http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/meredith-burgmann/ Meredith was born and bred in Beecroft but lies and says she was born in Goulburn because it sounds more exciting. She was radicalised at Sydney University by the Vietnam war and was one of the leaders of the Anti Apartheid Movement, infamously receiving a two month gaol sentence for disrupting a Springbok match in 1971. She did her PhD and a book on the Green Bans and the Builders Labourers Federation and taught industrial relations at Macquarie University for twenty years. She was a union activist and became the first woman President of the NSW Academics union (now NTEU). She spent sixteen boring years in NSW Parliament, eight of them as President of the Legislative Council and retired undisgraced in 2007. She founded the Annual Ernie Awards for Sexist Remarks in 1993 and co-wrote The Ernies Book in 2007.  She now does consultancy work for the United Nations on governance issues and is writing two more books, a film script and a bad pop song about baby boomers. She was Labor’s candidate for Lord Mayor of Sydney and is now a City Councillor. She considers her participation in the recent art show at Watters a highlight of her post Parliamentary life. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/north-korea-more-kitch-than-mash/ As the rest of the world watches North Korea and its leader Kim Jong-il with absolute amazement some of us believe we understand him at least a little bit. I won’t say I ‘m close to him although he did once present me (through an intermediary) with a black lacquer vase (which I then declared on my pecuniary interests register as a gift from “the Dear Leader” as he is known ... and which no journalist in the NSW press gallery picked up as an issue). At least I have as credentials for talking about North Korea the fact that I have been there twice. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Meredith Burgmann) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/north-korea-more-kitch-than-mash/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/north-korea-more-kitch-than-mash/#item418 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:30:00 +0000 Meredith Burgmann | Author bios | The Punch