Alan Ramsey

Alan Ramsey (born 3 January 1938) is an Australian columnist and writer for "The Sydney Morning Herald". He first started working in journalism in 1953, for Frank Packer who then owned the Sydney daily, the Daily Telegraph. Ramsey was correspondent with first contingent of Australian combat troops to Vietnam 1965, the speechwriter for Australian Labor Party leader Bill Hayden until 1983 and is the oldest serving member of the Canberra Press Gallery. [http://www.whitlam.org/people/ramsey_alan.html]

He was recorded as "a Voice from Above" by Parliamentary Hansard on the 8th March, 1971, when he interjected with the words "You liar" from the Press Gallery as the Prime Minister, John Gorton, was speaking. Gorton was asserting Ramsey had said something to him; Ramsey obviously disagreed about the way he was being quoted. The former Labor Leader Arthur Calwell urged Gorton to "deal with the animal" (sic). Nothing happened, it appears Ramsey was completely accurate.Fact|date=July 2007

Ramsey was accused of "cutting and pasting his way to media infamy" by a Labor MP Michael Danby who calculated that 85% of his published works over the four years 2000-2004 were transcripts or extracts from other sources. The MP tabled the articles in question and urged members of the public to obtain them from the House of Representatives Table Office to satisfy themselves of his claim that he was Alan "Scissorhands" Ramsey [http://www.danbymp.com/index.php?article=114] . 'Scissorhands' is a reference to the movie Edward Scissorhands, centred on a fictional character whose hands were composed of large scissors. Ramsey has defended his "lazy journalism" from other critics like Paddy McGuiness who wrote of him:

"The decline of once great figures who do not withdraw themselves from the scene when they should is often the stuff of tragedy, no less in journalism than in other pursuits. What used to be a sharp political intelligence turns into pure curmudgeonly, analysis."

He acknowledged his most professionally embarrassing moment was when he said that Paul Keating did not have a "dog's chance" of winning the 1993 election, which Keating won convincingly.

He is a member of the board of the Whitlam Institute. He is married to another journalist from the Fairfax stable, Laura Tingle, and is considering retirement.

External links

* [http://www.danbymp.com/index.php?article=114 Federal Parliamentary Speech on Ramsey] .
* [http://www.abc.net.au/sundayprofile/stories/s1523151.htm Interview on the ABC with Ramsey]
* [http://www.whitlam.org/people/ramsey_alan.html Whitlam Institute's Ramsey Biographical Details]