George Megalogenis (born 1964)
[Bryant, Nick]
George Megalogenis
''Aesop Register'', 2013. is an Australian journalist, political commentator and author.
Early life
Born in Melbourne, Megalogenis attended
Melbourne High School
Melbourne High School is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1905, the school caters for boys from Year 9 t ...
and went on to study economics at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
(
BCom
A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanma ...
1984).
Career
In 1986, Megalogenis joined ''
The Sun News-Pictorial
''The Sun News-Pictorial'' (known as ''The Sun'') was a morning daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, from 1922 until its merger in 1990 with ''The Herald (Melbourne), The H ...
'' as a cadet journalist, before working as an economics correspondent for
News Limited
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...
morning newspapers from 1988 to 1990.
He then moved to ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' newspaper in 1991, where he became a senior feature writer. After eleven years in the
Canberra Press Gallery
The Canberra Press Gallery, officially called the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, is the name given to the approximately 180 journalists and their support staff, including producers, editors and camera crews, who report the workings of the A ...
, from 1988 to 1999, he returned to Melbourne, and since 2012 he has primarily focused on book writing and documentary making. His work examines the political, economic and social history of Australia.
During a 2017 interview, Megalogenis said to the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
that Australia must embrace a Eurasian future.
Personal life
Megalogenis was married to
Annastacia Palaszczuk
Annastacia Palaszczuk ( , Polish: Annastacia Pałaszczuk, ; born 25 July 1969) is an Australian politician who has been the 39th premier of Queensland since 2015 and the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since ...
,
Premier of Queensland
The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland.
By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...
since 2015, from 1996 to 1998.
Written work
* ''
Faultlines: Race, Work, and the Politics of Changing Australia'' (2003) – An in-depth review of the shifting demographics, the political handling of race-related issues, and the work-family challenges that have contributed to the changing face of Australia.
* ''The Longest Decade'' (2006) – A look at how the 1990s in Australia was a political era defined by two men,
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
and
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
, who altered Australia's predictable economic script of bust, boom, and bust. As treasurers and prime ministers, Keating and Howard dominated 30 years of power in Australia. By many, they are viewed as antagonists with competing visions of Australia and its place in the world. Megalogenis argues they should also be remembered as the architects of a political, social and economic revolution that led to a more complex society and an era of unprecedented affluence.
* "Trivial Pursuit: Leadership and the End of the Reform Era" (2010) – In this contribution to ''
Quarterly Essay
''Quarterly Essay'' is an Australian periodical that straddles the border between magazines and non-fiction books. Printed in a book-like page size and using a single-column format, each issue features a single extended essay of at least 20,000 ...
'', Megalogenis argues that Australia's
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
,
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
and early
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
years were ones of bold reform; and that more recently Australia has seen an era of power without purpose. He dissects the cycle of polls, focus groups and presidential politics and what these have done to the prospect of serious, difficult reform. He argues that politics has become a self-defeating game, and he mounts a case for a different style of leadership.
* ''
The Australian Moment
''The Australian Moment: How We Were Made For These Times'' is a 2012 Australian economics book by George Megalogenis. It explains how Australia has been able to weather recent world economic problems relatively unscathed.
Reception
Dennis Altm ...
'' (2012) – The book takes in the key events since the 1970s that led to unprecedented economic stability in Australia despite periods of turmoil on world markets. Megalogenis reasons that the resilience of Australian markets to weather recent economic storms leaves the country as well positioned as any to survive whatever comes next. It received praise from journalists such as
Annabel Crabb
Annabel Crabb (born 1973) is an Australian political journalist, commentator and television host who is the ABC's chief online political writer. She has worked for Adelaide's '' The Advertiser'', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Age'', the ...
and
David Marr, and Australian author
Don Watson
Don Watson (born 1949) is an Australian author, screenwriter, former political adviser, and speechwriter.
Early life
Watson was born in 1949 at Warragul in the Gippsland region of Victoria, and grew up on a farm in nearby Korumburra.
Academia ...
described the book as "likely to become the essential short work on modern Australia." The book won the 2012
Walkley Book Award
The Walkley Book Award is an Australian award presented annually by the Walkley Foundation for excellence in long-form journalism and nonfiction, with subjects ranging from biography to true crime to investigative journalism and reporting.
Winne ...
, the 2013
Prime Minister's Literary Award
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.[ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...]
's political analysis and panel discussion program ''
Insiders'' and appeared on ''
Q+A''.
In 2014, he wrote and presented a documentary series for the ABC: ''Making Australia Great: Inside Our Longest Boom'', which aired in March 2015.
In 2015, he wrote and presented a documentary tribute to former Australian prime minister
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia.
Fraser was raised on hi ...
titled ''Life Wasn't Meant to Be Easy''.
Awards and nominations
* 2003 –
Melbourne Press Club
The Melbourne Press Club, commonly referred to as MPC, is a not-for-profit association of journalists in the city of Melbourne, Australia.
The Melbourne Press Club provides awards in the State of Victoria for outstanding journalism, presenting th ...
Quill award for Best Columnist
* 2012 –
Queensland Literary Award
The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs ...
, Advancing Public Debate for ''The Australian Moment''
* 2012 –
Walkley Award
The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...
, Non-Fiction Book for ''The Australian Moment''
* 2012 – Shortlisted for the
John Button Prize, Writing on Policy & Politics for ''The Australian Moment''
* 2013 –
Prime Minister's Literary Award
The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.[Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...]
Award for Literature for ''The Australian Moment''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Megalogenis, George
1964 births
Living people
Australian columnists
Australian political journalists
Australian people of Greek descent