In conversation

The Idea of Australia

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There has never been a better time to address our national identity. Former publisher and founding editor of Griffith Review Professor Julianne Schultz challenges our notions of what it means to be Australian and asks urgent questions about our national identity. In this timely book she asks, ‘What is the ‘idea of Australia? What defines the soul of our nation? Are we an egalitarian, generous, outward-looking country? Or is Australia a nation that has retreated into silence and denial about the past and become selfish, greedy, and insular?’

Schultz came to realise that the idea of Australia has always been a contest: between those who are imaginative, hopeful, altruistic and ambitious, and those who are defensive, self-interested and inward-looking. She is convinced we need to acknowledge and better understand our past to make sense of our present and build a positive and inclusive future. She suggests what Australia should be more ambitious and could be more compassionate, fair and informed.

Braiding her personal experience with often untold stories from our poorly understood yet shared past, Schultz finds a resourceful and creative people who have often been badly served by timid and self-interested leaders: a people eager to meaningfully recognise First Nations people and address the flaw at the heart of the nation. A people who are not afraid of change and who demand leaders with more moral courage and imagination. She tells revealing stories that we rarely hear from our media or leaders.

Julianne will be in conversation with Dr Natasha Cica, Director of Kapacity.org.

Join Julianne and Natasha at the RACV Hotel.

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