Colin Victor James Mason (28 October 1926 – 18 July 2020)[1] 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[2] and became deeply involved in Asian affairs.
He and Don Chipp (Victoria) were the first two Australian Democrats elected to the Senate, although Janine Haines (South Australia) had earlier been appointed to a casual vacancy.
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.