in the Senate with amendments, including a physical pamphlet outlining both the "yes" and "no" cases and some funding changes.
- Australians' data and critical infrastructure is under threat from careless e-waste disposal, which could have "catastrophic" consequences for national security, experts say. Thousands of tonnes of phones and other devices from Australian workplaces are disposed of every year, with some ending up shipped overseas, recycled or re-sold, consulting firm PwC said.
- Renters, single parents, women, students, the unemployed and people with a disability are the Australians most at risk of poverty, a new study has found. The Australian Council of Social Service partnered with the University of NSW to examine which groups were at risk of poverty in their lifetimes. The study found the depth of poverty experienced by Australians on income support payments was severe.
THEY SAID IT: "What we have to do ... is to find a way to celebrate our diversity and debate our differences without fracturing our communities." - Hillary Clinton
YOU SAID IT: Annoyances and irritations which ought to be the subject of arrest warrants.
R. Pryor says: "I'd like to issue an arrest warrant to those perhaps well-meaning checkout operators who ask, 'So, how's your day been?' when I've only just crawled out of bed and discovered there's no milk in the fridge."
Diane has a couple of gripes: "Child-proof lids on arthritis medicines! No chance of getting it off. Likewise, the dishwashing powder that says, 'Just press down and turn.' Buckley's chance again! As for Trump and the orange jumpsuit clashing ... isn't he more rust than orange?"
Heather says: "Spare the wattlebirds, but not the rest! The conditioner and shampoo are huge offenders. Add to the label rant the 'adult-proof lids', even on some wine bottles these days. So hard to open with the arthritic hands."
Garry wants more facts, less description: "I hate it when they say in the media this person is an Indigenous footballer. No, he's a footballer. Simple. A XXX footballer was involved in a brawl at the pub. No! Simply name the person, not identify him/her by the sport they play. A Muslim man did this. No a man did this or a woman did that. A female driver etc. No, just the name will do. Next it will be an LBTQI driver was involved in an accident. Or the car was driven by a heterosexual person with a vagina who was also operating a mobile phone at the time. Simply cut the bullcrap and report the facts, no race blaming and no sport shaming, as if the sport is the reason for their problem."
Stephanie's issuing three warrants: "People who can't differentiate between 'there', 'their' and 'they're' and when to use them. Drivers who stop at a roundabout when there are no cars on the roundabout or anywhere near it. And people who say the word 'yous' as in 'yous two'. It isn't a word! However, I have found a solution to the shampoo/conditioner problem. My hairdresser put me on to 'leave-in' conditioner which you apply to towel dry hair so you don't have two bottles in the shower. Keep up the great work, reading The Echidna while enjoying my first cup of coffee is one of life's pleasures!"
Defensive driving instructor Roger agrees tailgaters should be apprehended: "Apart from the dangerous glare from the headlights, don't they know anything about 'reaction distance'?"
Deborah says: "I would issue an arrest warrant for the inventor of the hoodie. It has enabled both major and minor crooks to commit crimes without the discomfort of wearing a balaclava or stocking over their heads. And it's almost impossible to buy a light jacket or coat that doesn't have a useless lump of fabric dangling off the back."