Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 01 April
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Anna Bligh, former premier of Queensland, is best remembered for her calm, focused and practical leadership during the Queensland floods, one of Australia’s largest national disasters. She was the first woman to be elected premier of an Australian state in her own right – and spent over 17 years in the rough and tumble of the Queensland parliament, seven of them as deputy premier or premier.
Bligh was raised by a single mother on the then working-class Gold Coast; her estranged father struggled with alcoholism. Her life is a study in resilience, from her rise to the top of politics from these hardscrabble origins, to her post-politics life following her party’s defeat in the 2012 state election, when she was diagnosed with cancer.
In her memoir, this formidably strong high achiever reflects candidly on the lessons of leadership, resilience, community and family. She’ll be taking those personal and political reflections to our stage, as she shares the obstacles she’s faced on her journey to the top – and as she’s forged a new path in her life after politics.
Featuring
Anna Bligh
In March 2009, Anna Bligh made history as the first woman to lead a party to victory in a State election in Australia. She is now the CEO of the NSW YWCA.
Born in Queensland in 1960, Anna grew up mainly on the Gold Coast. She graduated from the University of Queensland in 1980 and worked in the community sector and the public service before entering Parliament as the Labor member for South Brisbane in 1995.
She joined the shadow ministry the following year and became a minister in 2001. She held several senior portfolios, before becoming Deputy Premier in 2005, and Premier in 2007. After losing the election in 2012, she left politics and took up her current position at the YWCA.
Kaz Cooke
Kaz Cooke is a former reporter and cartoonist turned history detective. She is also the author of the bestselling books Up The Duff, Kidwrangling, Girl Stuff, Girl Stuff 8–12, Women’s Stuff, and the children's picture books Wanda Linda Goes Berserk and The Terrible Underpants.
Her new novel, Ada, grew out of her research and exhibition during a Creative Fellowship at the State Library of Victoria, 2013–2015.