Book Launch The Voice to Parliament Handbook
Wednesday 24 May, 6pm
National Library of Australia Parkes Place, Canberra ACT
Join the NLA team for the launch of The Voice to Parliament Handbook. Listen to the book's authors, Indigenous leader Thomas Mayo and acclaimed journalist Kerry O'Brien, as they talk about the Voice to Parliament and how it might function. The Voice to Parliament Handbook is a clear and simple guide for Australians who want to better understand what a Voice to Parliament actually means.
Copies of the book can be purchased on the night from the National Library Bookshop and, following the discussion in the Theatre, Thomas Mayo and Kerry O'Brien will be available for book signings in the Foyer. This event is free to attend but bookings are essential.
For those unable to make it to Canberra for the talk, it will be available to view online via the Library's Facebook and YouTube pages. You do not need to book a ticket to watch the event online.
Thomas Mayo is a Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man. He is a union official with the MUA and is an advocate in the campaign for a constitutionally enshrined Voice – the key proposal in the Uluru Statement. He is the Chairperson of the Northern Territory Indigenous Labor Network, advises the Diversity Council of Australia and the From the Heart campaign, and is an executive member of the Northern Territory Trades and Labour Council. Thomas is the author of four books, and has articles and essays published in The Guardian, Griffith Review and Sydney Morning Herald.
Kerry O’Brien is a prominent Australian journalist and author whose long career includes 28 years as a national current affairs television presenter and interviewer. He has specialised in politics, but has also built a strong base in economics and business journalism, as well as investigative reporting. He has interviewed presidents and prime ministers across the world.
Kerry has worked for every free to air television network, but has spent more than 30 years in public broadcasting. He cut his teeth on trail-blazing ABC current affairs programs like This Day Tonight and Four Corners, and was the first presenter of the ground-breaking late night news analysis program, Lateline. He was also Editor and Presenter of the National 7.30 Report for 15 years.
Kerry has written two books, one on former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating and, more recently, a memoir on the social and political upheavals he has witnessed in half a century of journalism. Over decades he has also built a strong body of conference work as a speaker, moderator and interviewer.
Venue
Parkes Place
National Library of Australia