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Aspire Conference

Confronting the grave challenges facing Australia, exploring solutions, and equipping leaders to deliver change. https://linktr.ee/aspireconference

29/05/2026

“I think our system, for all its imperfections, is infinitely superior to those otherwise on offer.” (John Howard, 25th Prime Minister of Australia)

During his welcome address to the inaugural ASPIRE Conference, former Prime Minister John Howard struck a note of optimism — reflecting on Australia’s resilient institutional heritage.

Despite the challenges we face, he argued, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the foundations upon our nation stands.

According to Howard, our robust parliamentary system, incorruptible judiciary, and free press each play important roles in securing the rights and freedoms of our citizens — and he emphasised the centrality of each of these factors to any successful democracy.

He encouraged ASPIRE attendees to “bring the best of what we have” — to shun “hubris” in their pursuit of constructive solutions to the acute problems of our day.

🎬 Watch the full address (link in comments).

22/05/2026

“If there is a crisis today, we’ve had a housing crisis for the last two hundred years.” (Dr Cameron Murray)

In a controversial and wide-ranging panel discussion at ASPIRE 2026, chaired by Centre for Independent Studies‬ Executive Director Michael Stutchbury, housing economist Cameron Murray challenged the idea that Australia is facing an unprecedented housing crisis.

He argued that the market has experienced cycles since the early nineteenth century — insisting that it will ultimately self-correct.

CIS Senior Fellow Parnell McGuiness pushed back, suggesting that red tape was resulting in a “housing crisis of the place that you want to live”. “Our cities are becoming cities of old people, where young people can’t get a toehold.”

Former Treasurer Peter Costello suggested that housing prices have been affected by what he called “abnormally high immigration” over the last three years. However, he said the other factor affecting the housing situation was “cheap money”, which has driven up asset prices.

The robust and constructive discussion offered thought-provoking insights into productivity, economic growth, immigration, housing, and family formation — challenging conventional wisdom on a range of key policy issues.

🔗 Watch the full panel discussion on our YouTube channel (link in comments).

15/05/2026

“…they’re not actually against women-only spaces… They’re against you not believing the lie that somebody else that is claiming to be the opposite s*x is that thing. It’s scarier than just opposing women or men-only spaces.” (Sall Grover)

Speaking at the inaugural ASPIRE conference, Sall Grover — founder and CEO of women-only social media app “Giggle” — tells the story behind the world’s first legal case to test the strength of s*x-based versus gender identity rights (Tickle vs Giggle). It was the headline that echoed around the world: “Sex is changeable.”

But the implications of the landmark decision go far beyond the preservation of women-only spaces. It is a battle for truth, and for the foundational freedoms and rights upon which our civilisation is built.

As Grover says, “Once the state can force you to believe something that is not true, or to accept something that is so blatantly not true, they can force you to accept anything.”

🎬 Watch the full keynote address (link in comments) 🔗

08/05/2026

“There is a rule of thumb that is reaffirmed time and time again throughout history: If a dictator is re-arming, readying the country for war, and openly telling his military and countrymen that a great battle is approaching, then I think it is prudent to believe him.” (John Lee)

Senior defence analyst Dr John Lee argues that Australia is not facing a distant or hypothetical threat. It is facing one that has been openly declared, methodically prepared for, and dangerously ignored.

Drawing on the Chinese Communist Party’s unprecedented peacetime military buildup, Xi Jinping's repeated calls to "be ready for war," and the 14 grievances Beijing issued against Australia in 2021, Lee makes the case that the real risk is not invasion. It is the slow erosion of Australian sovereignty until meaningful independence is no longer possible. He argues that Australia's geography makes it irreplaceable to allied deterrence, and that every dollar not spent on defence is a gift to Beijing.

🎥 Link to full video on comments. 👇

01/05/2026

“We need a re-embrace of the foundations — a compelling story of freedoms that embraces both our rich Westminster democratic tradition and a Christian vision of freedom. Our disease is a spiritual anaemia and the cure requires an infusion of moral rigour.” (John Steenhof)

At ASPIRE 2026, the Principal Lawyer of the Human Rights Law Alliance (HRLA), John Steenhof, highlighted some of the key threats to freedom of expression and religion in contemporary Australia. He warned that these fundamental freedoms are being eroded in the name of safety and social cohesion.

Yet the solution to our current crisis of social cohesion is not to further abandon freedom, ban expressions, and prohibit protest. The problem goes much deeper than this — calling for a rediscovery of Australia’s foundations: our Westminster democratic heritage and the Christian conception of liberty that undergirds it.

🎥 Watch the keynote speech on YouTube (link in comments 👇).

19/04/2026

“I hope that out of ASPIRE, you will have a movement with vision and courage and resolve that really understands the times we’re in and knows how to respond to it wisely.” (Os Guinness)

In conversation with former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson AC at ASPIRE 2026, author and social critic Os Guinness describes the “civilisational moment” that faces Australia and the West, forcing us to choose between renewal, replacement, and decline.

Australia must find leadership with the vision, courage, and resolve to face — and overcome — the challenges of our time.

🔗 Link to full discussion in comments 👇

15/04/2026

“It's true that our readiness right now is diabolically frightening.” — Bec Shrimpton (Senior Vice President, The Asia Group)

At this year’s ASPIRE Conference, some of our nation’s top defence and security experts reflected on Australia’s place in an increasingly unstable world.

Chaired by Paul Kelly (The Australian), the panel comprised Peter Jennings AO PSM (Strategic Analysis Australia), Dr John Lee (The Hudson Institute), Dr John Coyne (Australian Strategic Policy Institute), and Bec Shrimpton (The Asia Group).

They discussed Taiwan and the Chinese Communist Party, President Donald Trump and the US-Australia Alliance, AUKUS, and Australia’s overall defence preparedness.

Watch the full video on our YouTube channel (link in comments).

21/03/2026

Recorded for the ASPIRE Conference on 11th February 2026 at Stanford University, California — just weeks before the outbreak of war with Iran.

“An aircraft carrier group of the United States is in position in the Persian Gulf and further air strikes against Iran seem quite likely.”

Sir Niall Ferguson argues that the world has already entered a Second Cold War, the warning signs have been visible for years, and the West has been dangerously slow to act as it begins to warm.

18/03/2026

Welcome to ASPIRE.

ASPIRE exists to confront the grave challenges facing Australia, explore solutions, and equip leaders to deliver change.

Face the facts. Shape the future.

15/03/2026

"Our boys go to school and are bombarded from the moment they enter the gate that they are the villain by merit of their birth."

At the ASPIRE Conference, Gerard Holland made the case that Australia's young men are facing a crisis unlike any generation before them — not one of war or poverty, but of cultural erasure, fatherlessness, and a housing market that has placed the Australian dream permanently out of reach.

Address

14 Darling Drive
Sydney, NSW
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Website

https://aspireconference.org.au/

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