When Labor won the 1983 election, David Combe thought he had it made. As ALP national secretary he’d put the party apparatus on a professional footing, secured its finances and paved the way for Bob Hawke’s eventual victory. Now a commercial lobbyist, the lifetime Labor insider was to be the indispensable go-to man for corporations wanting to do business with the new government.
Quick to congratulate him was the first secretary at the Soviet embassy. At 31, Valery Ivanov was young for the job, his first diplomatic posting. The...





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