Sallyanne Atkinson
Encyclopedia
Sallyanne Atkinson AO
(born 23 July 1942) is an Australian politician
, former Lord Mayor of Brisbane and former chair
of ABC Learning
, a bankrupted Australian childcare
operator.
She is Special Representative for the Queensland Government in South-East Asia.
, New South Wales
. She completed her secondary education at St Hilda's School
on Queensland's
Gold Coast
, as well as Bishop's College
in Colombo
, Sri Lanka
. Prior to being elected Lord Mayor, Atkinson held a variety of jobs, including as a journalist
for the Brisbane Telegraph from 1960 to 1962, the Sydney Telegraph from 1962 to 1963, and the Courier Mail
from 1963 to 1964. She received a Bachelor of Arts
degree from the University of Queensland
in 1967. She also wrote a number of books, including Sallyanne Atkinson's Brisbane Guide which was released in 1985.
While living in Edinburgh
, Scotland
, she joined the Conservative Party
. Upon her return to Australia, she was elected to the Brisbane City Council, first as a Liberal Party councillor, and then as Lord Mayor.
candidate William Charles Roy Harvey. She became the first female Lord Mayor of Brisbane, as well as the first from the Liberal Party.
While popular with the media, Atkinson quickly began to receive criticism from the public for her expensive overseas trips, extravagant mayoral salary, and costly engineering projects.
She was eventually defeated in 1991 in a narrow upset election win by the virtually unknown Jim Soorley
, who received preferences from the Greens
candidate Drew Hutton
. This result was unexpected, as Atkinson was perceived to be very popular at the time. As a result, it took Atkinson many weeks to actually accept the election results, and hand the mayoralty over to Soorley.
, she supported the Olympic bids of many cities around Australia, including the Brisbane bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics
and the successful Sydney 2000 Olympics Bid
. In France she was the European Representative for the Sydney Olympic Committee. She was subsequently made the Deputy Mayor
of the athletes' village
.
Atkinson was awarded Australian Catholic University's (ACU National) highest honour, Doctor of the University (honoris causa), at the Brisbane Campus graduation ceremony held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 2 April 2004. ACU National Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Sheehan AO, said the award recognises Ms Atkinson's extraordinary contribution to Australia's international reputation as a location for sporting events, and her contribution to government and the community. “Through her many years of generous service, in particular her work on the Olympic bids for Brisbane and Sydney and as Deputy Mayor of the Olympic Village at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Ms Atkinson has contributed to Australia’s eminent status in world sport. In 1993 Ms Atkinson was created an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to local government and the community, and in 2003 she was awarded a Centenary Medal for service to local government and to business. Sallyanne Atkinson is a most distinguished Australian, an eminent Queenslander, and has brought great credit to the city of Brisbane.”
Atkinson has been honoured with Rotary International's highest award, is an Honorary Fellow for the Australian Institute of Management
, and is an honorary Life Member of the National Trust. She has served as founding member of the board of the United Nations' International Council for Local Environment Initiatives, a role in which she chaired the first meeting at the UN in New York.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 23 July 1942) is an Australian politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, former Lord Mayor of Brisbane and former chair
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
of ABC Learning
ABC Learning
ABC Learning is an Australian company that was the world's largest provider of Early Childhood Education services. It is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with its market capitalisation reaching A$2.5 billion in March 2006...
, a bankrupted Australian childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
operator.
She is Special Representative for the Queensland Government in South-East Asia.
Early life
Atkinson was born in SydneySydney
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...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. She completed her secondary education at St Hilda's School
St Hilda's School
St Hilda's School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Southport, a central suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia....
on Queensland's
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, as well as Bishop's College
Bishop's College
Bishop's College in Colombo, Sri Lanka was founded by the Anglican Church of Ceylon in February 1875.It is a fee-levying private school, with over 2000 students at all grades from Kindergarten to Grade 14. The current principal is Mrs...
in Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Prior to being elected Lord Mayor, Atkinson held a variety of jobs, including as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for the Brisbane Telegraph from 1960 to 1962, the Sydney Telegraph from 1962 to 1963, and the Courier Mail
The Courier-Mail
The Courier-Mail is a daily newspaper published in Brisbane, Australia. Owned by News Limited, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner northern suburbs, and it is printed at Murarrie, in Brisbane's...
from 1963 to 1964. She received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from the University of Queensland
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
in 1967. She also wrote a number of books, including Sallyanne Atkinson's Brisbane Guide which was released in 1985.
While living in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, she joined the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. Upon her return to Australia, she was elected to the Brisbane City Council, first as a Liberal Party councillor, and then as Lord Mayor.
Lord Mayor of Brisbane
Sallyanne Atkinson was elected to the Lord Mayoralty in 1985, after defeating the ALPAustralian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
candidate William Charles Roy Harvey. She became the first female Lord Mayor of Brisbane, as well as the first from the Liberal Party.
While popular with the media, Atkinson quickly began to receive criticism from the public for her expensive overseas trips, extravagant mayoral salary, and costly engineering projects.
She was eventually defeated in 1991 in a narrow upset election win by the virtually unknown Jim Soorley
Jim Soorley
James Gerard Soorley is a former Australian politician. He served as Australian Labor Party Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1991 to 2003. Soorley is a former Roman Catholic Priest and continues to be a strong human rights advocate...
, who received preferences from the Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
candidate Drew Hutton
Drew Hutton
Peter Drew Hutton is an activist, academic, campaigner and past political candidate for the Queensland Greens in elections in Queensland, Australia at all three levels of government....
. This result was unexpected, as Atkinson was perceived to be very popular at the time. As a result, it took Atkinson many weeks to actually accept the election results, and hand the mayoralty over to Soorley.
Subsequent career
After leaving the position as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Atkinson was Australia's Senior Trade Commissioner to France from 1994-1997. Her role was to promote Australian exports and encourage investment in Australia. She was also Australia's representative to the International Chamber of Commerce. While a representative of the Australian Olympic CommitteeAustralian Olympic Committee
The Australian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Australian competitors to Olympic events organised by the International Olympic Committee .-Background:The...
, she supported the Olympic bids of many cities around Australia, including the Brisbane bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
and the successful Sydney 2000 Olympics Bid
2000 Summer Olympics bids
Five cities made presentations to the IOC Session in Monte Carlo to host the 2000 Summer Olympics. These were awarded to Sydney, Australia on September 23, 1993...
. In France she was the European Representative for the Sydney Olympic Committee. She was subsequently made the Deputy Mayor
Deputy Mayor
Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence...
of the athletes' village
Olympic Village
An Olympic Village is an accommodation centre built for an Olympic Games, usually within an Olympic Park or elsewhere in a host city. Olympic Villages are built to house all participating athletes, as well as officials, athletic trainers, and other staff. Since the Munich Massacre at the 1972...
.
Atkinson was awarded Australian Catholic University's (ACU National) highest honour, Doctor of the University (honoris causa), at the Brisbane Campus graduation ceremony held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 2 April 2004. ACU National Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Sheehan AO, said the award recognises Ms Atkinson's extraordinary contribution to Australia's international reputation as a location for sporting events, and her contribution to government and the community. “Through her many years of generous service, in particular her work on the Olympic bids for Brisbane and Sydney and as Deputy Mayor of the Olympic Village at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Ms Atkinson has contributed to Australia’s eminent status in world sport. In 1993 Ms Atkinson was created an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to local government and the community, and in 2003 she was awarded a Centenary Medal for service to local government and to business. Sallyanne Atkinson is a most distinguished Australian, an eminent Queenslander, and has brought great credit to the city of Brisbane.”
Honours and awards
- 1993 - Officer of the Order of Australia
- 2003 - Centenary MedalCentenary MedalThe Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
Atkinson has been honoured with Rotary International's highest award, is an Honorary Fellow for the Australian Institute of Management
Australian Institute of Management
The Australian Institute of Management is Australia's largest professional body for managers. The sole purpose of AIM is to promote the advancement of education and learning in the field of management and leadership for commerce, industry and government. It is not for profit entity with branches...
, and is an honorary Life Member of the National Trust. She has served as founding member of the board of the United Nations' International Council for Local Environment Initiatives, a role in which she chaired the first meeting at the UN in New York.