Tanya Hosch is an
Indigenous Australian
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
social activist and business executive. She has held leadership roles in sport, the arts, social justice and public policy. She was joint campaign manager of the "
Recognise" campaign run by
Reconciliation Australia
Reconciliation Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit foundation established in January 2001 to promote a continuing national focus for reconciliation between Indigenous (i.e. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and non-Indig ...
from 2012 to 2016. At her appointment as social inclusion manager to the
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL) in June 2016, she became the first Indigenous person and the second woman appointed to an executive position in the AFL.
Early life and education
Hosch's
birth mother
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given childbirth, birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case ...
, a white woman, was of
Welsh origin, while her birth father is a
Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...
man. She was adopted by a
white Australian woman and
Aboriginal man after her parents' 16-year-old eldest child was killed in a car accident. The fact that she was adopted was never hidden from her, and her adoptive home was a loving, caring and stable one, although money was tight and her parents worked very hard.
[
She experienced racism at school, which affected her confidence. She completed secondary school at ]Enfield High School
Enfield High School is a secondary school established in 1893 in Enfield, Connecticut. The Enfield High School campus is located in the Connecticut River Valley, on Enfield Street (U.S. Route 5) in Enfield's Historical District. The school has ...
, in Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
's northern suburbs.[
She did not expect to go to university, thinking that was for clever people, starting work at the Women's Information Switchboard instead. Being a feminist organisation, colleagues encouraged her to attend university, which she did and loved, studying ]social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
part-time.[
]
Career
Hosch was led into advocacy for Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
when she was working in the public sector and was placed at the Australian Human Rights Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of the Commonwealth of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body fu ...
in Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
soon after the publication of the ''Bringing Them Home
''Bringing Them Home'' is the 1997 Australian ''Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families''. The report marked a pivotal moment in the controversy that has come to ...
'' report on Aboriginal children stolen from their families in 1997. Later that year she attended the Reconciliation Convention, where Pat Dodson
Patrick Lionel Djargun Dodson (born 29 January 1948) is an Australian Indigenous rights activist and former politician. He is often referred to as the "father of reconciliation" owing to his commitment to reconciliation in Australia. He was a ...
delivered an address which proved a turning point for her.[
Hosch held advocacy and consulting high-level public sector roles, including at the ]Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
Reconciliation in Australia is a process which officially began in 1991, focused on the improvement of relations between the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia and the rest of the population. The Council for Aboriginal R ...
. She connected with Larissa Behrendt
Larissa Yasmin Behrendt (born 1969) is an Australian legal academic, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate. she is a professor of law and director of research and academic programs at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education ...
in Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, and became friends with Jason Glanville.[ She was instrumental in the creation of the ]National Congress of Australia's First Peoples
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ...
,[ and a foundation director of the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre and the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute.]
2012–2016: "Recognise" campaign
From 2012 Hosch was joint campaign director (with Tim Gartrell
Tim Gartrell (born 1970) is an Australian political advisor currently serving as the Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Australia under Anthony Albanese. He previously served as the National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party betwe ...
) of the " Recognise" campaign run by Reconciliation Australia
Reconciliation Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit foundation established in January 2001 to promote a continuing national focus for reconciliation between Indigenous (i.e. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and non-Indig ...
.[ The campaign followed the recommendations of the Expert Panel on Recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the Constitution.] Hosch was also the public face of the campaign, after addressing the National Press Club
A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...
in February 2013. In May 2013, her team toured Australia aiming to inform and involve people in the bid to get Indigenous people recognised in the Australian Constitution
The Constitution of Australia (also known as the Commonwealth Constitution) is the fundamental law that governs the political structure of Australia. It is a written constitution, which establishes the country as a Federation of Australia, ...
. This included public advocacy, building support and partnerships behind the scenes, and consulting Aboriginal people in remote areas. Beginning in Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and finishing at Nhulunbuy
Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...
in the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
, the trail was inspired by the "Long Walk" from Melbourne to Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
undertaken in 2004 by AFL
AFL may refer to:
Education
* Angel Foundation for Learning, a Canadian Roman Catholic charity
* Ankara Science High School, a high school in Ankara, Turkey, natively referred to as ''Ankara Fen Liesi''
* Assessment for learning
Military
* ...
footballer Michael Long. On 13 February 2013, Hosch addressed the National Press Club
A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...
. The title of her address, delivered with Jason Glanville, was "Recognition: Why It's Right".
The campaign was highly successful, raising awareness of the issue from around 30% to 70%,[ winding up in 2017.
]
2016: AFL social inclusion manager
Hosch was named the general manager of inclusion and social policy at the AFL in June 2016, beating Nova Peris
Nova Maree Peris (born 25 February 1971) is an Aboriginal Australian athlete and former politician. As part of the Australian women's field hockey ( Hockeyroos) team at the 1996 Olympic Games, she was the first Aboriginal Australian to win a ...
to the role. She became the second female executive at the AFL, and the first Indigenous person in such a role.[
Her term started on 29 August 2016, and][ she remains social inclusion manager.]
Hosch advocated for the creation of a statue of Nicky Winmar
Neil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar (born 25 September 1965) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career for and the in the Australian Football League (AFL), as well as in the West Australian Football League. An Indigenous Austra ...
(the first of an Indigenous player, erected at Perth Stadium
Perth Stadium, commercially known as Optus Stadium due to sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Burswood, Western Australia, Burswood suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It was completed during late 2017 and officially opened ...
in 2019), and helped to bring about an apology by AFL for Adam Goodes
Adam Roy Goodes (born 8 January 1980) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Goodes holds an elite place in VFL/AFL history as a dual Brownlow Medallist, d ...
, after they had handled his 2015 crowd abuse badly.[
]
Other roles
Hosch has served as chair of Price Waterhouse Coopers Indigenous Consulting, and served on the board of Bangarra Dance Theatre
Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-bor ...
. She has been a director of the Indigenous Land Corporation
The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) is an Australian federal government statutory authority with national responsibilities to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to acquire land and to manage assets to achieve cultura ...
, the Australian Leadership Centre, the Australian Centre for Social Innovation, the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute, and the Australian Red Cross Society
Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...
.[
She was appointed to the Review Panel for the Act of Recognition in 2013 to provide a report to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. The final report of the panel was published in September 2014.]
Hosch was one of 16 members of the Referendum Council
The ''Uluru Statement from the Heart'' is a 2017 petition to the people of Australia, written and endorsed by the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders selected as delegates to the First Nations National Constitutional Conv ...
, which was appointed by the prime minister Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...
and leader of the opposition Bill Shorten
William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition from 2013 to 2019. He also ...
on 7 December 2015 "to talk to Australians about changing our Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples". The Council handed down its final report on 30 June 2017.
she is a member of Chief Executive Women
Chief Executive Women (CEW) is an Australian organisation that supports women entrepreneurs and those in leadership positions and those aspiring to be senior executives. It provides a network of women in these positions, as well as funding lead ...
and the NAB Indigenous Advisory Group, as well as a board member of Circus Oz
Circus Oz is a contemporary circus company based in Australia, collectively owned by its Membership, founded in 1978. Its shows incorporate circus, theatre, satire, rock 'n' roll and a uniquely Australian humour.
History Early years
Circus Oz r ...
.
Recognition
* 2013: Named in the South Australian Women's Honour Roll.[
* 2012, 2013, and 2015: Recognised in the list of "100 Women of Influence" Awards run by ]Westpac
Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney.
Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...
and the ''Australian Financial Review
The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...
''.[
* 2014: Nominated in the Human Rights category of ''Daily Life'' Women of the Year.][
* 2015: Named in the '']Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known simply as ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before bein ...
'' Power List of Australia’s 50 most powerful women.
* 2021: Listed as 6th in "the top 10 most culturally powerful people in Australia" by the ''Australian Financial Review
The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...
''.
* 2021: South Australian of the Year
The Australian of the Year Award is given annually on Australia Day. The national award is a major public event, televised nationwide. The Award also operates at the State level. This page lists winners of the South Australia state award, who ar ...
.
* November 2022: ''The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
s ''Sunday Life'' listed Hosch as one of 25 trailblazers: "women reshaping Australia".[
]
Personal life
Hosch has a daughter named Marley.[
]
Footnotes
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosch, Tanya
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Australian activists