Mary Delahunty

The Honourable
Mary Delahunty
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Northcote
In office
15 August 1998 – 24 November 2006
Preceded by Tony Sheehan
Succeeded by Fiona Richardson
Personal details
Born Mary Elizabeth Delahunty
(1951-06-07) 7 June 1951
Nationality Australian
Spouse(s) Jock Rankin
Relations Hugh Delahunty (brother)
Alma mater La Trobe University
Occupation Journalist

Mary Elizabeth Delahunty (born 7 June 1951) is an Australian journalist and retired politician with the Australian Labor Party.

Early life

Delahunty was born in Victoria, Australia and educated at Loreto College, in Victoria. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Latrobe University.[1]

Media career

Delahunty was a news journalist for the ABC and Network Ten from 1975-96.[1] 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.[2]

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).

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.[3]

Delahunty was Minister for Education from 1999-2002, during the term of the first Bracks Government.[1] 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.[1] 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,[4] who is also a former Victorian Football League player, as is another brother, Michael.[5] Her husband of 22 years, the journalist Jock Rankin, died in 2002.[2][4][6] She has two children,[2] Nicholas and Olivia.[6] She was a guest on Life Matters (ABC Radio National, 26 August 2010)[7] on such topics as grief, parenting, civic participation and public life, and her memoir, Public Life, Private Grief.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Delahunty, Mary Elizabeth". Profile. Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mary Delahunty profile". Australian Women's Archives Project. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Fitzgerald Report on Corruption". Hansard. Parliament of Victoria. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Delahunty, Mary. Public Life, Private Grief: a memoir of political life and loss. Hardie Grant. ISBN 9781740668583.
  5. ↑ Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia Of AFL Footballers. BAS Publishing. ISBN 9781920910785.
  6. 1 2 "On life, death and treachery". The Age. Fairfax. 19 March 2005. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Life Matters episode on which Delahunty appeared, 26 August 2010; accessed 3 December 2014.
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Tony Sheehan		 Member for Northcote
1998–2006 		Succeeded by
Fiona Richardson
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