Conversation at the Crossroads

16/05/2026

“Australia is the only common law country in the world without a legislated or constitutionally entrenched charter or bill of rights.”

In this powerful excerpt from the Reclaiming Democracy Together launch event, former Human Rights Commission President Gillian Triggs explains why she believes Australia urgently needs a federally legislated Human Rights Act.

Drawing on examples including indefinite detention, deportation laws, due process, and democratic accountability, Triggs argues that human rights protections are not abstract legal ideas — they shape the fairness, dignity, and justice people experience in everyday life.

At a time of growing division and political polarization, she also reflects on how shared democratic values can help hold societies together.

What do you think? Should Australia have a national Human Rights Act?

16/05/2026

“My life’s work [...] has been in education, and I've fought to move education from being oppressor to liberator.”

Speaking at Reclaiming Democracy Together at Melbourne Town Hall, Professor Mark Rose reflected on democracy, identity, unfinished business, and the long arc of responsibility that extends beyond election cycles and political terms.

Mark spoke candidly about the realities of the Westminster system, and how for many First Nations communities, progress can too often be reset every few years as governments and priorities change. “Closing the Gap is not going to be the term of the parliament,” he reminded the audience. “It’s going to take much longer.”

He challenged the audience to think differently about dispossession — not only what was taken from First Nations people, but what all Australians lose when they are not meaningfully connected to the cultural heritage of the land they live, love and work on.

Throughout his address, Mark returned to the idea that democracy must be grounded in both identity and aspiration — honest about our history, ambitious about our future, and willing to confront the unfinished work still ahead of us.

05/05/2026

ADDITIONAL 100 TICKETS MADE AVAILABLE

Every so often, a moment arrives when we are called to rethink the foundations of our shared life.
This is one of those moments.

On 9 May at Melbourne Town Hall, we gather to launch Reclaiming Democracy Together — a bold seven-year initiative to renew democratic life in Australia and beyond.

Join an extraordinary group of speakers, each bringing a distinct perspective on democracy, justice, and public life:

Gillian Triggs — International lawyer and former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, with a lifelong commitment to human rights, the rule of law, and institutional integrity.

Natalie Kyriacou — Environmental leader and social entrepreneur, working at the intersection of climate justice, biodiversity, and public advocacy for a more sustainable future.

John Keane — One of the world’s leading political theorists, whose work has reshaped how we understand democracy, power, and public accountability in the modern age.

Professor Mark Rose — A respected Indigenous leader and educator, bringing deep insight into Indigenous knowledge systems, education, and the place of First Nations perspectives in public life.

Francesca Albanese — UN Special Rapporteur and international lawyer, known for her principled advocacy on human rights and international law in some of the world’s most contested spaces.

Wendy Brown — A leading political theorist and global voice on democracy, whose work examines neoliberalism, power, and the pressures shaping democratic institutions today.

Alongside these conversations, the afternoon will be enriched by powerful live performances from the Tarab Ensemble — bringing the depth and emotion of Middle Eastern musical traditions — and the Victorian Trade Union Choir, whose collective voice has long been part of Australia’s civic and cultural life.

Together, they will help open a conversation that is urgent, challenging, and necessary.

This is not a one-off event.
It is the beginning of something much larger.

🎟 In-person and online tickets available
📍 Melbourne Town Hall + Live Stream
⏰ 1:30pm start

Be part of the conversation — and the work that follows.

10/04/2026

On the afternoon of 9 May 1901, more than 12,000 Australians gathered at Melbourne's Exhibition Building to witness something remarkable: the opening of the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. A democratic nation, born.

It was a genuine act of hope. A belief that ordinary people — not kings, not aristocrats, not the powerful few — should have a say in the decisions that shape their lives. That government should be accountable to the governed. That the common good was worth building together.

That promise still stirs something in us. And it should.

But 125 years later, it's time to take stock. Housing unaffordable. Energy bills through the roof. Wages that don't keep pace. A political system that too often serves the powerful ahead of the people. These aren't separate problems — they're symptoms of a democracy that has drifted from its founding promise.

On 9 May 2026, we gather again at Melbourne Town Hall — to honestly confront what is, and to begin building what could be.

This is the national launch of Reclaiming Democracy Together: a seven-year initiative to renew democratic life in Australia and put citizens back at the centre of the decisions that shape their lives.

It's open to everyone. Reclaiming Democracy starts on May 9th.

Reserve your seat: https://www.trybooking.com/DKDHS

08/10/2025

I am pleased to announce that Conversation at the Crossroads will hold its 2025 ANNUAL ORATION on 14th November. It will be delivered by Antoinette Lattouf, a woman who stands her ground that truth may prevail.
Antoinette Lattouf is a multi-award-winning journalist, broadcaster, author and mental health advocate who brings clarity, courage and wit to the hardest conversations.
You and your colleagues are warmly invited to join me in-person or online for what should be a memorable occasion.
Registration essential www.trybooking.com/dfsxc.

22/09/2025

You are warmly invited to a special hybrid event jointly sponsored by Conversation at the Crossroads and Newman College, University of Melbourne.

- Are the US and its allies planning for to war with China?
- Is this what lies behind AUKUS and the drastic rise in military spending?
- Does the rise of China and India and the Global South more generally point to a new international order?

These are some of the difficult questions we are exploring together on Wednesday 1st October – a conversation long overdue.

For those living in Melbourne this is a unique opportunity to meet our special guests in person, join in lively conversation over food and drinks, in the pleasant surroundings of Newman College. Doors open 5:45 pm.

Others are welcome to join us online at 6.30 pm AEDT.

London 9:30am | Geneva 10:30am | Johannesburg/Istanbul/Athens/
Cairo 11:30am | Tehran 12:00pm | New Delhi 1:00pm | Jakarta 3:30pm KL/Beijing/Perth 4:30pm | Seoul 5:30pm | Melbourne 6:30pm | Auckland 8:30pm

22/09/2025

You are warmly invited to a special hybrid event jointly sponsored by Conversation at the Crossroads and Newman College, University of Melbourne.

- Are the US and its allies planning for to war with China?
- Is this what lies behind AUKUS and the drastic rise in military spending?
- Does the rise of China and India and the Global South more generally point to a new international order?

These are some of the difficult questions we are exploring together on Wednesday 1st October – a conversation long overdue.

For those living in Melbourne this is a unique opportunity to meet our special guests in person, join in lively conversation over food and drinks, in the pleasant surroundings of Newman College. Doors open 5:45 pm.

Others are welcome to join us online at 6.30 pm AEDT.

REGISTER HERE: https://www.trybooking.com/DFBEV

London 9:30am | Geneva 10:30am | Johannesburg/Istanbul/Athens/
Cairo 11:30am | Tehran 12:00pm | New Delhi 1:00pm | Jakarta 3:30pm KL/Beijing/Perth 4:30pm | Seoul 5:30pm | Melbourne 6:30pm | Auckland 8:30pm

08/09/2025

We are down to the last 3 tickets for our JUST WAR, JUST PEACE event - do join us for Big Ideas in the pub this Friday at 6.30pm.

Join us for an evening of philosophical engagement with the profound tensions and questions emerging from the brutal violence that has gripped so...

04/09/2025

A practice for our conversational resilience and agility...

It can feel impossible to see beyond your own perspective when you’re in conflict with another person. And yet, if you zoom out from the heat of the moment (and sometimes you need to zoom wayyy out), you might find that you can find a point of connection through a shared value.

Try asking these three questions the next time you’re in an argument or a tough conversation.

03/09/2025

On Friday 12th September I am taking part in a dinner event hosted by Conversation at the Crossroads, https://lnkd.in/gJ5jfmqq. I will be joined by Dr Helen Durham AO, with Tim Adalin as the moderator of the conversation.
We expect a full house of 50 in dialogue on the issue of the moment 'Just war or just peace?'

Last week I sat down with Tim and answered a series of questions he put to me, from which he has produced a series of short clips in anticipation of the event. Here is the first.

A few tickets remain for the September 12 event. Learn more @ https://lnkd.in/gCvJam9b