Name Mary Delahunty Siblings Hugh Delahunty | Nationality Australian Role Journalist TV shows The Reporters (AU) Spouse(s) Jock Rankin | |
 | ||
Full Name Mary Elizabeth Delahunty Born 7 June 1951 (age 73) ( 1951-06-07 ) Books Public Life, Private Grief: A Memoir of Political Life and Loss Nominations Logie Award for Most Outstanding Public Affairs Report, Logie Award for TV Reporter of the Year | ||
Two Sides of the Story: Creative Journos
Mary Elizabeth Delahunty (born 7 June 1951) is an Australian journalist and politician with the Australian Labor Party.
Contents
- Two Sides of the Story Creative Journos
- Talking politics madonna king mary delahunty and bob cronin perth writers festival 2015
- Early life
- Media career
- Political career
- Personal life
- References
Talking politics madonna king mary delahunty and bob cronin perth writers festival 2015
Early life
Delahunty was born in the Victorian town of Murtoa and educated at Loreto College in Ballarat. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from La Trobe University.
Media career
Delahunty was a news journalist for the ABC and Network Ten from 1975 to 1996. She appeared in news and current affairs programs such as Four Corners and The 7.30 Report. She received a Gold Walkley award for the story Aiding and Abetting which was shown and produced by Four Corners in 1983.
Aiding and Abetting was about the improper use of Australian aid money in the Philippines. In the late 1980s, Delahunty, then the chief newsreader for the ABC in Victoria, was parodied by comedian Jean Kittson on The Big Gig, where Kittson portrayed a snobbish, acid-tongued announcer called Veronica Glenhuntly (whose surname was taken from that of the elite Melbourne suburb). Delahunty was the weeknight presenter of ABC News Victoria from 1986 until 1990, she was replaced by Sue McIntosh.
Political career
Delahunty was elected to the seat of Northcote in the Victorian Legislative Assembly at a 1998 by-election. Her maiden speech was about the implications of the Fitzgerald report for Victoria, especially in regard to police corruption.
Delahunty was Minister for Education from 1999-2002, during the term of the first Bracks Government. She was the Minister for the Arts from 1999-2006, Minister for Women's Affairs from 2002–06, and Minister for Planning from 2002-05. As Minister for Planning, she was responsible for the media presentation of Melbourne 2030. She did not contest her seat at the 2006 state election.
Personal life
Delahunty is the sister of Victorian National Party MP, Hugh Delahunty, who is also a former Victorian Football League player, as is another brother, Michael. Her husband of 22 years, the journalist Jock Rankin, died in 2002. She has two children, Nicholas and Olivia. She was a guest on Life Matters (ABC Radio National, 26 August 2010) on such topics as grief, parenting, civic participation and public life, and her memoir, Public Life, Private Grief.