http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/peter-phelps/ Peter Phelps is the Government Whip in the NSW Legislative Council.  He holds a PhD in History and courts controversy wherever he can, usually by espousing principles of freedom, private enterprise and small government - or just by trolling Socialists. en Copyright 2013 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/three-cheers-for-the-amateur-sports-person/ In the late 1960’s, the great Italian thinker Umberto Eco cast his gaze over the World Cup and the Olympic Games and was troubled by what he saw. Forty years on, his analysis of professional sport remains just as valid, perhaps even more acutely so.  Sport is a waste - but what a glorious waste it is. If I fling a stone for the sheer pleasure of flinging it, and not for any utilitarian end, I have wasted kilojoules accumulated by eating, and earned by work. Now, this waste is profoundly healthy. It is the waste necessary for play. And humanity has a deep physical and mental need for play. Play means being free. The mantra of the early trade unionists was: “And on the seventh day, they played sport. Just for the sheer pleasure of it.”. That eight hours recreation symbolises something, it symbolises modern society’s freedom from the tyranny of indispensable work. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Peter Phelps) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/three-cheers-for-the-amateur-sports-person/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/three-cheers-for-the-amateur-sports-person/#item9255 Sun, 19 Aug 2012 19:40:25 +0000 Peter Phelps | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/to-end-the-gay-marriage-debate-privatise-matrimony/ In recent times, there has been a great deal written and spoken about marriage. But why should governments care about this issue in the first place? After all, the British government saw no need to concern itself with the formalities of marriage until the 1750s. In other words, for seven-eighths of the Christian era, the state did not give a damn about who was marrying whom. My own view on the matter is this: privatise marriage. What do I mean by that? Simply that the institution of marriage is, fundamentally, a private contract, voluntarily entered into by two adults. So why does the State need to get involved at all? In the comments that follow, I acknowledge—and will ruthlessly plagiarise—the brilliant work done by David Boaz, in Slate magazine, in 1997. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Peter Phelps) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/to-end-the-gay-marriage-debate-privatise-matrimony/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/to-end-the-gay-marriage-debate-privatise-matrimony/#item8616 Tue, 29 May 2012 19:55:20 +0000 Peter Phelps | Author bios | The Punch