Robert Manne is professor of politics at La Trobe University and a regular commentator with the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC radio and television. His most recent books include Goodbye to All That?: On the Failure of Neo-liberalism and the Urgency of Change, Left, Right, Left: Political Essays 1977–2005, Dear Mr Rudd: Ideas for a Better Australia (ed.) and W.E.H. Stanner: The Dreaming and Other Essays (ed.)