Forum: Australian Futures

Friday 15 November, 3.30-5.00pm

In this session, we invite each speaker to imagine what the country looks like in 60 years – 2084. What shape and direction will Australia take – demographically, politically, economically, culturally and digital futures? What position will it occupy in the region? What would ideal and dystopian futures look like? What should we be trying to achieve and what do we need to do to get there?

Chaired by Professor Stephen Garton AM FAHA FRAHS FASSA FRSN

Stephen Garton became a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2000, and was elected the Academy’s 20^th President in November 2023.

An eminent historian, Stephen’s research expertise is in Australian history. He has also published in the fields of American and British History. His major books provide thought provoking insights into areas including the history of medicine, particularly psychiatry, social welfare, war veterans and the aftermath of war, sexuality and the history of higher education.

Stephen has also had a long career in university administration, serving as Dean of Arts, Provost and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, and also as interim Vice-Chancellor, at the University of Sydney. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to tertiary education administration and to history.

Stephen is a member of the Academy’s History section and he previously served on the Academy’s Council. 

Speakers

Dr Liz Allen Australia faces many challenges and opportunities over the coming decades. Ageing and diversifying, the nation has not reckoned with its racially discriminatory past and the enduring issues that undermine social cohesion. Young people are faced with an uncertain future that presents insurmountable barriers to achieving the basics of life: housing security, economic wellbeing, and a family should they choose. The nation has lost its way in many respects and hope for the future has been eroded amidst inaction on climate boiling. Yet among the confluence of demographic, socioeconomic and climate challenges the country has opportunities to harness. Hope can be restored, the future ensured…but action is needed. A blueprint for the future of Australia, where living standards don’t go backwards, is presented as a roadmap for getting us out of this mess.

Dr Allen is a senior lecturer at ANU Centre for Social Policy Research. She is a member of ANU Council and an advocate for inclusive and accessible higher education. Liz was named among the ABC Top 5 Humanities and Social Sciences academics in Australia in 2018, and a woman to watch by the Australian Financial Review in 2023. Liz serves on the National Foundation of Australian Women Social Policy Committee, and is a regular media commentator. Her book, The Future of Us (2020), is a call to action to build a stronger Australia through fairness and equality.

Distinguished Professor Brian Schmidt AC FAA FRS FTSE My thinkings of what Australia might be in 60 years is replete with opportunities and dangers. Keeping in mind the adage “It is very difficult to predict – especially the future…” (falsely attributed to my fellow Physics Nobel Laureate, Niels Bohr), during this session I will do my best to imagine the scenarios Australia might face, and the commonalities that exist between them. My hope is for Australia to engage in meaningful conversations about its many futures, so that we can take the steps that lead to opportunity and avoid the steps that do not.

Brian Schmidt AC FAA FRS FTSE is Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the Australian National University. For his work on the accelerating universe, Brian Schmidt as leader of the High-Z SN Search team was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, jointly with Adam Riess and Saul Perlmutter. Schmidt has worked across many areas of Astronomy including studying supernovae, gamma ray bursts, gravita5onal wave transients, exo-planets, and metal poor stars. Brian completed joint undergraduate degrees in astronomy and physics at the University of Arizona (1989), an astronomy master’s degree (1992) and PhD (1993) from Harvard University. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Brian Schmidt joined the staff of the Australian National University in 1995. In 2000 Schmidt was awarded the Australian Government’s inaugural Malcolm McIntosh award for achievement in the Physical Sciences, in 2006 he was jointly awarded the Shaw Prize for Astronomy, and shared the 2007 Gruber Prize for Cosmology and 2014 Breakthrough Prize in Physics with his High-Z SN Search Team colleagues. He served as the 12th Vice Chancellor and President of the Australia National University from 2016-2023.

More speaker details to be announced for this session

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