Anti-Communism, the Labor Party Split, the Rise of the DLP and Catholic Tribalism: Remembering B.A. Santamaria, with Gerard Henderson

The Political Animals

Author and political commentator Gerard Henderson joins Jonathan for a conversation about B.A. Santamaria and the seminal political moments in Australia history that he was involved in. Drawing on his personal recollections of knowing and working with Santamaria, as well as the three books he has written on this "most unusual man," Gerard tells the story of communist influence in the trade union movement and Santamaria's efforts to combat it through "The Movement," the Labor Party split and Labor Party leader Bert Evatt's efforts to lay the blame at the feet of Santamaria and Victoria's catholics, the creation of the Democratic Labor Party, as well as the role of Archbishop Daniel Mannix and Santamaria as tribal Catholic leaders in an age of anti-Catholic sectarianism.

Gerard Henderson is an author, columnist and political commentator. He is Executive Director of The Sydney Institute, a privately funded Australian current affairs forum, and author of Santamaria: A Most Unusual Man.

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.

Jonathan posts regularly about political theology, political philosophy and conservatism on Facebook and Twitter.