High profile journalist Brad Norington, will be the guest speaker for the Friends of Kiama Library on April 7.
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Norington is associate editor at The Australian where he has worked as a journalist and commentator for 14-years.
He writes mostly about national politics and current affairs, and has also specialised in industrial relations.
More recently Brad was responsible for tracking the real story behind disgraced corruption whistleblower Kathy Jackson and her partner Michael Lawler in a lengthy investigation series.
This investigation became the subject matter of his third and most recent book, Planet Jackson : Power, Greed and Unions which will be the focus of his talk.
The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. Brad is happy to sign books which will be available at the event.
DETAILS: Brad Norington, Saturday, April 7 at 2.30pm in the Kiama Family History Centre. All are welcome at a donation of $5 for members of Friends of Kiama Library and $8 for visitors. Afternoon tea is provided.
ABOUT BRAD NORINGTON
Before joining The Australian, Norington worked for The Sydney Morning Herald for 20-years.
He was The Australian’s Washington correspondent during the first term of the Obama administration, when he covered US politics and tumultuous events such as the raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout, and the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school.
On returning to Australia, Brad was appointed chief reporter in the paper's Sydney newsroom, and asked to further investigate corruption inside the Health Services Union that had captured headlines while he was away.
His work took the story in new directions, involving as it did the squandering of millions of dollars of union members’ money.
Brad’s work attracted the interest of publisher Louise Adler at Melbourne University Press and became the subject matter of his third and most recent book, Planet Jackson: Power Greed and Unions.
The book is a dark morality tale at its heart, yet it is also an absorbing story with rich narrative material, bizarre twists, high farce and black humour.
Planet Jackson has a cast of strong but deeply flawed characters whose names have hit the headlines in recent years.
They include former HSU leader Kathy Jackson, originally hailed as a corruption fighter but now facing trial on major fraud charges; Jackson’s partner Michael Lawler, the disgraced former industrial judge who backed Jackson’s cause to the hilt during a year he spent on sick leave; and Michael Williamson, the union boss jailed for five years after pleading guilty to stealing $1 million from his low-paid members.
Author and journalist David Marr has described Planet Jackson as, “a saga so squalid it’s exhilarating”.
Brad was educated at the University of NSW, where he briefly taught before entering journalism. He lives in Sydney with his wife and children.
His other books include Jennie George, a biography of the former ACTU president, NSW Teachers' Federation leader and Labor member for the federal seat of Throsby; and Sky Pirates, an in-depth chronicle of the 1989 domestic pilots’ strike that grounded Australia’s domestic airlines for many months.
