“After a surprise election victory in May 2019, Scott Morrison thanked the ‘quiet Australians’ for sticking by his side. Since then, it appears that our government is hell-bent on making the entire population quiet. Journalists are being pressured by the Australian Federal Police to cooperate or feel the force. There’s been talk of outlawing group boycotts. Children finding their political voice are being told to go back to school. When New South Wales and Queensland were on fire we were told that now is not the time to talk. But the community sector won’t be quiet Australians. We will continue to talk, and our voice will be heard."

Paul Bongiorno – The 2020 Joan Kirner Social Justice Oration

Communities in Control is Australia's biggest and best annual gathering of community sector workers, volunteers and supporters - each year bringing together a stellar list of the world's brightest speakers and hundreds of people who work in or care about community to listen, debate, network, exchange strategies, and recharge.

 Communities in Control is convened by The Institute of Community Directors Australia.
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“It took a pandemic for our State and Federal governments to admit that the JobSeeker payments weren’t enough to live off, that homelessness needed to be (and could be) tackled, and that the level of insecure work in this country is hitting crisis point. Despite this, every solution has focused on the short-term, with an expectation that everything will just go back to normal once the pandemic ends. But we don’t want to return to normal, we want change. Now is the time to have our voices heard. Now is the time to force our governments to do what is right."

Senator the Honourable Penny Wong – Joan Kirner Social Justice Oration 2021

“You don’t wake up and find a Utopia fully realised and perfectly formed. It happens a little bit at a time, unevenly, erratically, but if we know how to look, we can see glimpses of it emerging all the time, everywhere. Utopia doesn’t happen by accident. It must be nudged into shape through the hard work of many people and the many institutions that make up our society. What can we do to help? In this keynote speech, Jess Scully will discuss how we can harness technology and imagination to reshape the world to build a fairer and more sustainable future."

Jess Scully – Glimpses of utopia

“If you take a look around the globe, you will find some remarkable success stories. Denmark will reach 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030. Iceland has topped gender equality rankings for a decade and counting. Singaporean students beat almost all others in maths and reading. South Koreans will soon live longer than anyone else on Earth. What can we learn from these successes? And how can we apply these lessons at home to help shape a better future in our communities?"

Paul Bongiorno – The 2020 Joan Kirner Social Justice Oration

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