Julia Gillard (ALP) vs Tony Abbott (Libs) vs Bob Brown (Greens)
Julia Gillard (ALP)
Qualifications: BA, LLB (Melb)
Julia Gillard started her Arts and Law degrees at the University of Adelaide. In 1983 she was elected national Education Vice-President of the Australian Union of Students (AUS) and moved to Melbourne to complete her degree at Melbourne University. Later that year, she was elected President of the AUS.
After graduating Ms Gillard began work as a solicitor in Melbourne with the law firm Slater and Gordon and became a Partner in 1990. Ms Gillard's work at the firm focused on employment law where she worked on securing fairer treatment for workers and fought for clothing trades outworkers who had been underpaid.
From 1996 to 1998 Ms Gillard served as Chief-of-Staff to the then Opposition Leader of the State of Victoria, John Brumby.
Julia Gillard first contested the Federal seat of Lalor for the Australian Labor Party in 1998 and was elected that year.
Former Occupations: Solicitor 1987-95; Partner, Slater and Gordon 1990-95. Chief of Staff to the Victorian Opposition Leader, J. Brumby 1995-98.
Tony Abbott (Liberal party)
Qualifications: BEc,LLB(Syd),MA(Oxon)
Tony Abbott graduated with a Bachelor of Economics (BEc) and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Sydney where he resided at St John's College, and was president of the Student Representative Council. He then went on to attend the Queen's College, traveling via India to attend Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) in Politics and Philosophy. Following his time in Britain, he returned to Australia via Africa and advised his family of intention to join the priesthood and he subsequently entered St. Patrick's Seminary at Manly, in Sydney. Following his departure from the seminary, Abbott married, worked in journalism, ran a concrete plant and began to get involved in national politics.
Throughout his time as a student and seminarian, Abbott was writing articles for newspapers and magazines—first for the Sydney University Newspaper, and later The Catholic Weekly and national publications like The Bulletin. He eventually became a journalist and wrote for The Australian.
Former Occupation: Journalist; Plant Manager, Pioneer Concrete; Press secretary and political adviser to the Leader of the Opposition, Dr J.R. Hewson 1990-93; Executive Director, Australians for Constitutional Monarchy 1993-94.
Publications: Abbott has published three books. In 2009 he launched "Battlelines"; a personal biography, reflections on the Howard Government and discussion of potential policy directions for the Liberal Party of Australia. Previously he had published two books in defence of the existing constitutional monarchy system, "The Minimal Monarchy" (1995) and "How to Win the Constitutional War". (1997)
Bob Brown (greens)
Qualifications: MBBS (Syd)
After graduating, Bob Brown enrolled in medicine at Sydney University where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree. He practised medicine for a time at the Royal Canberra Hospital. He then worked as a resident at Darwin and Alice Springs hospitals. At the latter post he met John Hawkins, a surgeon who had kayaked rivers in Tasmania. He travelled to London in 1970 and worked at Hounslow Cottage Hospital and St Mary Abbott's Hospital in South Kensington.
Brown moved to Tasmania in 1972 and worked as a medical general practitioner in Launceston. He soon became involved in the state's environmental movement, in particular the campaign to save Lake Pedder. By 1972 he was a member of the newly formed United Tasmania Group, Australia's first "green" party.
He became the Director of the Wilderness Society which organised the blockade of the dam-works on Tasmania’s wild Franklin River in 1982/3. Some 1500 people were arrested and 600 jailed, including Bob Brown who spent 19 days in Risdon Prison. On the day of his release, he was elected as the first Green into Tasmania's Parliament. After federal government intervention, the Franklin River was protected in 1983.
Bob Brown has been a life-long activist. In 1986 he was shot at and assaulted during protests against logging at Tasmania’s Farmhouse Creek. He was arrested and jailed twice in 1995 for demonstrating peacefully to protect Tasmania's Tarkine Wilderness from roading and logging. In 1990 Bob Brown established the Australian Bush Heritage Fund to buy land for conservation. His books include Lake Pedder, Wild Rivers, Tarkine Trails, The Greens, The Valley of the Giants, Tasmania’s Recherche Bay and Memo for a Saner World.
Former Occupations: General practitioner 1968-80; Founding Member, The Wilderness Society 1978; Director of The Wilderness Society 1979-84; Founding President, Australian Bush Heritage Fund 1990; Life Member, Australian Conservation Foundation;
Publications: Brown has published several books including Wild Rivers (1983), Lake Pedder (1986), Tarkine Trails (1994), The Greens (1996) (with Peter Singer), Memo For A Saner World (2004), Valley of the Giants (2004), Tasmania's Recherche Bay (2005), Earth (2009) and In Balfour Street (2010)[32] In 2004 James Norman published the first authorised biography of Brown, entitled Bob Brown: A Gentle Revolutionary.
Awards: The Australian newspaper ‘Australian of the Year’ (1983)
IUCN Packard Award (1984)
UNEP Global 500 Roll of Honour (1987)
Goldman Environmental Prize (1990)
MAPW Distinguished Physician Award (1990)
BBC Wildlife magazine ‘World's Most Inspiring Politician’ (1996)
National Trust Australian National Treasure (1998)
Rainforest Action Network Environmental Hero (2006)
Australian Peace Prize (2009)
Australian Humanist of the Year (2010)
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