Greg Barns
Greg Barns is an Australian barrister, author, political commentator and former political candidate based in Hobart, Tasmania.
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[edit] Political career
Barns was an adviser to New South Wales premier Nick Greiner (1988–1991), his successor and later Federal Minister for Finance, John Fahey (1991–1996), and the Howard government.
In 2002, Barns was disendorsed as the Liberal candidate for the Tasmanian seat of Denison in 2002, due to his criticism of the Howard government's asylum-seeker policies. Blaming John Howard, Barns said, "Dissent within the party is just not tolerated."[1]
Criticising the Liberal Party, Barns said, "The weakness of the liberal wing of the party and in particular supposedly liberal ministers like Robert Hill, for example, or (former attorney-general) Daryl Williams, a range of them who thought of themselves as being liberals who have been prepared to go along for the ride".[1]
He later joined the Australian Democrats for around two years.
[edit] Republican
Barns was the political campaign director of the Australian Republican Movement's 1999 referendum campaign and he succeeded Malcolm Turnbull as ARM chair in 2000.
[edit] Author and columnist
Barns is the author of What’s Wrong with the Liberal Party? (2003) and Selling the Australian Government: Politics and Propaganda from Whitlam to Howard (2005). More frequent contributions appear in Online Opinion, Crikey and the Hobart Mercury on issues pertaining to sport, law and politics (including the Australian federal election in 2007).
[edit] Prison reform
Barns is a spokesperson for the Prison Action and Reform Group Inc which is an independent coalition of individuals formed in response to community concerns awakened by the deaths of five people in Tasmanian prison institutions between August 1999 and January 2000. Prison Action and Reform aims to provide a forum to advocate on behalf of a silenced group (prisoners); for the improvement of existing conditions within the Tasmanian Corrections System; and for the development of a corrections system that is appropriate for Tasmania, complies with all applicable domestic and international human rights laws and accords with world best practice and benchmarks.
[edit] Sources
- http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/author.asp?id=84
- http://www.tasmanianbar.com.au/barristers/gregbarns.html
- http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/14/2302577.htm
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Being John Howard". The Age. 21 August 2004. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/20/1092972752909.html. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
