A panel discussion with wendy bacon, tim anderson and col cooper, chaired by meredith burgmann, discussing the book dirty secrets. Meredith burgmanns book makes it clear the government security agency was distracted by imagined threats. Green bans, red union by meredith burgmann boomerang books. Surrounded by influential australians and piles of paper from our recent past, activist, politician and writer meredith burgmann has produced a book where those being. In this moving, funny and sometimes chilling book, leading. She taught industrial relations at macquarie university for twenty years and was a labor member of the legislative council. Aug 30, 2016 in commenting this week, meredith burgmann said that my view is that the stories in my book dirty secrets. Jun 17, 2014 meredith burgmann was radicalised at sydney university by the vietnam war and was one of the leaders of the antiapartheid movement, infamously receiving a two month gaol sentence for disrupting a springbok match in 1971. Jun 19, 2014 meredith burgmanns new book dirty secrets brings together chapters from left activists and other well known australians written after accessing their own files. After a 30 year veil of secrecy was lifted, a lot of australian activists, lawyers, artists and actors applied to see their asio files, if they existed. Since shes only authored a couple of novellas although this one is on the longer end of the novella word count, i was wondering how she would handle this shorter format, and as it turns out, the answer to that is. Download dirty secrets by meredith burgmann green bans, red union. Dirty secrets by meredith burgmann overdrive rakuten.
In 2014, the nsw parliamentarian meredith burgmann edited a book entitled dirty secrets, containing articles by prominent australians who had, to. Reading your own asio file, and writing about your family. The australian security intelligence organisation asio was established in 1949, ostensibly to protect the country from spies, saboteurs and subversives within society who were deemed a danger to the nations security. In the short term, the economic fallout from coronavirus has taken about a third of our revenue. She was elected as a labor mp and later president of the nsw legislative council. Meredith burgmann was a member of the legislative council of nsw labor from 1991 and president from 1999 until 2007.
Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. Onetime asio suspects claim in dirty secrets book that security agency was incompetent. Our asio files, in which leading australians reveal their pasts. May 17, 2014 this article was first published in the print edition of the saturday paper on may 17, 2014 as meredith burgmann ed. What were some of the insights you gained into asio and, more broadly, government at the time. We should have been dealt with as a public order issue, not as a threat to the state. Meredith burgmann green bans red union sydney mechanics. Internment is so hot right now, but its nothing new in.
She was one of the leaders of the antiapartheid movement, infamously receiving a twomonth gaol sentence for disrupting a springbok rugby match in 1971. Yet we see outrage mixed with humour and writers reflect on the way their political views have or havent changed. Read dirty secrets our asio files by available from rakuten kobo. Meredith burgmann, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, im pleased to be here today to launch dirty secretsour asio files. Our asio files author meredith burgmann publisher new south books isbn 9781742231402. Absurdity and anger reside in this anthology of personal responses to asios clumsy and calumnious filekeeping. Posted on 30 august 2016 in commenting this week, meredith burgmann said that my view is that the stories in my book dirty secrets. Surrounded by influential australians and piles of paper from our recent past, activist, politician and writer meredith burgmann has produced a book where those being watched look right back. This is an edited excerpt from the introduction to dirty secrets edited by meredith burgmann, out now from newsouth. Dirty secrets, our asio files by meredith burgmann. Buy green bans, red union by meredith burgmann 9781525247255 from boomerang books, australias online independent bookstore. Writers from across the political spectrum including mark aarons, phillip adams, nadia wheatley, michael kirby, peter cundall, gary foley and anne summers confront and in some cases.
Meredith burgmanns new book dirty secrets brings together chapters from left activists and other well known australians written after accessing their own files. Meredith burgmann is the author of dirty secrets 3. Meredith burgmann became radicalised at sydney university in the sixties, when her asio file began. She was an academic at macquarie university for 18 years, becoming president of the academics union. Our asio files paperback august 1, 2014 by meredith burgmann editor 4. An account of the surveillance operation mounted by the australian security intelligence organisation asio against the author during the 1960s and early 1970s, based on the authors access to his asio file gained under the australian archives act.
She was one of the leaders of the antiapartheid movement, infamously receiving a twomonth gaol. Given that asios main role is to gather information. Our asio files meredith burgmann in this moving, funny, and sometimes chilling book, leading australians open their asio files and read what the states security apparatus said about them. Jun 12, 2014 meredith burgmann and alan hardy read their own asio files, and alan read his dads frank hardy too. Buy a discounted paperback of dirty secrets online from australias leading online bookstore. The title itself hints at something never acknowledged in. In commenting this week, meredith burgmann said that my view is that the stories in my book dirty secrets.
To see if it is available from newtown library, click here. Aug 11, 2014 here, we look at mid20th century politics, activism and government surveillance in our chat with meredith burgmann and wendy bacon on their new book, dirty secrets. At this point, it is useful to read the spy catchers alongside meredith burgmann s edited collection dirty secrets. Meredith burgmanns introduction to this fascinating book foreshadows some of the themes that emerge repeatedly as the contributors discuss. In this moving, funny, and sometimes chilling book, leading australians open their asio files and read what the states. Dirty secrets is the shortest story ive read by karen rose, who usually tends to write pretty chunky romantic suspense books. Most of the 26 contributors were vietnamera subversives.
Meredith burgmann taught industrial relations at macquarie university for 20 years and was a labor member of the legislative council of the new south wales parliament for 16 years. Published by newsouth books, the description of dirty secrets. Speech to book launch of dirty secrets our asio files. Here, we look at mid20th century politics, activism and government surveillance in our chat with meredith burgmann and wendy bacon on their new book, dirty secrets.
Released under the 30year rule, the asio files that form the focus of dirty secrets cut off in the early 1980s, making this a generational history. Our asio files, meredith burgmann karen chisholm not crime, unless you regard some of the things that asio got up to as criminal, as opposed to ridiculous. She was then elected as a councillor for the city of sydney. Our asio files meredith burgmann in this moving, funny and sometimes chilling book, leading australians open their asio files and read what the states security apparatus said about them. Buy dirty secrets by meredith burgmann, paperback format, from the dymocks online bookstore. Onetime asio suspects claim in dirty secrets book that. On the evidence of this book, asio has not shown that it is capable of making that distrinction. Speech to book launch of dirty secrets our asio files meredith burgmann, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, im pleased to be here today to launch dirty secretsour asio files. Dirty secrets by meredith burgmann 9781742231402 dymocks. And liam pieper talks about his youth as a drug dealer and small time gangster in melbourne. The last few years have seen a number of documentaries and books based on peoples asio files, which can now be released to the public after 20 years. Wellknown australians mavericks, activists, movers and shakers reflect on their own asio files. Writers from across the political spectrum including mark aarons, phillip adams, nadia wheatley, michael kirby and anne summers confront and in some cases reclaim their pasts. Writers from across the political spectrum including david stratton, phillip adams, peter cundall, michael kirby, gary foley and anne.
Dr meredith burgmann is a feminist, unionist and environmental activist who was formerly a labor mp and president of the nsw legislative council. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read dirty secrets. Previously a senior lecturer in politics at macquarie university, she was the first woman president of the academics union in nsw now nteu. Writers from across the political spectrum including mark aarons, phillip adams, nadia wheatley, michael kirby, peter cundall, gary foley and. Meredith burgmann, who both edited the book and contributed a chapter, is a politician, former president of the new south wales legislative council and current. Dr verity burgmann is adjunct professor of political science in the school of social sciences at monash university. In this moving, funny and sometimes chilling book, leading australians open their asio files and read what the states security apparatus said about them.
This book makes clear that for many of the cold war years, australias domestic spy agency, asio, wasted time. Booktopia has dirty secrets, our asio files by meredith burgmann. In this moving, funny, and sometimes chilling book, leading australians open their asio files and read what the states security apparatus said about them. Our asio files, a book in which a number of mostly prominent australians respond to asio documents they have extracted from their archives under the 30 year rule. When i read this book, it provoked a full range of emotions. Amwu news winter 14 by australian manufacturing workers. Asios main focus for much of this period was on the communist party of australia cpa. Meredith burgmann was radicalised at sydney university by the vietnam war and was one of the leaders of the antiapartheid movement, infamously receiving a two month gaol sentence for disrupting a springbok match in. Released under the 30year rule, the asio files that form the focus of dirty. A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. New south wales publishing, sydney 2014 collectively represent asio as being improper, incompetent, irrelevant, inappropriate and intrusive.
This acclaimed book by meredith burgmann is available at in several formats for your ereader. Meredith burgmann and all those who were spied on have produced an extraordinary. This book, edited by meredith burgmann, covers the period from the early 1950s to the 1990s, when the new south wales special branch was closed down by the carr labor government. At this point, it is useful to read the spy catchers alongside meredith burgmanns edited collection dirty secrets. Our asio files, the well regarded meredith burgmann, was galvanised by the vietnam war during her years as a student at sydney university. Dirty secrets by meredith burgmann, 9781742231402, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Who in most examples of the files discussed in this book seems to have spent an inordinate amount of time obsessed with what women were wearing or how they styled their hair, and who was going out with whom.
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