What happens to an ex-prime minister’s legacy when they repudiate the political party that would otherwise have championed it?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Margaret Simons to unpack the complexities of the career, beliefs and impact of Australia’s twenty-second prime minister Malcom Fraser. A leader whose profound contribution to our nation has sadly been obscured by their infamous role in the dismissal and later-life political apostacy.

Margaret Simons is an award-winning freelance journalist and the author of many books and numerous articles and essays. She is also a journalism academic and Honorary Principal Fellow at the Centre for Advancing Journalism, University of Melbourne. Since September 2022, she has been a board member of the British based Scott Trust, which is the owner of The Guardian worldwide. Simons has won the Walkley Award for Social Equity Journalism, a Foreign Press Association Award and a number of Quill Awards, including for her reporting from the Philippines with photojournalist Dave Tacon. Her most recent work is a biography of Labor Minister for the Environment, Tanya Plibersek, released in March 2023. She co-authored Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs.