After leaving school, he worked in the library at
The West Australian newspaper in 1960, but was unable to get a cadetship. He then studied at the
University of Western Australia, where he graduated with a bachelor of arts (economics) and a diploma of education. Following that, he became a high school teacher, at
Bunbury Senior High School, and a lecturer in economics at Leederville Technical College. He then joined the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, where presented the Morning and Drive programs on
ABC Radio Perth. In 1995, Kennedy was awarded the Clarion Prize at the
WA Media Awards. He became state political reporter for
ABC News in 2000 and held the post until he retired from daily journalism in 2010. He continued as a political commentator, including writing the Political Perspective column for the weekly (now fortnightly)
Business News. Kennedy was appointed
Member of the Order of Australia in the
2025 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to the print and broadcast media as a journalist". ==Books==