Janet Albrechtsen
Encyclopedia
Janet Kim Albrechtsen is a conservative Australian opinion columnist with the News Limited
-owned newspaper, The Australian
. From 2005 through 2010, she was a member of the Board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, Australia's state-owned national broadcaster.
and attended Seacombe High School. She subsequently studied at University of Adelaide
, graduating in law, with honours. Albrechtsen later moved to Sydney
, where she worked as a solicitor in commercial law at Freehills
. She subsequently attained a doctorate
in law (SJD
) from the University of Sydney
. Her thesis was titled: 'The regulation of the fundraising process in Australia: searching for an optimal mix between legislative prescriptions and market forces'. Albrechtsen has also taught as an academic.
, The Sydney Morning Herald
, The Sunday Age, Quadrant
, Canada's National Post
, The Vancouver Sun
and The Wall Street Journal Asia
. Albrechtsen has been a member of the Foreign Affairs Council since 2003.
Albrechtsen was appointed to the board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
in 2005. She told reporters in late 2009 that she was planning to retire from the board, and completed her five-year term on 18 February 2010 without seeking reappointment.
In 2008, Albrechtsen wrote a chapter for Peter van Onselen
's book The Liberals and Power. She argued the Liberals have become preoccupied with "dominating the rational low ground," abandoning the high moral ground
to the left. Left-wing reviewer Norman Abjorensen said he appreciated her view of Howard's legacy as not just a transformation of the Australian economy but also one of the Labor Party.
Janet Albrechtsen is also an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
policies, as well as social conservativism, such as opposition to gay marriage and assimilation of migrants.
A frequent commentator on legal issues, she has criticized both the High Court of Australia
and the Family Court of Australia
for judicial activism
.
Media Watch asserted that she was misquoting a report in the London Times
which said that
Additionally, Media Watch claimed that Albrechtsen's article misrepresented the findings of Flemming Balvig, a criminologist at Copenhagen University. While extending her aforementioned argument that gang-rape forms an initiation rite for a section of French, male Muslim adolescents, Albrechtsen represents Balvig's research thus:
"Denmark presents a similar story. Last year,Flemming Balvig a criminologist at Copenhagen University, confirmed the French
experience of this barbaric rite of passage
into manhood for some of these young men."
Balvig refuted this use of his work, viewing it as misrepresentation. In an exchange with Media Watch he writes:
"The citation is completely wrong. What I have said is, that the main explanation of gang rape probably is social, and not
cultural or religious."
In a short response that did not deal with the content of the allegations made against her, Albrechtsen accused Media Watch of left-wing bias and ambush journalism, citing "misleading conduct of the kind you [Media Watch] purport to expose",
News Limited
News Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
-owned newspaper, The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
. From 2005 through 2010, she was a member of the Board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, Australia's state-owned national broadcaster.
Early life and education
Albrechtsen was born in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and attended Seacombe High School. She subsequently studied at University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
, graduating in law, with honours. Albrechtsen later moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, where she worked as a solicitor in commercial law at Freehills
Freehills
Freehills is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia it is considered one of the 'Big Six' law firms.-Offices:Freehills has offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane in Australia...
. She subsequently attained a doctorate
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in law (SJD
Doctor of Juridical Science
Doctor of Juridical Science, Doctor of the Science of Law, Scientiae Juridicae Doctor , abbreviated J.S.D. or S.J.D., is a research doctorate in law and equivalent to the PhD It is offered primarily in the United States, where it originated, and in Canada...
) from the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
. Her thesis was titled: 'The regulation of the fundraising process in Australia: searching for an optimal mix between legislative prescriptions and market forces'. Albrechtsen has also taught as an academic.
Career
Since turning to commentary, Albrechtsen has written for the Australian Financial Review, The AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
, The Sunday Age, Quadrant
Quadrant (magazine)
Quadrant is an Australian literary and cultural journal. The magazine takes a conservative position on political and social issues, describing itself as sceptical of 'unthinking Leftism, or political correctness, and its "smelly little orthodoxies"'. Quadrant reviews literature, as well as...
, Canada's National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, The Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver Sun
The Vancouver Sun is a daily newspaper first published in the Canadian province of British Columbia on February 12, 1912. The paper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. It is published six days a week, Monday to Saturday...
and The Wall Street Journal Asia
The Wall Street Journal Asia
The Wall Street Journal Asia, a version of The Wall Street Journal provides news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. It was founded in 1976 and is printed in nine Asian cities: Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo....
. Albrechtsen has been a member of the Foreign Affairs Council since 2003.
Albrechtsen was appointed to the board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
in 2005. She told reporters in late 2009 that she was planning to retire from the board, and completed her five-year term on 18 February 2010 without seeking reappointment.
In 2008, Albrechtsen wrote a chapter for Peter van Onselen
Peter van Onselen
Professor Peter van Onselen is the Contributing Editor at The Australian newspaper where he writes a weekly Saturday Focus column, a Wednesday column for the Business back-page and a fortnightly column in the Higher Education section. He also writes a weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph and...
's book The Liberals and Power. She argued the Liberals have become preoccupied with "dominating the rational low ground," abandoning the high moral ground
Moral high ground
The moral high ground, in ethical or political parlance, refers to the status of being respected for remaining moral, and adhering to and upholding a universally recognized standard of justice or goodness...
to the left. Left-wing reviewer Norman Abjorensen said he appreciated her view of Howard's legacy as not just a transformation of the Australian economy but also one of the Labor Party.
Janet Albrechtsen is also an Ambassador for the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.
Personal life
She was married in 1991 to lawyer John O'Sullivan and now has 3 children, two daughters and a son.Views and influence
Albrechtsen's views are generally right-wing. She supports free marketFree market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
policies, as well as social conservativism, such as opposition to gay marriage and assimilation of migrants.
A frequent commentator on legal issues, she has criticized both the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
and the Family Court of Australia
Family Court of Australia
The Family Court of Australia is a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters. Together with the Federal Magistrates Court, it covers family law matters in all states and territories of Australia except Western Australia...
for judicial activism
Judicial activism
Judicial activism describes judicial ruling suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing law. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The definition of judicial activism, and which specific decisions are activist, is a controversial...
.
Global warming
According to Mark Davis, a Melbourne University academic, Albrechtsen was one of four 'suspect' commentators in the Australian press to "sound the warning that this environmental catastrophe [global warming] will pass into memory" in the 2000s.Muslims
In 2002, the ABC's Media Watch program queried Albrechtsen's source for a claim in a column that- ”Pack rape of white girls is an initiation rite of passage for a small section of young male Muslim youths, said Jean-Jacques Rassial, a psychotherapist at Villetaneuse University".
Media Watch asserted that she was misquoting a report in the London Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
which said that
- ”Jean-Jacques Rassial, a psychotherapist at Villetaneuse University, said gang rape had become an initiation rite for male adolescents in city suburbs."
Additionally, Media Watch claimed that Albrechtsen's article misrepresented the findings of Flemming Balvig, a criminologist at Copenhagen University. While extending her aforementioned argument that gang-rape forms an initiation rite for a section of French, male Muslim adolescents, Albrechtsen represents Balvig's research thus:
"Denmark presents a similar story. Last year,Flemming Balvig a criminologist at Copenhagen University, confirmed the French
experience of this barbaric rite of passage
into manhood for some of these young men."
Balvig refuted this use of his work, viewing it as misrepresentation. In an exchange with Media Watch he writes:
"The citation is completely wrong. What I have said is, that the main explanation of gang rape probably is social, and not
cultural or religious."
In a short response that did not deal with the content of the allegations made against her, Albrechtsen accused Media Watch of left-wing bias and ambush journalism, citing "misleading conduct of the kind you [Media Watch] purport to expose",
External links
- Archive of Albrechtsen's columns with reader comments, from February 2007 onwards