Kristina Keneally
Delmer from Ohio may be interested to know the new Premier of New South Wales grew up in the Buckeye State.
According to a limited entry on Wikipedia, Kristina Keneally was born Kristina Kerscher in the United States in 1969 to an American father and an Australian mother. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, and was educated at the Notre Dame Academy. She later attended the University of Dayton, also in Ohio. She received her baccalaureate in 1991 and worked as an intern for the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Paul Leonard. In 1995 she graduated with a Masters Degree in Religious Studies.
A profile in The Australian in August adds that her grandmother was a Brisbane barmaid who married an American GI.
Keneally met her Australian husband at a Catholic World Youth Day in Poland. Ben Keneally is the nephew of author Thomas Keneally.
She has been in Australia for 15 years and in her maiden parliamentary speech quoted sources as diverse as Pope Leo XIII and Friedrich Engels.
It’s a remarkable achievement to become Premier of NSW, although she is the third person to hold the position in 15 months.
Having not watched television since the grand final in September, I haven’t heard her speak, but apparently she still has an American accent.
I find it a little disturbing that she is younger than me, probably the first state premier to be so.
Malcolm Turnbull
Whether you agree with Malcolm Turnbull on climate change or not (I don’t) you have to admire his gutsy performance.
Billy Hughes
I’ve just finished reading “Billy Hughes” by Aneurin Hughes (not related). The sub-title is “Prime Minister and controversial founding father of the Australian Labor Party”.
It’s not a full biography and tries to paint a portrait of the man, rather than the politician. But Hughes lived for politics, becoming the longest serving elected member in the British Commonwealth.
I knew only a little about him and still feel there is much more to learn.
He has been demonised over the failed First World War conscription referendums, which split the Labor Party.
Most people remember Hughes for that and the photographs of him as an old man still serving in Canberra. (more…)
Politicians I admire
There aren’t many current politicians who impress me with their ideas. Some of today’s crop are canny political operators and media manipulators, but there are few who strike me as “ideas men” who want to make a difference.
The criteria I used in selecting the unlikely trio (pictured from left) of Brendon Grylls, Martin Ferguson and Tony Abbott included the fact I had to agree with them, at least most of the time.
These three stood out as men who have made a difference, with big picture aspirations that are achievable. (more…)
