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Former Member Details

The Hon. Dr Meredith Anne BURGMANN, AM, MA(Syd) PhD(Macq) (1947 - )

Member Photo
Date of Birth: 26/07/1947
Place of Birth: Beecroft, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Date of Death:
Place of Death:
Parliamentary Service
Position Start End Period Notes
President 11 May 1999 02 Mar 2007 7 years 9 months 20 days
Member, Select Committee on Conservatorium of Music 01 Jan 1997 01 Jan 1997 1 day
Chair, Standing Committee on Parliamentary Privilege and Ethics 24 May 1995 03 Feb 1999 3 years 8 months 11 days
Legislative Council Representative, Council of University of New South Wales 01 Jan 1995 01 Jan 1999 4 years 1 day
Member of the NSW Legislative Council 25 May 1991 23 Mar 2007 15 years 9 months 27 days
Member, Joint Select Committee on the Office of the Ombudsman 01 Jan 1991 01 Jan 1995 4 years 1 day
Political Party Activity
Australian Labor Party (ALP). Member since 1971. Industrial Relations Committee, 1990-95. Foreign Affairs Committee, 1986-90. Delegate to New South Wales conference from Sydney Federal Executive Council.
Community Activity
Spokesperson, National Pay Equity Coalition. Life Member, National Tertiary Education Union. Patron, Friends of Public Football Grounds. Member of Amnesty International; Mandela Foundation; Australian Society for the Study of Labour History; Sydney Swans; Balmain Leagues; Womens International League for Peace and Freedom; Evatt Foundation; Greenpeace; Australian Conservation Foundation; Wilderness Society; Black Womens Action for Education; Zimbabwe Information Centre.
Qualifications, occupations and interests
B.A. Sydney University 1969 (English and Government). M.A. Sydney University 1973 (Foreign Policy). Ph.D. Macquarie University 1981 (Industrial Relations). Formerly senior lecturer in politics, Macquarie University. Interests: equal pay, labour history, feminist writing and watching cricket.
Military Service
Honours Received
Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia awarded for significant service to the people and Parliament of New South Wales in the Australia Day 2020 honours list.
Membership of other Parliaments & Offices Held
Local Government Activity
Councillor of the Sydney City Council from September 2008.
Personal
Daughter of Victor Dudley Burgmann (son of Ernest Henry Burgmann, Anglican Bishop of Canberrra-Goulburn) and his wife Lorna Constance Bradbury. Married in 1985 to Glen Batchelor and they had 1 son in 1986. They divorced in 1990. Her niece, Verity Firth MP, is a Member of the Legislative Assembly.
Additional Information
Publications - Articles and Chapters in Books on Equal Pay, Environmentalism, Aboriginal Rights, Foreign Policy, and HV Evatt; Green Bans Red Union, Environmental Activism & the New South Wales Builders Labourers' Federation, University of New South Wales Press 1998. (Co-authored with Verity Burgmann.) First Speech: First speech