Ross Gittins AM FRSN (born 1948 in Newcastle, Australia) is an Australian political and economic journalist and author, known for "his ability to make dry, hard-to-understand economics and economic policy relevant".

Early life and education

Ross Roderick Gittins was born 13 February 1948 in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area, w ...

where his family were living at New Lambton. His parents,

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

officers moved to Sydney and Ross started schooling at

Fort Street High School Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Mixed-sex school, co-educational Selective school (New South Wales), academically selective secondary school, secondary day school, located in Petersh ...

. The family then moved to Bathurst before moving back to New Lambton. Ross completed his secondary schooling at

Newcastle Boys High School , motto_translation = With Oars and Sailsi.e. with all one's might , streetaddress = Turton Road, Waratah , city = Newcastle , state = New South Wales , postcode = 2298 , country ...

(196264). Ross then matriculated to the University of Newcastle where he studied in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce being graduated in 1970 as a Bachelor of Commerce. He had studied part-time for 2 years whilst working with a Newcastle chartered accountant before gaining a Commonwealth Scholarship which enabled him to finish his studies on a full-time basis. Upon completion of his degree, he moved to Sydney, where he worked for a large firm of chartered accountants.

Finance journalist

Gittins regularly writes for Fairfax publications

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

and

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

, commentating on underlying economic issues and political economic policies. In 1993 he won the

Citibank Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...

Pan Asia award for excellence in finance journalism. In 2003 Gittins wrote that former Prime Minister "Honest John Howard" had been "a tricky chap" on immigration, by appearing "tough" on illegal immigration to win support from the working class, while simultaneously winning support from employers with high legal immigration. He celebrated his 30th year as the Herald's economics editor in 2008, having assumed the position during the

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ele ...

government in 1978. Ross Gittins lectures to year 11 and 12 high school students around Australia, in order to share his knowledge and understanding of the Australian economy.

Awards and recognition

Gittins was awarded a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

in 2001 for service to economic journalism in Australia and made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

on 26 January 2008 for service to journalism as a commentator on economic theory, policy and behavioural economics, and to the accountancy profession. In 2011, Gittins was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

and in 2012 an honorary Doctor of Science in Economics from the University of Sydney. Gittins is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand. In 2015 he was appointed an eminent fellow in the practice of economics at the Research School of Economics,

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. In 2017 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, being promulgated by His Excellency, the then Governor of New South Wales, General, the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC(Rtd) in the NSW Government Gazette February 2018; and a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. In December 2018 the Australian National University awarded Gittins a Doctor of Letters ''honoris causa'' for his "exceptional contribution to journalism and economics in Australia".

Bibliography

* Gittins, Ross: ''Gittinomics: living the good life without money stress, overwork and joyless consumption'', Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest NSW, c2007, * Gittins, Ross: ''Gittins' guide to economics'', Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest NSW, 2006. Edition: th edition * Tiffen, Rod and Gittins, Ross: ''How Australia compares'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 2nd edition, 2009, * Gittins, Ross, Martin, P., Irvine, J., Denniss, R., Forsyth, A: ''The Australian economy : a student's guide to current economic conditions'', Warringal Publications, Coburg, VIC, 2009, * Gittins, Ross: ''The Happy Economist : Happiness for the hard-headed'', Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest NSW, 2010 * *

References

External links

Column archives at the Sydney Morning Herald

ABC TV interview on covering Australian economy for 40 years
*Web page http://www.rossgittins.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gittins, Ross 1948 births Australian accountants Australian business and financial journalists Australian financial writers Australian social democrats Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales Lecturers Living people People educated at Newcastle Boys' High School University of Newcastle (Australia) alumni The Sydney Morning Herald people