Robert Marsden Hope (1919-99), a NSW Supreme Court judge, shaped the
structures, operations, and doctrines of Australia's intelligence
agencies more than any other individual. Commissioned by three Prime
Ministers to conduct major inquiries, including two royal commissions,
Justice Hope prescribed the structures, legislation, operational
doctrines, and national and international arrangements that would ensure
Australia had agencies that were effective in countering threats to its
security, while also being fully accountable to the government, the law,
and the parliament. Not just a biography on Hope, Law, Politics and
Intelligence also makes an important contribution to the history of
Australia's environmental policies, adds significantly to the debate on
judges acting as Royal Commissioners, and contains new insights into the
appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges, as well as the
dismissal of the Whitlam Government. This landmark biography is a
groundbreaking account of the life and times of a man who shaped the way
our intelligence agencies have operated for four decades.
