Mark Latham is a highly respected Australian Politician and former TV personality. Besides his numerous successes in politics, he is highly revered for his unapologetic manner at which he dishes out his opinions on topical issues, giving no care in the world as to what critics say or think. A highly controversial figure, this top bloke became loved, feared and hated by some for his 2017 statements on Rebel Media in which he claimed that same-sex marriage is the main focus of media coverage despite the limited number of people in the gay community. Yeah, he said that, irrespective of the fact that his eldest son is gay. That being said, continue reading to know more about Mark Latham, who he is, his successes and unending controversies.
Who Is Mark Latham?
As stated earlier, Mark Latham is a highly respected Australian politician, political commentator and former TV personality who also equals as a writer and columnists. He was born on 28 February 1961 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Growing up, he attended the Hurlstone Agricultural High School in Glenfield, Sydney. Upon graduating from high school, he decided to further his studies at the University of Sydney where he studied economics. In 1982, he graduated from the University with a Bachelor’s in Economics with honors as a result of his outstanding academic performance.
Having procured his college degree, he first found a job as a research assistant to Gough Whitlam the former Labor prime minister. He worked for him from 1982 to 1987 and was privileged to learn the art of politics during his time working for him. In 1987, having felt he was well baked, ready and capable of holding a political office, he ran for the office of Councilor in Sydney’s South West, which he won, thereby ushering himself into the Liverpool city council. He served as Councilor from 1987 to 1991 before becoming mayor in the fall of 1991 with him going on to serve till 1994. During his time as mayor, he was known for his articulate policies and spending on public projects such as shopping malls, art galleries, and public libraries which led to rapid improvement in the state of public works in Sydney South West.
In January 1994, he became a member of the House of Representatives after winning a by-election for the seat of Werriwa. As a representative, he was known for his bluntness and aggressiveness on reacting to issues in the Parliament which eventually led to him becoming the Shadow Minister of Education in 1996. After several years in the Parliament, Mark Latham became the leader of the ALP at 42 years of age, thereby making him the youngest ever leader in over 100 years. The year 2004 can be said as being the toughest year in his career as a parliamentarian as he pushed a motion questioning Australia’s involvement in the US-Iraqi War with him championing a call for all Australian troops to be brought home. The motion didn’t go well with some elites such as the then Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and then US President . Later that year in an interview, he labeled Howard as an “Arselicker” before going on to tag Bush as “the most incompetent President ever”.
On the 18th of January 2005, Mark Latham announced to the media his decision to quit politics both at the party and parliamentary levels so as to take proper care of his dwindling state of health. After the end of his political career, he wrote several books, the most popular being the Latham Diaries and A Conga Line of Suckholes.
Why Was He Sacked By Sky News?
Lovers of Sky News must have observed the absence of Mark Latham from the news segment as well as the channels screen as a whole, but for the sake of those unaware of the fact that he even worked at Sky News, let’s start from the genesis. After quitting active politics and delving into writing, he felt the need to be more than just a writer and in 2016, he became a political commentator for Sky News. During his time at Sky News, he was known for his strong opinions on issues which led to him being promoted by the board. On December 4, 2016, he was given exclusive rights to start up his own political chat show- Outsiders, which aired on Sky News Live during the evenings on weekdays.
Shockingly, on 29 March 2017, the CEO of Sky News Angelo Frangopoulos announced the termination of Latham’s contract and his immediate departure from the network via his Twitter account. He further went on to reveal in an interview that Mark Latham was sacked as a result of certain strings of negative and insulting comments he made during his time with the network which comprised of insulting a fellow presenter, as well as using harsh words to describe the daughter of the then Governor of Reserve Bank, Australia.
The last straw that broke the camel’s back, however, was his description of a young Sydney high school student on Outsiders live, in which he tagged the boy ‘gay’, leading to a series of outrage from the Ministry of Education, with the minister tagging his comments as wrongful, an act of bullying and highly inappropriate.
After his sack from Sky News, Mark Latham decided to return to politics fully and is currently running for senate under the platform of One Nation.
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