Ross Gittins
| Ross Gittins | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 February 1948 Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of Newcastle, Australia |
| Awards | Member of the Order of Australia (AM) |
Ross Gittins AM (born 1948, Newcastle, Australia) is an Australian political and economic journalist and author, known for "his ability to make dry, hard-to-understand economics and economic policy relevant".[1]
Early life and education
Ross Roderick Gittins was born 13 February 1948 in Newcastle, New South Wales where his family were living at New Lambton. His parents, Salvation Army officers[2] moved to Sydney and Ross started schooling at Fort Street High School. The family then moved to Bathurst before moving back to New Lambton and Ross completed his secondary schooling at Newcastle Boys High School (1962 – 64).[3]
Ross then matriculated to the University of Newcastle where he studied in the Faculty of Economics and Commerce being graduated in 1970 as a Bachelor of Commerce.[4] He had studied part-time for 2 years whilst working with a Newcastle chartered accountant before gaining a Commonwealth Scholarship which enabled him to finish his studies on a full-time basis.[3]
Upon completion of his degree, he moved to Sydney where he worked for a large firm of chartered accountants.[3]
Finance journalist
Gittins regularly writes for Fairfax publications The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, commentating on underlying economic issues and political economic policies. In 1993 he won the Citibank Pan Asia award for excellence in finance journalism.[5]
Gittins was awarded a Centenary Medal in 2003 for service to economic journalism in Australia[6] and made a Member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2008 for service to journalism as a commentator on economic theory, policy and behavioural economics, and to the accountancy profession.[7]
He celebrated his 30th year as the Herald's economics editor in 2008, having assumed the position during the Fraser government in 1978.[8]
In 2011, Gittins was awarded a Doctor of Letters from Macquarie University.[1]
Gittins is an associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.[5]
Ross Gittins lectures year 11 and 12 high school students around Australia to in order to share his knowledge and understanding of the Australian economy. He has made a trip to Normanhurst Boys High School 18 May 2014 where he lectured the students on the 2014 Budget. [9]
Bibliography
- Gittins, Ross: Gittinomics: living the good life without money stress, overwork and joyless consumption, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest NSW, c2007, ISBN 978-1-74175-092-8
- Gittins, Ross: Gittins' guide to economics, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest NSW, 2006. Edition: [4th edition], ISBN 1-74114-799-9
- Tiffen, Rod and Gittins, Ross: How Australia compares, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 2nd edition, 2009, ISBN 978-0-521-71245-3
- Gittins, Ross: The Australian economy : a student's guide to current economic conditions, Warringal Publications, Coburg, VIC, 2009, ISBN 978-1-921128-21-9
- Gittins, Ross: The Happy Economist : Happiness for the hard-headed, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest NSW, 2010 ISBN 978-1-74175-673-9
References
- 1 2 Phillips, Nicky (29 September 2011). "Honour for Ross Gittins". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ↑ Gittins, Ross. "Ross Gittins: A sally on the inside". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 Ross Gittins (Economics Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald) (2009-08-08). Give My Regrets to Waratah High (Speech). Newcastle Boys’ High School Old Boys’ Association annual dinner. Newcastle City Hall. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
The first high school I went to was Fort Street Boys’, then my parents – who were Salvation Army officers – were moved to Bathurst for a year before being moved back to the suburb in which I’d been born, New Lambton. That means I was at Boys’ High only for my last three years of high school, 1962, 63 and 64 – which was the second last year of the five-year leaving certificate before the introduction of the six-year HSC. The fact that two years after I left school no one left school in NSW proved particularly fortunate for me because, by then I’d finished my second part-time year of a commerce degree at Newcastle Uni. I wanted to switch to full-time, so I applied for a Commonwealth scholarship and, despite a checkered academic record, I got one – purely because they were going begging that year. ... A local chartered accountant, Ray Patrick, came to the school saying he needed to employ a junior audit clerk. Mr Kerr recommended me, I took the job with alacrity and worked for Ray Patrick for two years before going to uni full-time and then moving to Sydney to work for one of the big chartered accounting firms.
- ↑ "Conferring of Degrees – 1970". The Gazette. 4 (1). Newcastle, New South Wales: The University of Newcastle, Australia. May 1970. p. 3.
- 1 2 Cornerstones at the Wayback Machine (archived 21 August 2006)
- ↑ Australian Government. "Australian Honours database. GITTINS, Ross Roderick. Centenary Medal.". It's an honour.
For service to economic journalism in Australia.
- ↑ Australian Government. "Australian Honours database. GITTINS, Ross Roderick. Member of the Order of Australia.". It's an honour.
For service to journalism as a commentator on economic theory, policy and behavioural economics, and to the accountancy profession.
- ↑ You've come a long way, baby | businessday.com.au
- ↑
External links
- Column archives at the Sydney Morning Herald
- ABC TV interview on covering Australian economy for 40 years