A Tumultuous Life is Brian Burke’s 2017 autobiography, covering his path from childhood and political beginnings to his five years as premier of Western Australia, as well as later controversies and imprisonment. The prospect of the book reopening political wounds was part of its 2017 publication story—not a current event. It is Burke’s personal account, so its claims should be read alongside official records and critical commentary.
What is A Tumultuous Life about?
Published in 2017 by Tumultuous Life Pty Limited, A Tumultuous Life: Blue Leather is catalogued as biography and autobiography. The book description traces Burke’s life from childhood during the Australian Labor Party split through Catholic schooling, media work and parliamentary opposition. It then covers his five years as Western Australia’s premier, the 1980s and the America’s Cup, followed by his ambassadorial service in Ireland and the Holy See, prison, lobbying and dealings with the Corruption and Crime Commission. This is the book’s stated scope, not an independent account of those events. Google Books’ listing identifies the book and its contents.
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Bookseller listings give ISBN 9780648009603 with a 1 May 2017 publication date, and ISBN 9780648009634 for another 2017 edition. Those listings establish bibliographic details, not current stock or availability.
Why was the memoir expected to ruffle WA politics?
When the book was announced, Burke’s past made the prospect of his own account politically charged. PerthNow reported on 22 January 2017 that the 550-page, 200,000-word autobiography had taken 18 months to write and that publication was deliberately delayed until after the March state election. Those figures and the timing are details reported at the time, rather than a statement about present-day political reaction.
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Burke described the book as “absolutely truthful” and said there was “nothing left out.” He also said he had written with “honesty and candour,” adding: “The autobiography will reopen some wounds and I hope that it will heal some others. I have written it with honesty and candour. It is what it is.” These are Burke’s characterisations of his own book, as reported by Linda Parri in PerthNow, not independent judgments about its accuracy.
What do official records say about Burke’s political and legal history?
The Parliament of Western Australia’s biographical register records Burke as premier from 1983 to 1988. It also distinguishes three legal outcomes that should not be collapsed into a single description:
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- In July 1994, Burke was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for offences related to his parliamentary travel account.
- His February 1997 conviction for stealing was quashed on appeal.
- In April 2010, he was found guilty of giving false testimony to the Corruption and Crime Commission and fined.
The overturned 1997 conviction is not a conviction that remained in force. The register’s separate entries provide an essential check on any autobiographical account; see the Parliament of Western Australia’s members’ biographical register.
Did Burke apologise to Western Australians?
In the January 2017 PerthNow report, Burke was asked whether he would apologise to Western Australians. His answer was: “No. I did my best.” The response reflects his position at that time; it should not be mistaken for an independent assessment of his premiership or the legal matters associated with his public life.
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The most useful starting point is to treat A Tumultuous Life as a first-person source: it can show how Burke presents his experiences and choices, but it does not by itself establish that account as complete or impartial. Compare particular claims with official documentation and other analysis rather than treating the memoir’s declared candour as proof.
A review in Inside Story, titled “The long shadow of the Labor split,” calls the memoir valuable but partial. The reviewer faults it for limited discussion of the purposes of politics and of how Burke’s controversial decisions fitted into a Labor view of the world. That is the reviewer’s interpretation, not a finding about every passage. The distinction matters: personal experience, political context and verifiable events are different kinds of evidence, and readers benefit from keeping them separate.
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