2023 Conference Program
Day 1 Dinner Reception | October 19, 2023
Thursday
18:30 - 19:00
Pre-dinner reception
19:10 - 21:30
Opening dinner & onstage discussion: Are we in an era of superabundance or existential collapse?
21:30
Post dinner drinks
Day 2 Morning Sessions | October 20, 2023
Friday
08:00 - 08:45
Morning session A: Will Millennials and Generation Z Australians embrace smaller governments?
Emilie Dye, Marketing and Research Analyst, CIS
Shaun Ratcliff, Principal, Accent Research
Moderator: Matthew Taylor, Director Intergenerational Program, Centre for Independent Studies
08:00 - 08:45
Morning session B: Beyond identity politics
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Shadow Minister Indigenous Affairs, and former Director of Indigenous Affairs at The Centre for Independent Studies
Moderator: Tom Switzer, Executive Director , Centre for Independent Studies
09:00 - 09:10
Welcome by conference chair + housekeeping
09:10 - 09:50
Keynote one: The new Cold War
09:50 - 10:50
Plenary one: Are we too close to Uncle Sam
John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago (USA)
Peter N Varghese, AO, Chancellor, The University of Queensland
Peter Hartcher, Political and International Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age
James Curran, International Editor, Australian Financial Review and Professor of Modern History, University of Sydney
Moderator: Maxine McKew, Hon Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
10:50 - 11:20
Morning tea
11:20 - 11:50
Keynote two: Democracy, tolerance and reason: has 'woke' defeated them all?
11:50 - 12:50
Plenary two: Cancellation and the culture of contempt: can we ever learn to disagree?
Joanna Williams, Author: How Woke Won (UK)
Janine Perrett, Journalist and Commentator
Scott Stephens, is the ABC’s Religion and Ethics online editor and the co-host (with Waleed Aly) of The Minefield on ABC Radio National
Elisabeth Taylor, Independent Researcher and former Director of Research for the Australian Christian Lobby and Senior Research Fellow at the Lachlan Macquarie Institute
Moderator: Peter Kurti, Director – Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program, Centre for Independent Studies
12:50 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 14:30
Keynote three: Responsible AI – Ethics, society, and the business case for AI
14:30 - 15:30
Plenary three: Ethics, society, and the case for AI
Professor Toby Walsh, Chief Scientist, UNSW AI Institute
Mark Pesce, Futurist, Inventor, Award-Winning Author, Podcaster, Educator and Entrepreneur
Larry Marshall, Former CEO, CSIRO
Lorraine Finlay, Human Rights Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
Dr Helen Frazer, Clinical Director, St Vincent’s Hospital BreastScreen
Moderator: John Green, Chairman and Author, Pantera Press
15:30 - 18:00
Afternoon tea & leisure
18:00 - 19:00
Pre-dinner reception
19:00 - 21:30
Casual dinner and conversation:The crisis of the centre right
21:30
Post dinner drinks
Day 3 Morning Sessions | Saturday October 21, 2023
08:00 - 08:45
Morning session A: Nuclear energy
08:00 - 08:45
Morning session B: Lessons on school reform: Could charter schools fix Australian education?
09:00 - 09:10
Welcome address day three + housekeeping
09:10 - 09:40
Keynote Four: Our unproductive productivity debate
09:40 - 10:40
Plenary four: Why is economic reform so hard?
10:40 - 11:10
Morning tea
11:10 - 11:40
Keynote five: Housing Policy in Australia
Jason Falinski, Managing Partner Ergo Videatur, former Member for Mackellar, Chair of the Housing Affordability Inquiry 2022: The Australian Dream
11:40 - 12:40
Plenary five: A panel discussion of the housing crisis
Jason Falinski, Managing Partner Ergo Videatur, former Member for Mackellar, Chair of the Housing Affordability Inquiry 2022: The Australian Dream
Judith Sloan, Contributing Economics Editor, The Australian
Moderator: Peter Tulip, Chief Economist, Centre for Independent Studies
12:40 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 14:30
Keynote six: Why education matters for the wealth of nations
14:30 - 15:30
Plenary six: Can we still be a clever country after decades of failing school performance
15:30 - 18:30
Afternoon tea and free time
18:30 - 19:00
Pre-dinner reception
19:00 - 22:00
Closing dinner - Neville Kennard address: Closing dinner - Neville Kennard address: Losing focus: Will Ukraine and now Israel derail the US to pivot to contain China?
John Mearsheimer, Professor Political Science, University of Chicago (USA)
Hon Alexander John Gosse Downer, AC
Moderator: Tom Switzer, Executive Director, Centre for Independent Studies
