Boffins Books present a book signing with former Western Australian Premier Brian Burke for his new book, A Tumultuous Life.
***Copies of the book are strictly limited. Bookings are ESSENTIAL to reserve your place. Please use this Trybooking link to pre-order your copy for collection at the event.***
Can't make it? We'll happily have a copy of A Tumultuous Life signed for you. Simply contact us via phone, email, online or visit us in-store, and we'll take care of the rest.
In this book, Brian Burke tells his side of the story. It is the story of an aspiring young politician who gathered around him a group of talented, like-minded Labor Party idealists branded by the press as the Young Turks. Together they reinvented the Labor Party in Western Australia. Brian Burke was 35 years of age when he led Labor to its biggest ever victory when the party won government in WA in 1983. This victory followed a period of 24 years in which Labor had held power for only one term between 1971 and 1974. At the age of 36 Burke was sworn in as Premier. While still in his 40s, he had already been a member of the WA Parliament for 15 years, Leader of the WA Opposition, Premier of WA, Ambassador to Ireland and the Holy See - and incarcerated in Wooroloo Prison. He describes his life as one of success, of failure and of regret - regret about things he may have done better; things done for the right reasons that didn't work as well as he hoped.
A son of federal Labor parliamentarian Tom Burke, Brian Burke started his career as a journalist, initially at The West Australian newspaper and later in radio and television.
Burke entered the Legislative Assembly at the 1973 Balcatta by-election. In 1981, Brian Burke defeated Ron Davies to become opposition leader. At the 19 February 1983 state election, he became the state's 23rd premier (and its third youngest after John Scaddan and Newton Moore).
His premiership was characterised by very close associations with businessmen such as Laurie Connell and Alan Bond and arranging joint government and business deals. The corporate deals and the attempted government-sponsored rescue of Rothwells under subsequent premier Peter Dowding were widely styled in media and civil society as "WA Inc".
Burke resigned as premier and as member for Balga on 25 February 1988, on the fifth anniversary of his becoming premier and his own 41st birthday.
