Tanya Plibersek’s parents arrived in Australia from Slovenia as part of the post-war immigration scheme. The youngst of three daughters, Tanya was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 with the support of the left faction of the Labor Party.
Simons interviewed widely; some have allowed their name to be mentioned. The most interesting comments come from those who have requested anonymity. What comes through is Plibersek’s drive for social justice. Her campaigns: stop violence against women; paid parental leave; and equality for same-sex couples are detailed throughout the biography.
Her support for her husband’s fight to stay off drugs; her opposition to the Catholic Church’s position on contraception and abortion; and her love for the works of Jane Austen are all squeezed into her busy political life. Although she’s no longer a believer, she describes herself as a cultural Catholic. She is drawn to people who are ‘decent human beings’ and has read the six major works of Austen at least 15 times.
The death of her brother is upsetting, and what is now considered to be the real reason for Plibersek’s refusal to run against Albanese for the leadership shocked me. Margaret Simons’ biography is informative, balanced and compassionate. Tanya Plibersek: On her own terms covers the joys and tragedies in the life of a significant Australian politician.
Reviewed by Clive Hodges
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Margaret Simons is an award-winning freelance journalist and the author of many books and numerous articles and essays. She is also a journalism academic and Honorary Principal Fellow at the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne. Since September 2022, she has been a board member of the British-based Scott Trust, which is the owner of The Guardian worldwide.
Simons has won the Walkley Award for Social Equity Journalism, a Foreign Press Association Award and a number of QuillAwards, including for her reporting from the Philippines with photojournalist Dave Tacon.
Penny Wong, Passion and Principle, was longlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards and shortlisted for the National Biography Award.
Simons co-wrote the biography of former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Fraser. Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs won both the Book of the Year and the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards in 2011.
She also wrote an unauthorised biography of mass media proprietor Kerry Stokes (chairman of the Seven Network). Kerry Stokes: Self-Made Man was nominated for best non-fiction book at the 2014 Walkley Awards, and won the history prize in the WA Premier’s Literary Awards.
As well as writing books Simons is a freelance investigative journalist.
Her long-form journalism has been published in The Monthly, Inside Story, The Age and other publications.
Until the end of 2019, Simons was an Associate Professor in the School of Media, Film and Journalism at Monash University. From 2012-2017 she was director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism and the coordinator of the innovative Master of Journalism degree at the University of Melbourne. Before joining the University of Melbourne, Simons was convenor of Journalism at Swinburne University of Technology.
Simons was a founding board member (2018-2021) of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative, which conducts research and advocacy on media issues, as well as its Chair of Research. She remains a member of the Expert Research Panel. She is also the Chair of Angeles Relief Inc a charity established to help the children she wrote about in her Philippines journalism.
Simons holds a Doctorate in Creative Arts from the University of Technology Sydney.
She lives in Melbourne.
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