Our dear friend and colleague Peter Love has died. For a week following his death, the flag at Trades Hall flew at half-mast in recognition of his long-standing service to the labour movement and the wider community. It is fitting that a celebration to honour his life and many contributions will be held in that same building on Thursday, 22 June, from 5 pm.
Peter started his career at Swinburne University in 1988 and retired in 2015. He was proud to work at an institution whose common cause was an enriched practical education for the communities it served. During his twenty-seven-year career at the university, Peter taught politics and history, and his capacity to engage and nurture the curiosity of countless students was legendary. He relished his continued connections with them and was immensely proud of their successes.
Beyond teaching, Peter's service to the university is long. His Practical Measures: 100 Years at Swinburne tells the story of our institution's distinctive history and serves as a reminder of its primary aim. He also served on numerous boards and committees, including Swinburne's Academic Board, Board of Research, Higher Degrees Committee, Human Resources Committee, and the Outer Eastern Task Force. Peter was a founding member of the National Tertiary Education Union and President of the Swinburne Branch of the NTEU between 1994-1997.
What set Peter apart was his collegiality, his generosity, and his intellect. His scholarship of radical political economy, including his ground-breaking work, Labour and the Money Power – which remains the definitive account of Australian labour populism – will stand the test of time. His vision of the purpose and value of a good public education should be one we all remember.
Vale Peter Love (6 May 1947-18 May 2023).
A fuller tribute can be found here. Messages can be sent to Peter's wife, Susanne via [email protected]
Peter's life will be celebrated on Thursday, 22 June 2023, 5 pm, at Solidarity Hall, Trades Hall, cnr of Lygon and Victoria Streets, Carlton. All welcome.
(Cartoon by Simon Kneebone)