Events
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November 2025
Unparliamentary with Jason Koutsoukis – 7 November 2025
Unpack the big political and policy issues at Unparliamentary with Jason Koutsoukis, Special Correspondent for The Saturday Paper. Unparliamentary is The Australia Institute’s regular show that gives you the scoop on what’s happening in federal politics. SPEAKERS: Jason Koutsoukis — Special Correspondent, The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis is a highly experienced and well-regarded Australian journalist
Aiming Higher: Universities and Australia’s future
Public trust in Australia’s universities is at an all-time low. Once proud institutions of learning and public service have become easy political targets — and in some cases, their own worst enemies. Years of funding shortfalls, casualisation, and creeping corporatisation have left many questioning what our universities stand for, and who they serve. In his
Dr Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture 2025 | The Hon. Mike Rann AC CNZM
Join us at the second Dr Hugh Saddler Memorial Lecture, featuring the Hon Mike Rann AC CNZM, former South Australian Premier and current Chair of the UK Climate Group, discussing the politics of climate ambition, the importance of courage, and lessons from South Australia’s renewable energy transformation. When Mike Rann was elected Premier in 2002,
Barrie, Bowers & Friends
The Australia Institute presents Barrie, Bowers and Friends for an evening of political insight, laughs, and a bit of sass. From the election, to what the Albanese government is doing and what is the point of the Coalition – it will all be covered by some of the smartest minds in Australian politics, led by
Politics in the Pub: Aiming Higher
Join Professor George Williams AO, Vice-Chancellor of Western Sydney University, as he explores why public trust in Australia’s universities is at an all-time low. Once proud institutions of learning and public service, universities have become easy political targets – and in some cases, their own worst enemies. Years of funding shortfalls, casualisation, and creeping corporatisation
Aiming Higher with George Williams
Decades of policy decisions have made access to higher education harder for those who need it most. Public trust and community confidence in universities in Australia and overseas are at all-time lows. Political sentiment has shifted. Our centres of higher learning have leapfrogged big business to become easy political targets. And it’s no surprise; the
Policy School – How to make a parliamentary submission and appear at an inquiry
Every year, Australian parliaments hold hundreds of inquiries on everything from health policy and environmental protection to the government is using consultants, the use of AI or how well the election was run. Politicians want to hear from you, but not everyone realises how easy it is to make a submission. Some who make submissions
On belief in politics with Sean Kelly
In Quarterly Essay 100, Sean Kelly considers the strange transitional moment we are in. We seem sick of neoliberalism but afraid of what might replace it. We are obsessed with work but resentful of it; desperate for community but stuck inside our phones; protective of our way of life while wanting to change everything. Amid
December 2025
The Right Hand with Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks
Conversations with the chiefs of staff to world leaders ranging from Jacinda Ardern, Kamala Harris and John Howard to Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair and Julia Gillard. We all know the names: Jacinda Ardern, Kamala Harris, Tony Blair, Justin Trudeau, John Howard, Sanna Marin, Nelson Mandela and Julia Gillard. But what about the people standing just