How have the past six decades of feminist activism shaped Australian politics? Who are the rebels, ratbags and renegades behind the revolution? What was it about the 1970s that made so-called women’s issues election issues? Why did it take another forty years from Gough Whitlam’s It’s Time speech for Julia Gillard’s Misogyny Speech to land with such paradigm-shifting force? The panel reflect on how the personal became political, and what happens when politics becomes personal.

Michelle Arrow, (Professor of History, Macquarie University)

Meredith Burgmann (Former President of the New South Wales Legislative Council)

Michelle Ryan (Global Institute of Women’s Leadership)

Chair: Frank Bongiorno (Professor of History, Australian National University)

Recorded at the Bendigo Writers Festival on 6th May, 2023