Spiral Canberra

Spiral Canberra Spiral Canberra is a not for profit, knowledge and music sharing community group which commenced in the 1970s.

Where: Thursdays at the hall, Uniting Church, 40 Gillies St, Curtin 9:55am-12pm. Gold coin donations are welcome to help cover running costs.

15 October 2026–Dr Richard Denniss spoke about his book More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Au...
15/10/2026

15 October 2026–Dr Richard Denniss spoke about his book More Fool Me: How the gas industry tricked Australia

Richard is the co-Chief Executive Officer of The Australia Institute. (https://australiainstitute.org.au/) As an economist, he has spent the last twenty years moving between policy-focused roles in academia, federal politics and think-tanks. His new book starts ‘When the price of oil surges, Saudis feel rich. When the price of gas surges, Qataris and Norwegians feel rich. But in Australia when the price of gas surges around the world we are told we must tighten our belts to cope with surging electricity prices.’ Brett who recently returned from Norway shared that their sovereign wealth fund allows free tertiary education and childcare facilities. Here our humanities graduates have a $50,000 HECS debt. Richard’s talk was engaging, informative, humorous and offered a potential solution.

UPCOMING EVENT FYI:
15/10/2026

UPCOMING EVENT FYI:

8 October 2026—Andra Putnis and the Canberra Writers Festival October 15-18 2026Spiral first met Andra when she spoke ab...
09/10/2026

8 October 2026—Andra Putnis and the Canberra Writers Festival October 15-18 2026

Spiral first met Andra when she spoke about her debut book, Stories My Grandmothers Didn’t Tell Me, which revealed the incredible tales of how her two Latvian grandmothers lived through the terror of WW2 and survived to immigrate to Australia.
Andra is now the Artistic Director of the Canberra Writers Festival. The program for this year’s festival which runs from October 15 – 18 has just been released. 100+ events, 200+ artists and eight venues – there is something for everyone. Andra spoke about how the festival has been put together. This years’s theme theme is “for the love of books.”

Tickets are already on sale at www.canberrawritersfestival.com.au if you want to check out what's on! Book Cow in Kingston also sells tickets.
FYI: ABC will be recording 10 events available on “Big Ideas.”

1 October 2026—Wombat Bill Majors Creek Wombat Refuge | HomeYou may already know Mulga Bill because of Banjo Paterson’s ...
09/10/2026

1 October 2026—Wombat Bill Majors Creek Wombat Refuge | Home

You may already know Mulga Bill because of Banjo Paterson’s ballad poem written in 1896. If Banjo was around today, I’m sure he would write about Wombat Bill. During school terms, Wombat Bill is known to students in Braidwood as Bill Waterhouse. Bill shared about other parts of his life: elected councillor, community associations, local radio, arts patron, musician in a bush band, planter of trees and a cattle breeder. Today we heard about the self-funded wombat refuge that Bill and his wife Lesley run at Majors Creek.

For further learnings visit: https://braidwoodradio.com.au/podcasts/hot-topics-with-bill-waterhouse/?qtajax=true

September 24, 2026—John Bell AO OBE FRSNJohn Bell is one of Australia’s most illustrious theatre personalities. Award-wi...
24/09/2026

September 24, 2026—John Bell AO OBE FRSN

John Bell is one of Australia’s most illustrious theatre personalities. Award-winning actor, acclaimed director, risk-taking impresario and torch-bearing educationalist, Bell has been a key figure in shaping the nation’s theatrical identity as we know it over the past 50 years.
John launched his book, Living Shakespeare, at the ANU on September 23. He generously agreed to join us the following morning and he attracted a large crowd of 115 attendees.

17 Sept 2026: Melissa Bray with Meredith Edwards AM an interview and launch of Melissa's and Cate's book Power in Number...
17/09/2026

17 Sept 2026: Melissa Bray with Meredith Edwards AM an interview and launch of Melissa's and Cate's book Power in Numbers

Subtitled Australian Women in Economics, Power in Numbers celebrates trailblazers enriching Australia’s future. For the first time in our history, women economists lead three of our top economic institutions: The Treasury; the Reserve Bank; and the Productivity Commission. Jenny Wilkinson, Michele Bullock and Danielle Wood are profiled along with thirteen other trailblazers over the past two centuries. Described as ‘an uplifting account of what real economists have done to improve the lives of real people’, Curtin-resident Melissa took us through this brand-new book that she wrote with Catie Bradbear.
Melissa was also in conversation with Emeritus Professor Meredith Edwards AM, one of the trailblazers featured in the book. Internationally-renowned economist Bob Gregory has said that Meredith is ‘arguably the most important woman in post-war economics in Australia.' Books are available at the discounted price of $30
👉UPCOMING EVENT
Book launch—Bookings close COB
18 September‼️
Where: National Press Club
What: Breakfast panel event
When: Friday 25 September, 7.15am
Cost: $80 including a copy of the book Bookings: Economic Society website

Sept 10, 2026—Abul Rizvi spoke about immigration Why has anti-immigrant sentiment in Australia increased such that...
10/09/2026

Sept 10, 2026—Abul Rizvi spoke about immigration

Why has anti-immigrant sentiment in Australia increased such that Pauline Hanson is now in the running to be PM or at least hold the balance of power?

Abul is an economics and public policy graduate from the ANU who managed Australia’s migration program from 1995 to 2007. His latest column in Pearls and Irritations starts with this: Australia’s migration debate needs clear targets, credible delivery plans and honest discussion of the consequences—not caps that cannot work or promises that ignore visa backlogs. What follows is the clearest explanation of where we are today and where we should go from here. The ALP, the Coalition and One Nation should all read this and pay attention.

For further watch items please visit:
National press club talk
👉https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAVKPldCIYDWd0V3owdpO1qYQX608AlbDZDEcz0DWRzxGm5I2rhcrS94oMSX4WiK5KDOguLzI3vV5JGcVc704BT-MJ6hB6ywEpDrYZi0ku0ULKzqQXlFNe-Rm1Z_Od3EA

And on utube:
👉https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAVvkOjeMl_Zj0_ZTh7RmoZvjidCOi0fkdTSlY_vMsGn9em8sH8s-uXkAGxgE7Ov_0zQ0J6IZ-NNwMwZHhYX9NSlUMiqx3h75sTLxEI1pxCLGpMmOyboDa4q67qFSLKZg

Abul also recommended listening to Sky News on Sunday mornings for Andrew Clannelle interviews.

2026 September 3—Margaret Wright OAM: The Last Flight of the Zeppelin L.31Just after midnight on 2nd October, 1916, a gi...
29/08/2026

2026 September 3—Margaret Wright OAM: The Last Flight of the Zeppelin L.31

Just after midnight on 2nd October, 1916, a giant enemy zeppelin crashed on a farm in North London. This had been the terror over the skies of Britain, at a time when aerial bombing of civilians in wars was unknown. Margaret's great uncles lived nearby and hacked off a piece of the wreck, and it is now a family treasure. Margaret has investigated the story of the development of zeppelins, and the L.31 in particular. It's a fascinating story, resonating to this day that Margaret will share with us.

20 August 2026—Barry York OAM speaks about his book, A Pentridge Memoir: A Political Prisoner’s StoryRecipient of the 20...
13/08/2026

20 August 2026—Barry York OAM speaks about his book, A Pentridge Memoir: A Political Prisoner’s Story

Recipient of the 2024 Hazel de Berg Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of oral history, Barry has written this personal and historical account of imprisonment, political activism and the struggle for prisoners’ rights in the 1970s Victoria. The book recounts his 44 days in Melbourne’s notorious Pentridge Prison in 1972. He was one of three student activists imprisoned without trial for contempt of court after defying a Supreme Court injunction that barred him from entering La Trobe University. This was during a period of intense political unrest shaped by opposition to America’s war in Vietnam, resistance to apartheid and campaigns for democratic rights on university campuses. The memoir vividly describes the harsh realities of Pentridge: rigid routines, degrading conditions, brutality by prison officers, the despair of inmates and the psychological toll of incarceration. It also traces his working-class migrant upbringing in Brunswick, political awakening and the personal experiences that accompanied his time inside. Copies of the book will be available at $30 (cash).

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