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' 'I was Prime Minister for three years and three days.Three years and three days of resilience.Three years and three days of changing the nation.Three years and three days for you to judge.'
'On Wednesday 23rd June 2010, with the government in turmoil, Julia Gillard asked then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for a leadership ballot.
'The next day, Julia Gillard became Australia's 27th Prime Minister, and our first female leader. Australia was alive to the historic possibilities. Here was a new approach for a new time.
'It was to last three extraordinary years.
'This is Julia Gillard's chronicle of that turbulent time - a strikingly candid self-portrait of a political leader seeking to realise her ideals. It is her story of what it was like - in the face of government in-fighting and often hostile media - to manage a hung parliament, build a diverse and robust economy, create an equitable and world-class education system, ensure a dignified future for Australians with disabilities, all while attending to our international obligations and building strategic alliances for our future. This is a politician driven by a sense of purpose - from campus days with the Australian Union of Students, to a career in the law, to her often gritty, occasionally glittering rise up the ranks of the Australian Labor Party.
'Refreshingly honest, peppered with a wry humour and personal insights, Julia Gillard does not shy away from her mistakes, admitting freely to errors, misjudgements, and policy failures as well as detailing her political successes. Here is an account of what was hidden behind the resilience and dignified courage Gillard showed as prime minister - her view of the vicious hate campaigns directed against her, and a reflection on what it means - and what it takes - to be a woman leader in contemporary politics.' (Publication abstract)
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Notes
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Dedication: For my late father. His love of learning was inspiring, his belief in me was sustaining.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
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“For the Historic Record” : Memoirs, History, and Australian Political Culture
2021
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Politics and History , June vol. 67 no. 2 2021; (p. 312-330)'Genres of written communication do not take place in a vacuum; rather they are fundamentally influenced by historical context and socio-political circumstance. In recent years, the political memoir genre in Australia has moved away from its tradition of personalised narrative towards a more assertive mode of historical representation. Drawing on empirical and oral history research, this article examines recent alterations in the genre as manifest in six political memoirs produced by senior members of the Rudd–Gillard Labor government. I conclude that Australia's embittered and combative political culture has driven changes in the aesthetic and epistemological features of the genre itself. This research demonstrates that the “trust deficit” embedded in contemporary democracies is manifest not only in the daily ephemera of public discourse, but also in long-form modes and genres of political communication.' (Publication abstract)
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Standing for Something – the Raison D’etre of Julia Gillard: Linda Adair & Lucinda Adair-Roberts Reflect on a Conversation
2015
single work
essay
— Appears in: Rochford Street Review , April - June no. 14 2015;'The Sydney Writers’ Festival sometimes feels like an election campaign because, just as political parties these days seem to deliver their policy launches a week or so out from the election, there already appears to be a month’s worth of Festival events stretching through May even though Mohsin Hamid is not due to deliver the Opening Address until 19 May. It is probably fitting then that an ex-Prime Minister kicked off events on May Day 2015. Linda Adair and Lucinda Adair-Roberts look back on Julia Gillard’s conversation with Jamila Rizvi.'
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Review : My Story
2015
single work
single work
review
— Appears in: Good Reading , February 2015;
— Review of My Story 2014 single work autobiography -
Senator Receives Public Apology
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 24 February 2015; (p. 3) -
Book Lover Julia in Write State of Mind
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 28 February 2015; (p. 9) 'She may be a Writers' Week virgin but when Julia Gillard takes the stage this afternoon for one of the most anticipated sessions this year's event, she does so as a best-selling author...'
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A Memoir Right Out of the Labor Canon
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 27 September 2014; (p. 8)
— Review of My Story 2014 single work autobiography -
Owning up to Hits and Misses
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 4-5 October 2014; (p. 32) The Age , 4 October 2014; (p. 26)
— Review of My Story 2014 single work autobiography -
Against the Odds
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 October 2014; (p. 16-17)
— Review of My Story 2014 single work autobiography -
An Honest Account of Life at the Top
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 4 October 2014; (p. 21)
— Review of My Story 2014 single work autobiography -
Review : My Story
2014
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 11 October 2014; (p. 20)
— Review of My Story 2014 single work autobiography -
Simple Title Revealed for Gillard's 'Cathartic' Memoirs
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 15 May 2014; (p. 11) -
Julia Stars as Festival Turns Page
2014
single work
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 18 July 2014; (p. 15) -
Memoirs Provide Valuable Insight
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8 September 2014; (p. 10) -
Rudd-Gillard Rivaly Takes a Literary Leap
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 23 September 2014; (p. 3) -
Not Invincible, She Was Always Her Own Woman
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 24 September 2014; (p. 4-5)