Meredith Burgmann

Overview

Meredith Burgmann born Beecroft, Sydney, Australia July 26, 1947. Professor; UN development consultant. Australian Labor Party politician; 15-year member of New South Wales Senate; Senate President, 1999-2007. Arrested 21 times, including for running on field of Sydney Cricket Ground during the South African rugby team's Australian tour to protest apartheid, 1971; later sentenced to two months in prison. Opposed Vietnam War and nuclear weapons; publicly opposed Iraq War.

Quotations

"Australia, it seems, has learnt nothing from the Vietnam experience. . . The polls clearly show that this is a war that the majority of Australians do not want. . . They are hesitant about unilateral US action. The Federal Government should not push Australia into an unnecessary war." (The Sun-Herald, Sept. 29, 2002; photo smsa.org)