Big Ideas

The Murray Darling Basin is the most important river system in Australia, and the most contested. What does it mean to live by those rivers, through the droughts, the floods, and the water politics that shape these communities. A beautiful and evocative history of the Murray Darling Basin, as told by people who live there.

This speech was recorded at the History Council of Victoria's annual lecture at the State Library of Victoria on 14 November 2024.

Speakers

Katie HolmesProfessor in History and Director of the Study of the Inland at La Trobe UniversityAuthor, Mallee Country: land, people, history, Reading the Garden: the Settlement of Australia and more

How has the fossil fuel industry wielded influence over Australian governments and their policies? What does it take to make ambitious change in the public interest, without vested interests getting in way? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at Adelaide Writers Week.

Speakers

Dr Richard DennissEconomist and Executive Director of The Australia InstituteAuthor of BIG: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy (2022)

Ross GarnautEconomistProfessor Emeritus in business and economics, University of MelbourneBoard director of renewable energy company ZEN ENERGYAuthor of Let's Tax Carbon: And other ideas for a better Australia (2024), Superpower: Australia's Low Carbon Opportunity (2019)

Sarah Hanson-YoungSenator for South AustraliaGreens spokesperson for arts and communications, and environment and water

Royce KurmelovsFreelance journalistAuthor of Slick: Australia's Toxic Relationship with Big Oil (2024)

The citizens of France have a notoriously conflicted relationship with the state. Their suspicion, if not resentfulness, of state power has played out in myriad revolts over the centuries and continues with repeated protests and riots to this day. It shapes the country's political and social fabric … from the set-up of their local sports clubs to their global foreign politics ambitions. The picture that emerges is one of a nation struggling to reconcile its core political values with the realities of a diverse society.

Presented at FASStival, the University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Festival

Speaker

Emile ChabalProfessor of Contemporary European History at the University of Edinburgh, Author of France

The International Criminal Court has issued high-profile arrests warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over their conduct in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But although the court's role is to end impunity for war crimes, many are now questioning whether it has the power to perform that vital duty.

This event was recorded at the University of Tasmania on 11 February 2025.

Speakers

Alex WhitingProfessor of Practice, Harvard Law SchoolFormer Acting Specialist Prosecutor for the Kosovo Tribunal in The HagueFormer Investigation Coordinator and then Prosecution Coordinator in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The HagueTrial Attorney and then a Senior Trial Attorney with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, 2002-2007

Regina Weiss (host)Barrister, Tasmanian BarFormer war crimes prosecutor, International Criminal CourtCounsel to the ICC on victims, defense, sexual and gender-based violenceChair of the Australian Red Cross — Tasmania International Humanitarian Law Committee

Tim McCormack (host)Professor of International Law, University of TasmaniaFormer Special Adviser on War Crimes to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (2010-2024)

A "Homeric struggle", a desperate night-ballet, an ethical training ground for boys and men. Aussie Rules is a multimillion-dollar industry, but at its heart, to thousands of people, it's much more than that. Including to Australian literary great, Helen Garner.

This event was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 20 February 2025.

Speakers

Helen GarnerAuthor, The Season, Monkey Grip, The Children's Bach, The First Stone, Joe Cinque's Consolation, The Spare Room, This House of Grief and more

Beejay Silcox (host)Critic, writer, outgoing Artistic Director, Canberra Writers Festival

Donald Trump's return to The White House is up-ending the way America works — at home and on the global stage. Does it herald the potential social, political, and constitutional collapse of United States? The world has watched nations sleepwalk into ultranationalist fascism before, is this that moment? Or is American democracy more resilient than any one demagogue? Are we on the cusp of new world order, and how will Australia play its cards if the USA no longer has our back?

This event was presented by Adelaide Writers Week and the Australia Institute.

Speakers

Dr Emma ShortisAuthor, Our Exceptional Friend: Australia's Fatal Alliance with the USDirector of The Australia Institute's International & Security Affairs program

Dr Nick BryantJournalist, historianAuthor, The Forever War: America's Unending Conflict with ItselfFormer BBC correspondentPresenter of Saturday Extra on ABC Radio National

Allan BehmAuthor, The Odd Couple: The Australia-America Relationship (2024)Special Advisor, International Political Affairs, The Australia Institute

Dr Prudence FlowersAuthor, The Reagan Revolution (2025)President, Australian and New Zealand American Studies AssociationSenior lecturer in US history at Flinders University

A trip to Bunnings, a Medibank or Optus account, a new smart car or vacuum, every facet of our daily lives is now up for grabs. So should privacy continue to be our individual responsibility, or is it time for governments do more?

This event was recorded at the State Library of Victoria on 19 November 2024.

Speakers

Hugh de KretserPresident, Australian Human Rights Commission

Lizzie O'SheaFounder and chair of Digital Rights WatchPrincipal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn

Ed SantowCo-Director of the Human Technology Institute at the University of Technology SydneyCo-author, Machines in Our Image: The Need for Human Rights in the Age of AI

Daniel NellorPhilosopher, playwright and co-author, Machines in Our Image: The Need for Human Rights in the Age of AI

Further information:

First tranche of the Federal Government's privacy reformsPrivacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2024

Europe needs to rethink its strategies and policies to protect the continent in the future. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China's predatory mercantilism, and the rise of populist neoisolationism in the United States mean that depending on the status quo won't cut it anymore. But after decades of neglect, restoring Europe's military capacity, economic competitiveness, and strategic autonomy will be difficult. Can NATO evolve into a more balanced team, and may the time finally have come for a European pillar within it? Can increased trade and economic dynamism be squared with increased security and international competition?

Presented by the American Academy in Berlin

Speakers

Gideon RoseFormer editor and managing editor of Foreign Affairs; 2025 Axel Springer Fellow at the American Academy in BerlinAdjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; adjunct professor of political science at Columbia University

Daniel BenjaminPresident of the American Academy in Berlin

Humans have a conflicted relationship with animals: We love our pets and admire our wildlife. But we continue the industrial production of dairy, meat and eggs, that often leaves animal suffering in dreadful conditions. We create a division between US and THEM, if it suits us. What does that say about how we value animals in our lives?

Presented at the Byron Writers Festival

Speakers

Peter SingerBioethicist and author of Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, and The Buddhist and the EthicistFounder of the charity The Life You Can Save and co-hosts of the Lives Well Lived podcast

James BradleyAward-winning author of Deep Water: The World in the Ocean

Laura Jean McKayAward-winning author of The Animals in That Country and Gunflower

Dr David RolandClinical psychologist and honorary associate with the School of Medicine, University of Sydney

Seeing a whale in the wild takes your breath away. But so much of what they do remains mysterious. Join Natasha Mitchell with two world leading whale researchers unearthing the secret world of cetaceans. You'll want to change jobs when you hear what they get up to!  Thousands of humpback whales will soon leave their Summer feeding grounds in Antarctica with full bellies to begin the world's longest mammalian migration. How do they live, breed, behave, survive, thrive?  Commercial whaling might have declined, but can we work out what these magnificent creatures make of what's happening in their home now — from offshore oil drilling and seismic testing to ship collisions and climate change?   

This event was hosted by the Island Whale Festival Phillip Island. Find out more about the festival held annually in July. 

Listen to the rest of our special series Animals — Us and Them?

Speakers

Dr Barry McGovern Cetacean scientist Australian Research Associate, Pacific Whale Foundation

Dr Pete Gill Cetacean scientist Founder and CEO of The Blue Whale Study