Colin Victor James Mason (28 October 1926 – 18 July 2020) was a New Zealand-born Australian journalist, author and politician. Mason worked for 14 years as the first foreign correspondent of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

and became deeply involved in Asian affairs. In 1968, he wrote ''Dragon Army'', a popular history of Asian communism. He joined the

Australia Party The Australia Party was a minor political party established initially in 1966 as the Liberal Reform Group. As the Australia Party, it became influential, particularly in the landmark 1972 federal election when its preferences assisted the Austr ...

and rose to become its national convener (1976). He joined the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australia ...

and was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

at the 1977 election as a senator for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He and

Don Chipp Donald Leslie Chipp, AO (21 August 192528 August 2006) was an Australian politician who was the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats, leading the party from 1977 to 1986. He began his career as a member of the Liberal Party, winning el ...

(

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

) were the first two

elected to the Senate, although

Janine Haines Janine Winton Haines, AM (née Carter; 8 May 1945 – 20 November 2004) was an Australian politician who was a Senator for South Australia from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1981 to 1990. She represented the Australian Democrats, and served as t ...

(

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

) had earlier been appointed to a

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

. He was re-elected at the 1983 double-dissolution election for a three-year term, and again at the 1984 election for a three-year term ending on 30 June 1988. He retired in 1987 when another double-dissolution election was called. He later wrote ''A Short History of Asia'' (2000), concerning imperialism and the modern history of many individual countries in Asia. In 2003, Mason released ''The 2030 Spike: Countdown to Global Catastrophe'', in which he describes a confluence of six 'drivers' that he argues will converge in the decade of 2030: depleted fuel supplies, massive population growth, poverty, global climate change, famine, growing water shortages and international lawlessness. He describes more than 100 steps to be taken to mitigate this convergence, including a form of world government. In 2006 he released a revised edition, ''A Short History Of The Future: Surviving the 2030 Spike'' A copy of ''The 2030 Spike'' was found among 39 English-language books in the compound where

Osama bin Laden Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...

was killed. Mason died in July 2020.

Bibliography

* 1965. ''Dragon Army: The Pattern of Communist Expansion Through Asia.'', Horwitz Publications * 1968. ''Man in Asia'', Southern Cross International * 1977. ''The View from Peking: An Account of the Chinese People Today'', Angus & Robertson, * 2000. ''A Short History of Asia: Stone Age to 2000 AD'',

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

, * 2003. ''The 2030 Spike: Countdown to Global Catastrophe'', Earthscan Publications, * 2006. ''A Short History of the Future: Surviving the 2030 Spike'', Earthscan Publications,

References

External links

Parliamentary biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Colin 1926 births 2020 deaths Australian Democrats members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Australian Senate 20th-century Australian politicians New Zealand emigrants to Australia