Mr Burke described himself as a campaigning journalist. He died in Sydney on December 5, 2023, and his funeral service was held last Thursday. He is to be buried in Hungary.

He was a deliberative writer, an acclaimed daily newspaper editor, a Churchill Scholarship recipient – educated at Oxford – and, eventually, he became a magazine publisher and a formidable Australian businessman.

FATHER

Most specially, he was my father.

I launched Politicom in 2020 for personal reasons. Mainly because I was angry. Angered at the idiocy of supposed centre-Right politicians.

Our hard-working, common-sense nation had somehow been tricked into electing half-wits and thieves.

I was on a mission. I remain angry.

Before launching Politicom in January 2020, I had written a portfolio of foundation articles – perhaps 30 or 40 – which I shared with my Dad.

“Take this article down now! It’s libellous. Change the headline. Your angle is wrong.” I listened – most of the time. And I learned.

Each of us proclaimed to be conservatives – yet we were different.

He was a broad-church Howard conservative. I was a narrow Margaret Thatcher type, who didn’t mind Trump. Garry couldn’t stand the 45^th President.

But, we would discuss our differences openly – and daily. And with respect.

INTERESTED

A few months after launching Politicom, my Dad began posting reader comments on the site. He was interested!

His posts were thought-through, detailed and not always brief.

So, I called him. Your comments were meant to be stand-alone articles. Yes?

“Maybe – it’s up to you.”

So, I proudly posted what he had to say.

There has not been an author on Politicom who has received as much derogatory feedback.

Yet, everything he wrote was published. All ideas are important.

I once offered, in a little restaurant in Budapest, to “moderate” (read: cancel) his nastier reader comments.

Garry was incensed. Freedom of expression, according to Dad, was more important than hurt feelings.

He wanted to face his critics – and his articles drew many.

It is too close to the event for me. I didn’t really want to write this.

But, in this instance, love truly is love.PC