Tony began his journalism career with the rural weekly Queensland Country Life and while with that organisation was the first journalist in Australia to be trained as a pilot as part of his reporting duties.
In that capacity he flew himself and his photographer to distant jobs throughout eastern Australia. He covered politics in Queensland for 15 years and was president of the Queensland Parliamentary Press Gallery for 10 years.
Tony is married to Clare and they have five adult children - two of whom are journalists - Jacinta, who is currently the mother of two children was with The Courier Mail and more recently The Manly Daily; and Dan Koch was, for 4 years, the sole sports reporter with The Australian in Queensland. In September 2010 he left The Australian and joined the Channel Nine sports news team in Brisbane and is now an on-camera sports reporter.
Michael and Natasha are teachers and Majella, the youngest, is a medical centre practice nurse.
Tony is the co-author of a political non-fiction book, Joh’s K.O. published by Boolarong Press in 1983 dealing with the split in the National and Liberal parties in Queensland.
He is also a winner of the Queensland Premier’s Award for Literature and shared in an international award for film-script writing.
He is the current Queensland Journalist of the Year - an award given at the Queensland Media Awards night in September 2008, and was the 2006 Australian Journalist of the Year.
He has completed writing the biography of prominent Queensland businessman and former Liberal politician, Terry White which will be published in February, 2010 under the title, A Prescription for Change. Tony also delivered the Sir James Duhig memorial lecture at St Leo's College, University of Queensland, Brisbane in September 2009 speaking about culture in Australia and the need for respect for society's institutions.
