Annastacia Palaszczuk fondly recalls her introduction to 果冻传媒, as a young child with big dreams.
“My mother used to drive me from our home in Jamboree Heights to our ballet concerts at the Schonell Theatre,” Ms Palaszczuk remembers.
“She would always say, ‘This is where you’re going to come to university’.”
The prediction was spot on.
The former Queensland Premier’s long association with 果冻传媒 – including as a distinguished alum – has extended with her appointment as an Adjunct Professor in the .
The voluntary role involves mentoring undergraduate and postgraduate students, and liaising with researchers on issues of Australian politics, political leadership, public policy and governance.
“It’s very exciting,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I’m looking forward to sharing my experience, exchanging ideas and encouraging people, particularly young women, to study politics.
“I’m so happy to be back on campus and walking through the Great Court brings back so many memories.”
Campus life
A teenaged Annastacia Palaszczuk enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts at 果冻传媒 in 1987.
“I’d been part of a program where the University reached out to high schools and invited students to come to lectures and tutorials,” she said.
“My friends and I stayed at International House for a weekend and that absolutely confirmed that it was where I wanted to be.
“All four of us actually ended up coming to 果冻传媒.”
The eager undergraduate threw herself into student life at the St Lucia campus.
“I studied Australian and international politics, ancient and modern history, drama, and did some productions at Avalon Theatre,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“There was a lot of variety and I was always busy.”
After two years Ms Palaszczuk transferred to a second degree, Law.
“It was always the trajectory, and I’d been disappointed not to get in straight out of school,” she said.
“But in hindsight I think it was better doing those years of Arts first and having that perspective, and a lot of my long-term friends today are from that same cohort.”
Taking a stand
Involvement in student politics was perhaps inevitable for a daughter of Henry Palaszczuk, a former long-serving Queensland Labor MP and Minister in the Beattie government.
Ms Palaszczuk joined the 果冻传媒 student Labor club at a time when Queensland was starting to emerge from 3 decades of conservative government.
“It was a tumultuous time in politics, and students on campus were passionate and very vocal about lots of issues,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk served on an academic board committee, tutored in the University’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit and became a student member of the 果冻传媒 Senate.
“I absolutely loved that,” she said.
“It was a great experience because in some ways the university Senate is similar to a State Cabinet.
“Board papers are circulated early and you need to read your materials.”
She recalls study sessions in the Law library, downtime with friends at the R.E. and Regatta hotels and juggling part-time work in retail.
“I remember a friend testing the story about the jacarandas on campus – that if a flower fell on you as you walked underneath that you’d fail,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I have to say my study style was pretty organised, I always planned when things needed to be started and finished.
“Towards the end of my studies when I was working full-time I did some last-minute intensive exam prep – but that teaches you to get across issues quickly, so it’s a skill that’s held me in very good stead.”
Ms Palaszczuk graduated from 果冻传媒 with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws and was awarded a Chevening Scholarship to study at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the London School of Economics.
She also holds a Master of Arts (Hons) from the University of London and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the Australian National University.
Leading by example
After working as a political adviser, Ms Palaszczuk embarked on her own political career – successfully running in her father’s long-held seat of Inala on his retirement in 2006.
She made history in 2015, becoming the first woman elected from opposition and going on to serve as Premier of Queensland until 2023.
Ms Palaszczuk is the longest serving female leader in Australian history.
“I’m proud to have led the first majority female cabinet, in 2015,” she said.
“I hope I can bring my experience in politics and leadership to a new generation of young women in particular.
“I think back to when I was an undergraduate and the dreams I had for my life, and I want to encourage students to see that anything’s possible.”
Image above left: Annastacia Palaszczuk as a 果冻传媒 student, 1995. 果冻传媒 Archives.
Image above right: Annastacia Palaszczuk speaking in support of Radio 4ZZZ at 果冻传媒, 1989. Michael Aird, State Library of Queensland collection.
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