Big Ideas

• Vested interests vs public interest? How the fossil fuel industry captures Australian governments

  How has the fossil fuel industry wielded influence over Australian governments and their policies? What does it take to make ambitious change in the public interest, without vested interests getting in way? Join Natasha Mitchell and guests at Adelaide Writers Week.SpeakersDr Richard DennissEconomist and Executive Director of The Australia InstituteAuthor of BIG: The Role of the State in the Modern Economy (2022)Ross GarnautEconomistProfessor Emeritus in business and economics, University of MelbourneBoard director of renewable energy company ZEN ENERGYAuthor of Let's Tax Carbon: And other ideas for a better Australia (2024), Superpower: Australia's Low Carbon Opportunity (2019)Sarah Hanson-YoungSenator for South AustraliaGreens spokesperson for arts and communications, and environment and waterRoyce KurmelovsFreelance journalistAuthor of Slick: Australia's Toxic Relationship with Big Oil (2024)

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• France — a paradoxical country

  The citizens of France have a notoriously conflicted relationship with the state. Their suspicion, if not resentfulness, of state power has played out in myriad revolts over the centuries and continues with repeated protests and riots to this day. It shapes the country's political and social fabric … from the set-up of their local sports clubs to their global foreign politics ambitions. The picture that emerges is one of a nation struggling to reconcile its core political values with the realities of a diverse society.Presented at FASStival, the University of Technology Sydney Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences FestivalSpeakerEmile ChabalProfessor of Contemporary European History at the University of Edinburgh, Author of France

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• Can the International Criminal Court deliver justice?

  The International Criminal Court has issued high-profile arrests warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over their conduct in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But although the court's role is to end impunity for war crimes, many are now questioning whether it has the power to perform that vital duty.This event was recorded at the University of Tasmania on 11 February 2025.SpeakersAlex WhitingProfessor of Practice, Harvard Law SchoolFormer Acting Specialist Prosecutor for the Kosovo Tribunal in The HagueFormer Investigation Coordinator and then Prosecution Coordinator in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The HagueTrial Attorney and then a Senior Trial Attorney with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, 2002-2007Regina Weiss (host)Barrister, Tasmanian BarFormer war crimes prosecutor, International Criminal CourtCounsel to the ICC on victims, defense, sexual and gender-based violenceChair of the Australian Red Cross — Tasmania International Humanitarian Law CommitteeTim McCormack (host)Professor of International Law, University of TasmaniaFormer Special Adviser on War Crimes to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (2010-2024)

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• Helen Garner on footy, boys, and growing old

  A "Homeric struggle", a desperate night-ballet, an ethical training ground for boys and men. Aussie Rules is a multimillion-dollar industry, but at its heart, to thousands of people, it's much more than that. Including to Australian literary great, Helen Garner.This event was recorded at the National Library of Australia on 20 February 2025.SpeakersHelen GarnerAuthor, The Season, Monkey Grip, The Children's Bach, The First Stone, Joe Cinque's Consolation, The Spare Room, This House of Grief and moreBeejay Silcox (host)Critic, writer, outgoing Artistic Director, Canberra Writers Festival

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• Is America on the cusp of collapse under Trump? Natasha Mitchell and guests at Adelaide Writers Week

  Donald Trump's return to The White House is up-ending the way America works — at home and on the global stage. Does it herald the potential social, political, and constitutional collapse of United States? The world has watched nations sleepwalk into ultranationalist fascism before, is this that moment? Or is American democracy more resilient than any one demagogue? Are we on the cusp of new world order, and how will Australia play its cards if the USA no longer has our back?This event was presented by Adelaide Writers Week and the Australia Institute.SpeakersDr Emma ShortisAuthor, Our Exceptional Friend: Australia's Fatal Alliance with the USDirector of The Australia Institute's International & Security Affairs programDr Nick BryantJournalist, historianAuthor, The Forever War: America's Unending Conflict with ItselfFormer BBC correspondentPresenter of Saturday Extra on ABC Radio NationalAllan BehmAuthor, The Odd Couple: The Australia-America Relationship (2024)Special Advisor, International Political Affairs, The Australia InstituteDr Prudence FlowersAuthor, The Reagan Revolution (2025)President, Australian and New Zealand American Studies AssociationSenior lecturer in US history at Flinders University

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