TANYA PLIBERSEK: ON HER OWN TERMS by Margaret Simons

A definitive biographyon Australian Labor politician, Tanya Plibersek

Margaret Simons, journalist and biographer, has just released her latest biography on Labor Minister for Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek. I picked it up the other day, realising that, despite 25 years in the federal parliament, I didn’t know much about Plibersek.

Plibersek entered the federal parliament as the Labor member for Sydney in 1998, the youngest woman to be elected for Labor. She came from parents who emigrated to Australia from Slovenia after World War II.

What I knew about Plibersek before this was that her husband had been in prison when he was young, that she was a strong media performer and that she had effectively been demoted to her current Ministry when the Albanese Government was elected in 2022.

What I came to know about her was the circumstances around her husband’s incarceration and the fantastic story of him turning his life around, building a strong family with Plibersek and his own success in the NSW public service. It’s a genuinely excellent story highlighting the possibilities life can offer when people serve prison time.

I also learned about the tragic murder of her brother, just as she was preselected for the seat of Sydney.

Plibersek is also, clearly, someone who values high standard work, people who give the best of themselves and being across the details of her portfolios. While being a member of the hard left faction, she seems little interested in factionalism in politics, instead focussing on what is right and good and important for the community and the country. That’s a hard attitude to fault in modern political times.

Simons’ writing is obviously pro-Labor and I wouldn’t say there is much in this book critical of Plibersek. That’s not to say it’s a glowing tribute - there’s honesty in the writing and questions posed which remain unanswered, by Plibersek and others, particularly around why Plibersek isn’t holding more senior Ministerial duties, given her track record as both a Minister and communicator. Even a lot of conservatives in Australia acknowledge that she is a good Minister and not someone they dislike, despite political difference. There’s clearly a divide between Plibersek and Albanese, which is to the disadvantage of the Australian Government, in my opinion.

This was a very readable book, and I don’t think it matters what political persuasion the reader might be, because this is a political biography that isn’t overtly political - it isn’t trying to persuade the reader of the merits or otherwise of the Labor Party. I did, however, come away with a respect for Tanya Plibersek - she strikes me as a straight shooter and someone whose motive for political service are founded in community and leaving the world better than she found it.