First published in 1964, Donald Horne’s The Lucky Country caused a sensation. The book was a wake-up call to an unimaginative nation, an indictment of a country mired in mediocre leadership and manacled to the past. Where do we stand 58 years later?
Join us for an innovative, captivating exploration of where Australia stands four months after the election of a new government. Presented by Professor Joseph Camilleri, the event will examine:
On the domestic front – An overview of how we are faring, using three litmus tests: inequality, Indigenous voice and climate change. What do they tell us about the state of the nation and our institutions?
On the international front – Australia’s fraught relationship with China – so much of our future depends on it: economy, education, environment, the multicultural fabric of Australian society. It could mean the difference between war and peace.
The program will combine presentations, Q&A, conversation in small groups, an exercise in active listening, and for those attending in person, a scrumptious afternoon tea.
In Conversation with: Dr David Brophy
Senior Lecturer in Modern Chinese History, University of Sydney. Author of China Panic: Australia’s Alternative to Paranoia and Pandering.
David is a historian of Uyghur nationalism and the author of Uyghur Nation.
In Conversation with: Professor Chen Hong
Professor and Director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, Shanghai, and President of the Chinese Association for Australian Studies.