Claire Dunne

Last updated

Claire Dunne
OAM
Born
Claire Mary Elizabeth Dunne

1937 (age 8687)
Ireland
Occupations
  • Actress
  • author
  • lecturer
  • broadcaster
  • multiculture activist

Claire Mary Elizabeth Dunne OAM (born 1937) is an Irish-born Australian actress, author, lecturer and broadcaster. Her first name is also found spelled "Clare".

Contents

1960s Australian celebrity

Dunne was a popular Australian television and film personality of the 1960s. She starred as "Kay" in the seminal Australian film They're a Weird Mob (1966) and was also a regular on Beauty and the Beast with Maggie Tabberer.

Her fame within Australia in the 1960s was described by Thomas Keneally:

Multicultural broadcasting pioneer

Dunne went on to pioneer multicultural broadcasting in Australia as a foundation director of what became the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), as well as a presenter and a producer of radio and television for SBS. [2]

In 1986, then-prime minister Bob Hawke delivered a "series of blows aimed at multiculturalism", including a decision to close the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs [3] and proposed legislation that would merge SBS into the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Dunne was a vociferous opponent of both changes. She said at the time:

"I think there is going to be an uproar. There seems to be an undeclared Government change of policy about multiculturalism. Last week it was announced that the Institute of Multicultural Affairs would be closed. Now it is the SBS-ABC merger in spite of the fact that only six months ago the Government decided to let it be independent." [4]

There was indeed an uproar, eventually leading the prime minister to call off the merger.

She was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1999 for "service to multiculturalism, particularly through the promotion of Celtic culture, and to ethnic broadcasting". [5]

Author

Dunne has published three books:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Broadcasting Service</span> Australian public radio and TV network

The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels and seven radio networks. SBS Online is home to SBS On Demand video streaming service.

Susan O'Neill, is an Australian former competitive swimmer from Brisbane, Queensland, nicknamed "Madame Butterfly". She achieved eight Olympic Games medals during her swimming career.

Mary Kostakidis is an Australian journalist and political commentator. She is the former prime time weeknight SBS World News Australia presenter and was the face of SBS over two decades. Her journalism spans geopolitical issues, democracy and press freedom. Her commentary covers areas including the Middle East, national security, AUKUS, China and the failings of mainstream media. Her work is published by independent media including public policy journal Pearls and Irritations and has used Twitter/X extensively to contemporaneously report court proceedings in great detail, including the four week UK evidentiary Extradition hearing of Julian Assange and subsequent appeals.

RTÉ News and Current Affairs, also known simply as RTÉ News, is the national news service provided by Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Its services include local, national, European and international news, investigative journalism and current affairs programming for RTÉ television, radio, online, podcasts, on-demand and for independent Irish language public broadcaster TG4. It is the largest and most popular news source in Ireland – with 77% of the Irish public regarding it as their main source of both Irish and international news. It broadcasts in English, Irish and Irish Sign Language. The organisation is also a source of commentary on current affairs. The division is based at the RTÉ Television Centre in Donnybrook, Dublin; however, the station also operates regional bureaux across Ireland and the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Warren</span> Australian soccer player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster

John Norman Warren, MBE, OAM was an Australian soccer player, coach, administrator, writer and broadcaster. He was known as Captain Socceroo for his passionate work to promote the game in Australia. The award for the best player in the A-League is named the Johnny Warren Medal in his honour.

Mary Kennedy is an Irish television personality and former newscaster, and writer. She presented the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 from the Point Theatre in Dublin. She has also presented her own Saturday night chat show called Kennedy, a precursor to Saturday Night with Miriam. Kennedy was co-presenter of the magazine programme Open House with Marty Whelan. She has previously presented Up for the Match and the People of the Year Awards. She was co-presenter of Nationwide with Anne Cassin until 2019, having been so for a time with Michael Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tottie Goldsmith</span> Australian actress, singer (born 1962)

Caroline "Tottie" Goldsmith is an Australian actress and singer. She was a founding member of the Chantoozies, a pop group formed in 1986.

Government in Australia is elected by universal suffrage and Australian women participate in all levels of the government of the nation. In 1902, the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia became the first nation on earth to enact equal suffrage, enabling women to both vote and stand for election alongside men Women have been represented in Australian state parliaments since 1921, and in the Federal Parliament since 1943. The first female leader of an Australian State or Territory was elected in 1989, and the first female Prime Minister took office in 2010. In 2019 for the first time, a majority of members of the Australian Senate were women. At the time of its foundation in 1901, and again from 1952 to 2022, Australia has had a female monarch as ceremonial Head of State, while the first female Governor of an Australian State was appointed in 1991, and the first female Governor-General of Australia took office in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristina Keneally</span> Australian politician (born 1968)

Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally is an American-born Australian politician who served as the first female Premier of New South Wales from 2009 to 2011 and was later a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022. She resigned from the Senate to contest the House of Representatives seat of Fowler, but was unsuccessful. From 2019 to 2022 she served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, and Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SBS (Australian TV channel)</span> National public television network in Australia

SBS is a multicultural public TV network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2023, SBS had an 8.5% audience share, compared to 2018 when SBS had a 7.7% audience share.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SBS Radio</span> Australian multicultural radio network

SBS Radio is an Australian radio network owned by the Special Broadcasting Service directed towards newly arrived immigrants in Australia. It originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded information about the then-new Medibank health care system in languages other than English. Nowadays, the network targets the estimated 4+ million Australians who speak a language other than English at home with programs in 68 languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Indigenous Television</span> Australian television channel

National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week NITV News Update, with programming including other news and current affairs programmes, sports coverage, entertainment for children and adults, films and documentaries covering a range of topics. Its primary audience is Indigenous Australians, but many non-Indigenous people tune in to learn more about the history of and issues affecting the country's First Nations peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Michaels</span>

Harry Michaels, (OAM), is an Australian entrepreneur, active in the soccer and television industries as an actor, director and producer. He is of Greek Cypriot descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malarndirri McCarthy</span> Indigenous Australian politician and journalist

Malarndirri Barbara Anne McCarthy is an Indigenous Australian politician and former journalist who has been a Senator for the Northern Territory since 2016. She is the Minister for Indigenous Australians in the Albanese Government since 29 July 2024. She previously served in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multiculturalism in Australia</span> Feature of Australian society

Multiculturalism in Australia is today reflected by the multicultural composition of its people, its immigration policies, its prohibition on discrimination, equality before the law of all persons, as well as various cultural policies which promote diversity, such as the formation of the Special Broadcasting Service.

Judyth Watson was an Australian former politician.

Bülent Hass Dellal was a director and chairman of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) in Australia before stepping down on 2 June 2020.

The State Government of Tasmania in Australia established the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2005 to recognise Tasmanian women who have been distinguished in their contributions to the State. In 2021 Martine Delaney became the first openly transgender woman into the Honour Roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dai Le</span> Australian politician (born 1 April 1968)

Dai Trang Le is a Vietnamese-born Australian politician currently serving as the federal member for Fowler and councillor for Fairfield/Cabravale Ward.

References

  1. "Australian Biography: Thomas Keneally". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. "CLARE DUNNE'S success story..." The Australian Women's Weekly . National Library of Australia. 1 October 1975. p. 65. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  3. Dunne, Clare (1986). "AIMA axed" (PDF). Ethnic Spotlight. No. 10. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  4. Lois E. Foster (1988). David Stockley (ed.). Australian Multiculturalism: A Documentary History and Critique. Multilingual Matters. pp. 178–. ISBN   978-1-85359-008-5. OCLC   1272025663.
  5. "Ms Clare Mary Elizabeth Dunne, OAM". Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 20 February 2022.