With George Megalagenis, Sean Kelly and Sally Warhaft.
This event is made possible by Keatings Real Estate.
Amidst rampant lies, conspiracy theories, fake news, deepening tribalism, and fashionable fascisms, how can we shore up democracy? How can we assure faith in democratic institutions, including the media, and enliven grassroots political life. How can we invigorate Australian democracy?
In memory of Sheila Drummond
Sean Kelly is a weekly columnist with The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, author of The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison, and a former adviser to Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
George Megalogenis is an author and journalist with more than three decades’ experience in the media, including 11 years in the federal parliamentary press gallery.
He is the author of five books, including The Australian Moment which won the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction, and formed the basis for his three-part ABC documentary series Making Australia Great. He also wrote and presented the documentary tribute to former Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser, Life Wasn’t Meant To Be Easy which aired on the ABC in the same year, 2015.
George’s other books are Faultlines, The Longest Decade, Australia’s Second Chance, and Balancing Act, which contains his first two Quarterly Essays, No. 40: Trivial Pursuit – Leadership and the End of the Reform Era and No. 61: Balancing Act – Australia Between Recession and Renewal. His most recent book is The Football Solution, and his most recent Quarterly Essay is No 82: Exit Strategy – Politics After The Pandemic.
Among the newspapers he has written for are The Australian, The New York Times and, since 2020, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne interviewer, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live journalism series, and a former editor of The Monthly magazine. Sally is a regular broadcaster on ABC radio. Her bestselling book is titled ‘Well May We Say: The Speeches that Made Australia’.