Impact Talks at UTS

Is Australia entering a new political era?

With a record majority off a near record low primary vote, the new parliament continues the rise of new electoral coalitions, unsettling our assumptions about class, gender, race, and power.

Join our stellar panellists George Megalogenis, Frank Bongiorno, Elizabeth Humphrys, Ben Spies-Butcher, and Emily Foley for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of Australian democracy, exploring whether we’re witnessing a rupture or a realignment, and what it means for political life in Australia today.

How is the traditional party duopoly is being eroded under pressure from shifting demographics, growing economic inequality, and increasing political disillusionment?

And what happens when the working class no longer feels represented, while younger, more diverse voters don't see themselves reflected in the major parties?

This episode is brought to you by the Australian Political Studies Association in partnership with the Social and Political Sciences Discipline at the University of Technology Sydney.

Speakers

George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with over thirty years’ experience in the media, including over a decade in the federal parliamentary press gallery. His latest Quarterly Essay, Minority Report, explores the strategies and secret understandings of a political culture under pressure.

Frank Bongiorno is based at the Australian National University and author of several works of Australian history, including The Eighties: The Decade That Transformed Australia (2015) and Dreamers and Schemers: A Political History of Australia (2022). He is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Humanities.

Elizabeth Humphrys is the Head of Discipline of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney. She researches the impact of economic crisis and climate change on workers. Her book How Labour Built Neoliberalism was described in the Sydney Review of Books as a ‘tremendously important’ contribution to understanding economic change in Australia’s recent past.

Ben Spies-Butcher is an Associate Professor of Economy and Society at Macquarie University. He is the Deputy Director of the Macquarie University Housing and Urban Research Centre and Co-Director of the Australian Basic Income Lab. His most recent book is Politics, Inequality and the Australian Welfare State After Liberalisation with Anthem Press.

Emily Foley is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Canberra and Flinders University. Her research focuses on social democratic and centre-left parties, focusing on party politics, political organisation, and participation in Australia. Her work also explores immigration policy-making and labour rights, with an interest in the intersection of democratic governance and social justice.

Impact Talks at UTS is brought to you by Impact Studios.

How do we design cities that are both sustainable and deeply liveable? Christian Bason, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor at the University of Technology Sydney and one of Europe’s leading voices in public sector innovation, brings a unique perspective to this question.

Drawing on his research in design for societal challenges and his leadership roles in government and civic innovation, Bason explores how design can be a driver of systemic urban change.

From Europe’s New European Bauhaus movement, which is embedding sustainability and aesthetics into the heart of policy, to the radical redesign of Copenhagen - now ranked among the world’s most liveable cities - Bason describes how design thinking can accelerate the shift toward more resilient urban systems. He also shares insights from Thoravej 29, his base of work and Denmark’s most sustainable building renovation to date, which serves as a hub for social innovation and collaboration. Together, these case studies illustrate a roadmap for global cities seeking to navigate the transition toward thriving, sustainable urban futures.

Bason's work has consistently bridged the worlds of academia, policymaking, and practice, demonstrating that sustainable transformation requires more than technology or policy alone, but also a deep cultural and design-led reimagining of how we live together in cities.

Other speakers in this episode include:

• Her Excellency Ingrid Dahl-Madsen, Danish Ambassador to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji
• Eamon Waterford, CEO, Committee for Sydney
• Dr Leanne Sobel, Adjunct Fellow at UTS Business School and Director Strategic Design at Snowmelt
• Jua Cilliers, Professor of Urban Planning and Associate Dean at UTS Faculty of Design and Society
• Prof Martin Tomitsch, Professor & Head of the UTS Transdisciplinary School | Strategic Design | Researcher in Future Technologies, Human-Computer Interaction and Responsible Innovation

This event and episode were brought to you by The Committee for Sydney and UTS.

Impact Talks at UTS is an Impact Studios podcast.

What does it mean to be “alive” in an age of automation, synthetic biology, and artificial environments?

How do artistic practices challenge dominant narratives about life, nature, and control?

And if compost, tissue culture, and data can form a new cycle of life, what might that say about our future?

In this thought-provoking episode, artist and researcher Ionat Zurr delivers a keynote that traverses three decades of collaborative bio-art practice. From growing semi-living worry dolls to lab-grown meat and leather, Zurr interrogates the ethics, aesthetics, and implications of creating life in controlled environments. Her ecofeminist lens critiques patriarchal and capitalist ideologies that reduce life to code and commodify biological processes.

Stella Rosa McDonald, curator of UTS Gallery, introduces the All That Is Alive exhibition and symposium, highlighting its regenerative themes and the museum as a living system shaped by care and memory.

Aunty Rhonda Dixon Grovenor, Gadigal elder, opens the event with a powerful Welcome to Country and two evocative poems celebrating the gifts of nature—water, sun, wind, and earth—and the importance of gratitude and connection.

All That is Alive is an iterative touring exhibition co-commissioned by UTS Gallery & Art Collection and La Trobe Art Institute. It brings together 12 Australian artists and collectives working with living systems. You can visit the exhibition at the UTS Gallery until 12 December 2025.

What happens when we break the silence around colonial history? How does acknowledging the past help us heal and connect across communities? And who carries the responsibility for truth-telling—First Nations peoples or non-Indigenous Australians?

Through deeply personal reflections and bold insights, Lorena Allam, Kate Grenville, Lindon Coombes, Mariko Smith, and moderator Robynne Quiggin unpack the emotional, political, and cultural dimensions of truth-telling. If you’ve ever wondered “Where do we begin?” or “Why does truth-telling matter now more than ever?”—this conversation is essential listening.

In this special panel hosted at UTS, moderator Robynne Quiggin is joined by: 

Lorena Allam 

A multiple Walkley Award–winning journalist descended from the Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaraay peoples of northwest NSW. Lorena has had a distinguished career at the ABC and The Guardian, where she was the first Indigenous Affairs Editor. She is now a Professor at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at UTS. Her work has focused on truth-telling in media, Indigenous rights, and the legacy of colonialism in Australia  

Kate Grenville 

One of Australia’s most acclaimed authors, Kate Grenville AO is best known for her historical novels including The Secret River, which explores the colonial frontier and its impact on First Nations peoples. Her work has won numerous awards including the Orange Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. She has also written extensively on the writing process and Australia's colonial legacy  

Professor Lindon Coombes 

A descendant of the Yuwaalaraay people, Lindon is the Director of the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at UTS. He has over 20 years of experience in Aboriginal affairs, including leadership roles in government and community organisations. His work focuses on Indigenous policy, justice, and self-determination 

 Dr Mariko Smith 

A Yuin woman with Japanese heritage, Dr Smith is the Strategic Lead, First Nations at the Australian Museum. She is a curator, academic, and interdisciplinary researcher whose work centres on Indigenous cultural resurgence, museology, and incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing into creative and academic practice. She holds a PhD from the University of Sydney 

Together, they share insights into how truth-telling can foster deeper understanding, connection, and a more just future for all Australians. 

Recorded during National Reconciliation Week at UTS 4th June, 2025

Keywords: Reconciliation, Truth-telling, Aboriginal History, Indigenous Voices, Australia, UTS, Colonialism, First Nations, National Reconciliation Week 

How can we envision trans futures? What does trans flourishing look like?

What are the radical challenges to trans and gender diverse rights?

And what are the joys, curiosities and possibilities of social justice focused research and truly inclusive futures?

After some decades of progress, western governments are now reversing or threatening to reverse the legal rights and recognition of trans and gender diverse people.

In this context, trans and gender diverse people are often called upon to debate their rights and access to care.

This event refocuses the lens, and brings together scholars and community members working on empowering trans communities to talk about:

• trans identities and decolonial solidarities
• queer futures in the Asia Pacific
• trans futures in the classroom, and
• the expansion of trans legal rights and medical care.

Woody (Louis Walker), drag artist and UTS staff member (Education Portfolio)

• Dr Madi Day, Lecturer, Centre for Critical Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University
• Sidhi Vhisatya, Masters candidate, artist and curator, School of Communication UTS
• Professor Anna Cody, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
• Dr Archie Thomas, UTS Chancellors Research Fellow, Social and Political Sciences
• Dr Sasha Bailey, Trans Health Research Group, University of Melbourne

This event is the Andrew Jakubowicz annual lecture.

Andrew Jakubowicz is an emeritus professor at UTS, and is one of Australia’s pre-eminent scholars of cultural diversity, multicultural communities, and racism. For over 30 years Andrew was Professor of Sociology at UTS. The UTS Andrew Jakubowicz lecture was established in 2018 in his honour. A major theme of each event is the responsibility academic researchers have in shaping public discussion of major societal issues of wide relevance.

This is a collaborative event hosted by:

• UTS Discipline of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Design & Society
• UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion
• UTS Trans and Gender Diverse Staff Reference Group

Please note: Madi Day's speech is not included, and you can hear them in the panel discussion. For further reading on Indigenous futures, read Everywhen: against 'the power of now' by Mykaela Saunders.

Woody (he/him) is the self-proclaimed rootinest tootinest cowboy in the Inner West! Woody is a strong advocate for Drag King visibility and inclusion, and is passionate about sharing trans joy and making space for play and whimsy alongside our fight for trans rights. He made his debut at The Underground in 2019 as a UTS student, and has been trotting on his hobby horse around NSW ever since. 

Dr Archie Thomas is a non-Indigenous scholar and transgender man who has published widely on Indigenous and LGBTIQA+ movements, histories and policy issues in Australia, with a focus on educative institutions such as the schools and media. He is a Chancellor’s Research Fellow in Social and Political Sciences at UTS. He is the lead author of Does the media fail Aboriginal political aspirations? 45 years of news media reporting of key political moments (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2020) and Yipirinya: education for self-determination (forthcoming, 2026).

Dr Anna Cody is the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission. Before this, Dr Cody had a distinguished career as an academic, as a lawyer specialising in discrimination and as a passionate advocate for human rights.  Most recently she was the Dean of the School of Law and Professor at Western Sydney University for 4.5 years, leading education and research impact within the School to better reflect the diversity of the community and the intersection of law and justice.

Sasha Bailey (she/her) is a Research Fellow at University of Melbourne working across Trans Health Research Group (Department of Medicine) and Centre for Youth Mental Health (Orygen). Her program of public health research aims to improve the mental health and wellbeing of trans Australians through digital interventions and enhanced models of care.

Sidhi Vhisatya is a queer art practitioner from Indonesia, currently based in Sydney, Australia, where he is undertaking a Master by Research at the University of Technology Sydney. He has been part of the collective management of Queer Indonesia Archive (QIA) since 2020 and is working with the Bali Archive and Repository (BaliAAR). Sidhi works closely with Perwakas and the KAHE Community to explore and develop archival strategies that support and reflect the experiences of the trans community in Flores, Indonesia. His practice focuses on curating exhibitions and experimenting with methods of material collection, particularly within community-based and collaborative contexts. His broader research and artistic interests lie in storytelling and public history as critical tools for queer community engagement across Indonesia, alongside a focus on the intellectual history of Bali between 1920 and 1965.

Dr Madi Day is a trans Murri who was raised up on Dharug Ngurra where they live and work in the Blak LGBTQIA+SB community. Their work joins a tradition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trans people who continue the longest running protest to colonialism and carry an unbroken legacy of resistance to attacks on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, lives and systems of governance and kinship. Madi specialises in research and policy concerning Indigenous peoples, gendered violence, digital technology, and whiteness and the far right.

This discussion has been lightly edited. Produced by Impact Studios at UTS.

How did Australia's first family violence refuge come about?

How has the depoliticisation of the domestic violence movement affected outcomes for women and children?

While we now understand that domestic and family violence is more than physical violence, how do we continue to recognise and not turn away from the very real physical violence that Aboriginal women experience?

What would take to build services that both prevent and respond, that are not just nonviolent in the way that we construct them, but anti-patriarchal?

What are the opportunities right now to make change?

Ashlee Donohue: CEO of Mudgin-Gal Aboriginal Corporation, author, educator, and advocate for Domestic and Family Violence awareness

Jess Hill: Award-winning journalist, author of See What You Made Me Do, and Industry Professor, UTS Business School

Dr Anne Summers AO Professor of Domestic and Family Violence, UTS Business School

This episode has been lightly edited. Impact Talks at UTS is produced by UTS Impact Studios.

What if your right to a secure home was protected by law?

Why is Australia one of the only liberal democracies without housing rights protection?

Could a Human Rights Act help fix Australia’s housing crisis?

Everyone should have a safe, secure and healthy place to call home, regardless of your postcode or bank balance. But this is not the reality for far too many people in the community.

A new report on the right to housing commissioned by the Human Rights Law Centre and authored by Professor Jessie Hohmann from the UTS Faculty of Law, helps shifts the focus of discussion to people. 

Cassandra Goldie: CEO of Australian Council of Social Service and Adjunct Professor with UNSW Sydney.

Professor Jessie Hohmann: is an Associate Professor at the UTS Faculty and Law, and an internationally recognised expert on the right to housing in international law.

Tania Thompson: is the founder of Golden Oldies and a housing advocate with lived experience.

Caitlin Reiger: is CEO of the Human Rights Law Centre and a human rights lawyer.

Amy Persson: Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice and Inclusion) for the University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

This event in February 2025 was hosted by the UTS Faculty of Law, Centre for Social Justice & Inclusion and the Human Rights Law Centre.

This episode has been lightly edited.

Impact Talks at UTS is produced by UTS Impact Studios, with sound engineering by Alison Zhuang. 

How will AI really shape our everyday lives?

Is AI just a cover for data theft and surveillance capitalism?

Are we on the brink of machines outsmarting us at everything?

Professor Emily M. Bender is the co-author of The AI Con: How To Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want. She was featured in TIME100's inaugural list of most influential people in AI in 2023, and is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Washington, USA.

Emily is in conversation with Professor Carl Rhodes, Professor of Business and Society at UTS Business School and author of Stinking Rich: The Four Myths of the Good Billionaire and Woke Capitalism, with opening remarks from Professor Sally Cripps, Co-Director of the Human Technology Institute at UTS.

This episode has been lightly edited.

Impact Talks at UTS is produced by UTS Impact Studios, with sound engineering by Alison Zhuang. 

Is the finance sector equipped for the transition to net zero?

What are the origins of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) and what is its role today?

What is 'responsible investment' in a rapidly changing world?

How can building skills across the sector drive change?

Paul Clements-Hunt is the former head of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, and coined the term ESG.

Professor Martina Linnenluecke is Director at UTS Centre for Climate Risk and Resilience.

Gordon Noble is Research Director at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures.

Rachel Alembakis is Stewardship Manager at U Ethical Investors.

Nayanisha Samarakoon is Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).

This event was presented by UTS Business School on 27 May 2025, in collaboration with the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) and the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures.

This episode has been lightly edited, and the audience Q&A has been left out.

Impact Talks at UTS is produced by UTS Impact Studios, with sound engineering by Alison Zhuang. 

What stories does America tell itself - and who do they serve? In this episode of Impact Talks, we launch the 2025 Vice-Chancellor’s Democracy Forum with acclaimed historian, author and cultural critic Sarah Churchwell. In her thought-provoking lecture, Sarah explores the national myths that have shaped the United States. She examines how narratives of freedom and opportunity often conceal histories of exclusion, inequality, and disinformation.

Following her address, Sarah is joined in conversation by celebrated author Anna Funder and economist Roy Green. Together, they reflect on the fragile state of democracy around the world and the urgent need to reimagine civic discourse, media and education in an age of misinformation.

Guests:

Sarah Churchwell

Professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities, University of London. A leading voice on American cultural and political identity, Sarah Churchwell is the author of Behold, America and The Wrath to Come. Her work examines the myths that shape national consciousness, particularly around democracy, freedom and populism.

Anna Funder

Author of Stasiland and Wifedom. Anna Funder is an award-winning writer known for her powerful investigations into truth, memory, and authoritarianism. Her latest book, Wifedom, reframes the story of George Orwell through the lens of his first wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy, shining new light on women’s erasure from political and cultural history.

Roy Green

Emeritus Professor, UTS; Chair, Port of Newcastle. An economist and innovation expert, Roy Green has advised governments, businesses, and universities on productivity, industry policy, and economic transformation. He is a passionate advocate for inclusive, sustainable growth and the role of knowledge institutions in democratic renewal.

Presented as part of the Vice-Chancellor’s Democracy Forum at the University of Technology Sydney.

This episode has been lightly edited.

Impact Talks at UTS is produced by UTS Impact Studios, with sound engineering by Alison Zhuang.