Mike Rann
Mike Rann is Australia’s longest-serving incumbent Premier.
He was elected as South Australia’s 44th Premier in March 2002, and was re-elected with an increased majority four years later. As well as serving as Premier, Mr Rann holds the strategic portfolios of Economic Development, Social Inclusion, the Arts, and Sustainability and Climate Change.
He is Chair of The Climate Group’s International States and Regions Network. In 2008, he was National President of the Australian Labor Party, and is currently Vice President. In 2006-2007, Mr Rann was Chair of the Council for the Australian Federation. He was born in Sidcup, Kent, in 1953. His father was an electrician who fought at El Alamein, and his mother worked in an armaments factory during World War II, making parts for Spitfires.
In 1962, his family left London for New Zealand.
He completed a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts (Honours) in Political Studies at Auckland University, and was prominent in the New Zealand campaign against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
After graduating, he worked as a political journalist for the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, before moving to South Australia in 1977 to become a press secretary, speechwriter and adviser to three South Australian Labor Premiers, including the late Don Dunstan. He has an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia and has been honoured by the Governments of Poland, Greece and New Zealand.
Mr Rann is married to Sasha Carruozzo. He has two children, and is involved in soccer and the arts.
Articles by Mike Rann
Making our cities better by design
Former Prime Minister, Paul Keating, has long been a champion of better architecture and planning. Most recently, he caused a…... Read more
Let 2010 be the year of Mary MacKillop
A second miracle has been confirmed for Mary MacKillop, and she is now on her way to becoming Australia’s first…... Read more
Copenhagen: let it snow, let it snow, let it snow
It’s snowing here in Copenhagen, as leaders feel the heat over climate change. In the winter gloom, the flashing lights…... Read more
The bear facts on pandas
I never thought I would be writing about pandas. But this weekend - following millions of dollars and high-level diplomacy…... Read more
The dismissal: our greatest act of political infamy
This Wednesday, as we commemorate the sacrifice of countless Australians in war, we will also no doubt be reminded that…... Read more
Our most important investment
Politicians talk and write about a range of subjects. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve spoken about the defence…... Read more
Thinkers are doing more than navel gazing
My previous Punch piece talked about the new Royal Institution of Australia, which was formally opened by the Duke of…... Read more
Science is too important to leave in the lab
Australia has a desperate shortage of young people enrolling in science and maths at our schools and universities. Encouraging kids…... Read more
A priest with punch: social inclusion explained
David Cappo is a priest. But he is one of the most powerful South Australians. Sure, he’s Vicar-General of the…... Read more
After all these years we’re yet to find another Bradman
As Australia’s cricketers started their colossal – and ultimately futile –chase of 546 runs for an Ashes victory at The…... Read more
At least the states aren’t copping out on climate
Eighteen months ago, the world was in peril. Ice shelves were melting and sea levels rising as a future threat…... Read more
Honouring the greatest architect of consensus
I think that we in the ALP are better than our opponents in celebrating our history and honouring our own.…... Read more
Get busy Tweeting or get busy dying
Australians want their politicians to be “in touch”. They want us to listen. Adapting to new technologies is critically important…... Read more
The human story behind asylum-seeker hysteria
Once again, Australia’s focus has been on the so-called threat of boat people heading our way. Do we defend our…... Read more
Plastic not fantastic for our precious waterways
I’m so glad The Punch doesn’t arrive wrapped in plastic. If it did, I’d be accused of hypocrisy in trying…... Read more
Dodgy Lib documents are deja vu all over again
It is hard to believe that not one South Australian Federal Liberal wouldn’t have tapped Malcolm Turnbull on the shoulder…... Read more
Bugging the firebugs: when safety trumps civil liberties
I would never presume to pre-empt the outcome of the Royal Commission into the Victorian bushfires, the worst natural disaster…... Read more
D:Day: 65 years since the world was freed from tyranny
Sixty five years ago today, Europe was enslaved by the greatest tyranny. Proud nations were in chains. Millions were dying…... Read more
Defending the right of bikers to bash, kill, steal, deal
Civil libertarians around the country have condemned my new anti-crime gang laws aimed at outlaw bikie gangs. Defence lawyers and…... Read more
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The humourless hysteria of the holier-than-thou
In I Spit On Your Grave, a young woman is gang raped in a remote woodland. She is beaten and tortured…
Cash mobs aren’t so flash
For a moment in the mid-naughties, they were the coolest of all cool social media-fuelled meme-thingos.…
If we wanted reality, we’d turn off the television
“Some day, far into the future, this here machine will become a powerful medium with the potential…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Punch on: Open thread 09/02/2012
marley says:
I'm one of the older ones, so I've certainly seen a few changes in my time. When I started school I learned to write with a nib pen, dipped in an inkwell (no, I'm not kidding). My mother became a dab hand at getting inkstains out of my clothes. Flicking ink at one another in the classroom was an essential… [read more]From: I’d rather have a piece of toast than listen to crap lyrics
Erick says:
Led Zeppelin are responsible for my all-time favourite mixed metaphor: "There you sit, sit and stare, like a book on a shelf rusting." (Misty Mountain Hop) I laugh every time I hear it. Hmmm, I believe I've decided what to play on the way to work today. [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
No wuckin forries. These nuckin futs are tuckin fops
Well, puck me with a fitchfork. The F-word is apparently an acceptable part of Australian speech. That’s… Read more