(INCOMPLETE) LIST OF SPEAKERS AND TOPICS
Notes:
Prior to 1980, no written meeting invitations/notices were distributed
Where month only is listed, day is unknown
* no meeting notice has been found
o month and day unknown, but probably spoke in the order presented; no meeting notice has been found
1980
March * Kate White
The Cain and Hollway governments
April * Max Marginson
Drink and food as seen by a biochemist
May * Dr Stephen Murray-Smith
Subsidies of culture and the arts
June * Barry Jones: MHR
The new technology
July * Ian Reinecke
Computerisation in publishing
August * Ralph Willis: MHR
The coming federal budget
September * Ken Gott
Political geometry – a new frontier of science
October * Dr Kevin Foley: MLC
Parliamentary reform in Victoria
December * Mr Justice Staples
Legislating for human rights
1981
o Senator Peter Rae
Qangos
o Stan Keon
What it means to be Irish
o Steve Crabb: MLA
Victoria today – the state of play in the state of decay
o John McLaren
Labour politics in Britain
o Allan Kellock: Finance Director, Telecom
The wired society
o Robert Dunstan DSO: MLA
The Victorian parliament
o John FitzGerald: Managing Director, IPR (International Public Relations)
The view from the other side of the Jordan
o Brian Johns: Publisher, Penguin Books (Aust)
Australian publishing and the media
o Peter Ross-Edwards: Leader of the National Party
o Barry Simon
The uses of power and persuasion in politics
1982
February * Peter Maund: SEC
The depository of power is always unpopular
March * Leo Hawkins
Can nice people (like us) still join political parties?
April * Brian Merrett
The politics of confusion (i.e. Papua New Guinea)
May * Peter Cullen
Lobbying – sin or salvation
June * Dr Cliff Periam
Argentina
July * Richard L’Estrange
Media developments – London, New York and Australia
August * The Hon Don Hayward: MLC
The Victorian Liberals – What happened? What next?
September * Tony McAdam
Bias in the media
October * Dr Les Waters
No man is an island – and vice versa
December * Keith Dunstan
USA
1983
February * Bob Hawke: MHR
Where is the light? On the hill – or at the end of the tunnel?
March * Jane Mullett: trapeze artist
Circuses
April * Jeff Kennett
The Victorian Liberals today
May * Brian Buckley
The Fraser years – an early retrospective
June * Brigadier Ian Gilmore OBE: Director, Australian Counter Disaster College
Coping with disasters
October * Frank Knopfelmacher
December * Phillip Adams
1984
No records have been found
1985
No records have been found
1986
May 6 Frank Bennett: US Consul-General
Australian – American relations: the view from Melbourne
July 1 John McLaren: Head, Humanities Department, Footscray Institute of Technology
Reflections on his first trip to the US
August 5 Jim Lynch: Federal President and Victorian Secretary, Australian Timber Workers’ Union
Conservation and development in perspective
October 7 Ray Evans: Executive Officer, Western Mining Corporation
The intellectual history of the New Right
December 2 Rupert Lockwood: journalist and author
Meanderings
1987
March 3 Sam Lipski: journalist and media critic and analyst
Outcome of takeover contests in the media industries)
April 14 Michael Danby: editor of Australia-Israel Review and ministerial advisor
The Soviet and Libyan drive in the Pacific
May12 Don Hayward: Liberal MLA for Prahan and shadow minister for industry, commerce and technology
Critique of the Cain government’s economic performance
June 2 Don Larkin: Secretary, Australian Hotels Association
Deregulating the liquor industry: too little, too late? or too much, too fast?
July 7 Ray Beatty: Proprietor of Ray Beatty Advertising
How in the hell do you sell trade unions?
August 4 The Hon Neil Batt: Leader of the Opposition, Tasmanian Parliament
The economics and politics of an offshore island
September 1 Alan Drew: Chief Executive Officer, Victorian Tourist Commission
Tourism: Australia’s growth industry
The Bookcellar went into recession from September 1 1987 to August 3 1988 primarily due to the ill health of our illustrious Chair
1988
August 3 Malcolm Maiden: journalist and reporter, The Australian Financial Review
What’s happened to charisma? – Reflections on the US presidential campaign
November 2 Max Marginson: senior lecturer in biochemistry, The University of Melbourne Food and drink – an update
1989
February 1 Boris Schedvin: Professor of economic history, The University of Melbourne
Stalking the ‘80s (and a peep into the ‘90s)
March 1 B A (Bob) Santamaria: leader of the National Civic Council
Retrospective – and prospective, an informal, interactive group exchange
May 3 John Avieson: Associate Professor of journalism, Deakin University
The other Murdoch - Sir Keith and Gallipoli
July 5 David Cragg: Private Secretary to Senator Robert Ray
Can the Liberals win?
o Kevin Hindle
Liberal Party and market research
August 2 The Hon Mark Birrell: leader of the opposition, Victorian Legislative Council
Defeating apathy and the ALP
September 6 Frank Knopfelmacher: retired academic, The University of Melbourne
Central Europe 1939 - personal memories
October 4 Simon Boyle: editor, reporter and producer with Channel 2
TV current affairs – why we get what we get
November 1 Mike Bell: PNG expert, CRA
Bougainville - recent disturbances
o Marcus L’Estrange
A new boy looks at the class
1990
o Barry Dunstan
Business in the eighties
o Alan Castleman
The very fast train
April 4 Roger Pescott: Deputy Liberal Leader of the Victorian opposition
Transport - how to manage
May 2 John Marsden: Director of Research, Australian Bankers Association
Why don’t the banks . . . ?
o Peter McKeown
On the waterfront
July 4 Gerry Kitchener: previous editor, and industrial officer, Hospital Employees Federation No. 2 Branch
What sort of creature is the socialist left?
August 1 Lionel Wisbey: Chief Executive, Clunies Ross Memorial Foundation and Chairman, Australian Scientific Industry Association
The scientific Australian
o Harry Torrens
Financial institutions in the eighties
October 3 Geoffrey Goode: secretary, Port Phillip Conservation Council and longstanding member of the Australian Conservation Foundation
Growth of the Greenies
November 6 Kerry Milte: barrister and former superintendent of the Central Crime Intelligence Bureau of the Commonwealth police
The sources of crime in Australia
o David Pryce-Jones
Iraq and the Arab mind
December 5 Brian Buckley, Ian Jelfs and Peter Maund: Bookcellar members
The rest of the world
1991
February 6 Peter McLaughlin: Executive Director, Business Council of Australia
Whose fault: Canberra or business?)
o Creighton Burns
Problems of the press
o Nasseh Mirza
War and peace in the Middle East
o Jeremy Reynolds
Where will we live?
o Jan Martin
Australia’s great treasure - Aboriginal art
o Julian Beale
The privatisation revolt
o Jock Rankin and Michael Danby
Debate on ABC bias
o Neville Brent
The coalface and Mr Kerin’s budget
o James Kimpton
Airlines, deregulation and recession
o Jeff Kennett
The way ahead
o Michael O’Connor
Reflections on Pearl Harbour
1992
o Barney Cooney
Making Australia a republic)
o Sir Zelman Cowan
Reflections on the Governor-Generalship)
o Ranald Macdonald
Radio and the ABC)
May 6 Morag Fraser: editor
Women in church)
June 3 Peter Austin: public spokesman for the Australian Wool Corporation and Rob Morton: Manager, Corporate Affairs for the Wheat Board
Free markets and the bush)
July 1 John Rashleigh: Managing Director of Health and Life Care
The health care and hospital crisis)
August 5 The Hon Marie Tehan: Victorian Liberal MLC
Victoria under the Liberals)
o The US Election, as guests of the Australia-America Association
o Peter Alford
Australian politics
1993
February 3 Cr Desmond Clark: Lord Mayor of Melbourne
Making Melbourne marvellous again
o Graham Nicolls
Political research
o Bob Smith
The trade union movement
July 7 Michael Duffy: MP for Holt and previous Federal Minister for Communications, Minister for Overseas Trade and Attorney General
Life at the top – the last ten years
August 4 Phil Cleary: MP for Wills
An independent view of politics
September 1 Richard McGarvie: Governor of Victoria
Governorship in Australia today
October 6 John Birt: former league footballer, coach and Collingwood senior executive
Is the AFL destroying football?
o Neville Brent
The job of a union organiser
November 3 * John Brumby: Leader of the Victorian Opposition
December 1 * Bill Brett: US Consul’s office
1994
February 2 * Elizabeth Proust: Melbourne City Council
March 2 * Tony Staley
The state of the Liberal Party
April 6 Peter Ellery: Executive Director, WA Chamber of Mines and Energy
Media, Mabo and mining
May 4 Alan Stockdale: Victorian Treasurer
The Victorian revolution – what remains to be done
June 1 Susan Crennan: QC, Chairman of the Victorian Bar Council
Sex and the law
July 6 * Dr David Cuthbert: war historian
August 3 Ian Bremner: Chief Executive, Real Estate Institute of Victoria
The great Australian dream
September 7 Kate Redwood: Executive Director, Victorian Council of Social Service
Social welfare and the welfare state
October 5 John Monks: journalist, editor and author
The Murdochs
November 2 * Rowan Callick
Papua, New Guinea
December 7 * Max Teichmann
The years go by
1995
March 1 John Nicol: distinguished local government official
Revolution in local government – how the government got it half right
May 3 Norman Huon: Executive Director, Victorian Association of Forest Industries and Francis Grey: consulting environmental economist
The future of native forests
June 7 * Paddy and Ann Morgan
Czechoslovakia
July 5 Lindsay Tanner: Labor MP for Melbourne
The future of the left
August 2 Denis Warner: war correspondent and writer
The invasion of Japan
September 6 * Dr Bob Marshall: veteran surgeon
Diagnosing our hospitals
October 4 Brian Kavanagh: film producer, director, editor and writer
Films off the boil
November 1 * Robert Manne
The Demidenko affair
December 6 * Jim Griffin
The life and times of John Wren
1996
February 7 * Sharon Firebrace
Aboriginal politics and policy
March 6 * David Beckingsale and Peter Fisher
Land Care
April 3 * Susan Oliver
A look at the future
May 1 * Jim Young
Industrial relations
June 5 * Cr Peter McMullin: Melbourne’s Deputy Lord Mayor
July 3 * Terry McCrann: financial columnist
August 7 * Ross Wilson: US Consul
September 4 * Sid Spindler
Democrats
October 2 * Brian Howe, Former Deputy PM
Reforming the welfare sector
November 6 * Brian Dixon and Neil Cordy
The future of the AFL
December 4 * Peter O’Brien
Business in the city
1997
February 5 * Mark Armstrong: former Chairman of the ABC
March 5 * John Rashleigh: CEO, Whittlesea
April 2 * Dennis Flentje
The car industry
May 7 * Sally White
Educating the Chinese media
June 4 * Jim Carlton
The Australian Red Cross
July 2 * Leigh Hubbard
The Victorian Trades Hall
August 6 * Haydn Park, National Australia Bank
Banking in Australia
September 3 * Colin McLeod
The stolen generation
October 1 * Dr Kendall Francis
Advances in medicine
November 5 * Richard McGarvie
Reforming the constitution
December 3 * Bill Burns
Liberal politics
1998
February 4 * Dr Gunter Heisch: German Consul
March 4 * Howard Nathan
The Victorian Supreme Court
April 1 * Race Matthews
Socialism in Australia
May 6 * P P McGuiness
Trendies in the media
June 3 * Brian O’Sullivan
The National Party
July 1 Rob Hulls: MLA
Opposing J Kennett
August 5 Phillip O’Carroll: school principal and commentator
The Fitzroy Community School
September 2 Sir Zelman Cowen: previous Governor-General of Australia
Memories of Munich
October 7 * Jim McCausland, on behalf of Michael Smith
What ails “The Age”
November 4 * Susan Davies: MLA
Being an independent member
December 2 * Greg Kemp
Our Indonesian neighbours
1999
February 3 * Jan McGuiness
ABC politics
March 3 * Peter Evans
Toyota and the electric car
April 7 * Frank Mount
East Timor
May 5 Jim Barry: leading sports administrator
A hard look at the Olympics
June 2 * John Bayley
Planning suburbia
July 7 * Henry Bosch
Corporate corruption
August 4 John McPherson: Public Transport Users Association
Privatising public transport
September 1 David Cuthbert: war historian
Hitler makes a war – 1 September 1939
October 6 * Daryl Joyce
Ericsson and the internet
November 3 Father John Hill: ancient Israel scholar
Apocalypses – 0 and 2000
December 1 * Dr Bob Marshall: veteran surgeon and Brian Buckley
The nature of humans and human nature
2000
February 2 Ian Carson: accountant and a Vice-President of the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party
Victoria’s Libs – crises or chance
March 1 * Bernard Wheelahan: Shell
Venezuela
April 5 * Alan Castleman
May 3 * Professor Peter Swannell
June 7 * Peter Howson
July 5 * Professor David Karoly and Bob Foster: CSIRO
August 2 * John Gilmour
September 6 John B Cox: transport consultant
Freeways, cars, trains, trams and bikes
October 4 * Reverend Alan Nicholls
November 2 * George Brazier: US Consul
December 6 * Peter Costigan
2001
February 1 * John Lahey
March 7 * Dr David Karoly: Ozone
April 4 Diana Carlton
Life in Mongolia
May 2 * Doug Buerger: Bendigo Mining
June 6 Frank Vincent: Principal Judge of the Criminal Division, Supreme Court of Victoria and Chairperson, Victorian Adult Parole Board
Perceptions of sentencing
July 4 * Denis Napthine
August 1 John Hearsch: rail transport consultant
Developments in Australian railways
September 5 Bill Shorten: National Secretary, Australian Workers Union
Kicking back the union can
October 3 Campbell Fitzpatrick: Director of Water Resource Management, Department of Natural resources and Environment
Future water availability in Victoria
November 7 Michael O’Connor: Executive Director, Australian Defence Association and student of terrorism and defence questions
War and terrorism
December 5 Dr Mark Johnston: History teacher at Scotch College and scholar of Australian army history
Australians in World War II
2002
February 6 Kendall Francis: surgeon
A medical look at East Timor
March 6 Miles Lewis: Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, The University of Melbourne and recent Vice-President, Save our Suburbs
Planners v people
April 3 Matthew Ricketson: former journalist and academic journalist at RMIT
Trial by media?
May 1 Tzvi Fleischer: Editor, The Review and student of international relations
Islam, Judaism and the world
June 5 David Feeney: State Secretary of the Victorian Branch of the ALP
Modernising the ALP
July 3 Michael Danby: MP for Melbourne Ports and Opposition Whip
Glory without power?
August 7 Andrew Darbyshire: Executive Director, B33hive Pty Ltd (technology company) and previous Qantas pilot
The pocket-sized future
September 4 Geoff Easdown: business and feature writer and author
The Ansett tragedy
October 2 Tony Clifton: foreign correspondent
Reporting on the Middle East
November 6 * Tony Abbott: MP
December 4 Robert Gottliebsen: national business commentator for The Australian
Australia’s CEOs
2003
February 5 Alister Purbrick: Managing Director, Tahbilk Wines
The world taste for Australian wine
March 5 Dr David Martin Jones: Asia and Pacific affairs academic
Iraq to Indonesia to PNG to Korea – Australian in danger from the arc of hostility
April 2 Alan Castleman: previous career BHP manager and chairman of Australian Unity
Why health costs!!
May 7 Tuma Hazou: previous senior official, advisor and speech-writer for the royal house of Jordan and (from New Zealand) consultant on Middle Eastern affairs
Iraq, Palestine, Israel and the US
June 4 Gregory Hywood: publisher and editor
Running a newspaper
July 2 Howard Nathan: reserve judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria
Smiling Buddhists versus Tigers – adjudicating between Sinhalese and Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka
August 6 Professor Tom Triggs: Professor of Psychology and Deputy Director of the Accident Research Centre, Monash University
Governments, research and the road toll
September 3 Blair Trewin: climatologist, National Climate Centre, Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology
The drought
October 1 Rowan Callick: Asia-Pacific editor, The Australian Financial Review
The arc of instability
November 5 Professor Ian Plimer: Professor of Geology, The University of Melbourne
Can earthlings survive climate change?
December 3 Michael Keats: veteran journalist and Information Officer with the UN
Bush’s White House
2004
February 4 The Hon John Brumby: Victorian MLA, Treasurer
Budgets v welfare
March 3 Jim Griffin: academic and author
Reviewing John Wren
April 7 Neil James: long-time Australian army officer and Executive Director, Australian Defence Association
Never never land
May 5 Craig Ingram: MLA for Gippsland East
Water, wood and independence
June 2 Dr Bob Birrell: Director, Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University
City and suburban follies
July 7 Bob Marshall and Kendall Francis: veteran surgeons
The health of health care
August 4 Captain Peter McKeown: harbour pilot
Deepening our Bay
September 1 Ian Cummins: Russian historian
Russia 1914 and 1917
October 6 David T Hopper: principal officer, US Consulate-General in Melbourne
The 2004 US presidential election
November 3 Matt Sharpe: lecturer in Philosophy, Deakin University including its Centre for Psychoanalytic Studies
Hidden hand behind the White House
December 1 Andrew McIntosh: barrister and MLA for Kew
Corruption in Victoria
2005
February 2 Bob Foster: consultant in energy economics, previous Shell Petroleum geologist, GM marketing for BHP
How the world works
March 2 David Cragg: organiser for the Australian Workers’ Union
Today’s workers and their bosses
April 6 Dr Leon Loftus: tertiary education management consultant
Rorts and rackets in tertiary education
May 4 Jennifer Williams: Chief Executive Officer, Bayside Health
Challenges of the hospital system
June 1 Dr Steven Welch: senior lecturer in Modern German history, The University of Melbourne
Hitler, war and holocaust in today’s Germany
July 6 Dr Nouria Salehi: prominent member of Australia’s Afghan community and senior nuclear medicine physicist, Royal Melbourne Hospital
US mistakes and successes in Afghanistan
August 3 Dr Charles Schencking: senior lecturer in Japanese history, The University of Melbourne
Looking back on August ’45
September 7 Howard Nathan: reserve judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria
Judging the Asian judges
October 5 George Brouwer: Victorian Ombudsman
Police integrity in Victoria
November 2 Hec Gallagher: previous senior education administrator and Gary Israel: immediate past headmaster, Northcote High
Sliding state secondary schools)
December 7 David Broadbent: political commentator for Channel 9 and columnist for The Sunday Age
Bracks, Doyle and doing better
2006
February 1 Will Bailey: previous Chief Executive Officer of the ANZ Group, previous Deputy Chair of Coles-Myer and a director or office-holder of a number of companies and community organisation
20 years of deregulation
March 1 Ian Cummins: former senior lecturer in Russian history, Monash University and Tony Wood: senior lecturer in American history, Monash University
The Cold War
April 5 John D’Arcy: last Chief Executive of the old, independent Herald and Weekly Times and the first under its new owner, Rupert Murdoch
Media mayhem – Hawke, Murdoch and Packer
May 3 Jackie Fristacky: Mayor of the City of Yarra and Deputy Chair, Metropolitan Transport Forum
Transport and livability
June 7 John Hirst: academic historian, Reader in History, La Trobe University and author
Making sense of Australian history
July 5 Peter Coghlan: social work manager and Manager, Brosnan Centre
Caring for ex-prisoners
August 2 W A Meaher 1V (known as “Four”): American scholar
How we weren’t prepared for World War II
September 6 Fraser Brindley: Melbourne City Councillor
Green strategies and the state election
October 4 Mike Keats: foreign correspondent and close observer of US politics
The US mid-term elections
November 1 Tim Colebatch: economics editor of The Age
The November state election
December 6 Dr Michael Coughlan: Head, National Climate Centre, Bureau of Meteorology
The big dry
2007
February 7 Alan Nichols: author, journalist and Anglican minister
Good news out of Africa
March 7 Dr Kevin Tolhurst: senior lecturer in fire ecology and management, The University of Melbourne
The use and abuse of bush fire
April 4 Dr Bob Birrell: demographer, Reader in Sociology and Director, Centre for Population and Urban Research, Monash University
Higher education and the workforce
May 2 Jacqueline Knopfelmacher (replacing Peter Faris, QC)
Crime: organised and disorganised
June 6 Malcolm Maiden: Associate Editor (Business) of The Age
Private equity buy-outs
July 4 Terence Maher: writer and student of the political economy of modern Ireland
Holding the Celtic tiger by the tail
August 1 * Senator Robert Ray
September 5 John Marsden: water economist
Ensuring our water supply
October 3 The Hon Tony Abbott: MP, Commonwealth Minister for Health and Ageing
Health and politics
November 7 Craig Milne: Executive Director, Australian Productivity Council
The car business
December 5 Bert Dennis: housing developer - Dennis Family Corporation
Affording houses
2008
February 6 Dr Joseph Poprzeczny: academic, writer and author
Masterplan East – Hitler & Himmler: their plan for the east
March 5 Kendall Francis: veteran surgeon
Evidence-based medicine
April 2 Dr Michael Folie: Chairman, Regis Resources
The mining boom
May 7 Dr Peter Yule: research fellow in the History Department, The University of Melbourne
Canberra’s defence spending and the Collins Class submarine
June 4 Jane Kennedy: TV personality, showbiz entrepreneur and mother of five
Comedy and satire on the screen
July 2 Dr Robyn Vines: practicing psychologist
What can psychology do for us?
August 6 Scott Hargreaves: Manager, Government and Public Affairs, Monash Energy
Changing and greening brown coal
September 3 John W Crowley: Acting US Consul General
The American elections
October 1 Dr Craig Emerson: Federal Minister for Business, Independent Contractors, and the Service Economy
Challenges now facing the Rudd government
November 5 Steve Bracks: former Premier of Victoria
Rebuilding East Timor
December 3 David Cuthbert: military historian
The armistice
2009
February 4 Dr Geoff Walker: specialist in agricultural development and marketing
Working in the Middle East
March 4 Kenneth Davidson: economics writer and commentator
Water and politics
April 1 Bob Marshall: veteran surgeon
Health care problems
May 6 Ann Blainey: author, board member
Melba
June 3 Graham Freudenberg: political speech writer and author
Churchill and Australia
July 1 Rowan Callick: Asia/Pacific Editor of The Australian
China - what next?
August 5 Greg Hunt: MP for Flinders, opposition spokesman on climate change, environment and water
Clean energy and the clean water revolution
September 6 Paul Howes: National Secretary, Australian Workers’ Union
Making more in Australia
October 7 Elida Brereton: Principal, Camberwell High School
“Summer Heights High” – spoof or reality?
November 4 Michael Buxton: Associate Professor, Department of Social Science and Planning, RMIT
The shape of a bigger city
December 2 Paul Austin: political commentator
The year past and the year ahead in Victorian politics
2010
February 3 Gavin Dufty: manager of policy and research, St Vincent de Paul Society, Victoria
Identifying the really poor
March 3 Justin Madden: Victorian Minister for Planning
Planning for Melbourne at 5 million
April 7 Paddy O’Sullivan: General Manager, Public Affairs, Australian Hotels Association
Publicans’ problems
May 5 Kelvin Thomson: Commonwealth Labor MP for Wills
The population bomb
June 2 Jerry Ellis: former Chairman, BHP
New developments in mining and energy
July 7 Stephen Mayne: founder of Crikey
Inside team Brumby
August 4 Judith Sloan: Professorial Fellow, Melbourne Institute for Economic and Social Research
The Gillard ‘Fair Work’ regime
September 1 Ken Coghill: Director, Monash Governance Research Unit and Co-director of the Parliamentary Studies Unit, Monash University and former Labor MP and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Taking government of the market
October 6 Michael O’Connor: previous Director, Australian Defence Association
Afghanistan, Iraq and Vietnam
November 3 Dr Mark Durie: Anglican Vicar, St Mary’s, Caulfield and student of Islamic society
Islam and violence
December 1 Dan Denning: American economist, publisher and investment analyst
Washington’s wrong direction
2011
February 2 Darren Ray: Director, Policy and Public Affairs, Victorian Local Government Association
Local government battles
March 2 Steve Ingrouille: Principal, Going Solar Pty Ltd and consultant on energy sources, city design and development, water use and transport
Alternative energy
April 6 Andrew MacLeod: Chief Executive Officer, Committee for Melbourne
Making Melbourne work better
May 4 Peter Day: writer and follower of Middle Eastern events
Radioactive Egypt
June 1 John Freebairn: Professor of Economics, The University of Melbourne
Can we feed a bigger world?
July 6 Dr David Pollard: Chief Executive Officer, VicForests
Our forest future
August 3 Dr Matthew Fagan: businessman and scientist
Challenging climate change
September 7 Dr Peter Yule: historian
The Baillieus
October 5 Dr Ben Jensen: Director, School Education Program, Grattan Institute
Teaching gens. Y & Z
November 2 Jeff Dabb (replacing Matthew Guy: Minister for Planning)
Government, planning and people
December 7 Andrew McIntyre: broadcaster, commentator and author
The real agenda of Bob Brown and the Greens
2012
February 1 Neil Batt AO: Executive Director, Australian Centre for Health Research, former National President of the ALP and former Deputy Premier and Treasurer of Tasmania
Labor’s problems
o Julian Reeves: Economist, Morgan Stanley
State of the Reserve Bank
o (Christopher) Michael Barter: Ariadne Australia
o Mark Birrell: Board Member, Infrastructure Australia, former Victorian government cabinet minister
How Infrastructure Australia works
There were other speakers but no other records have been found
2013
There were speakers in the first half of the year but no other records have been found
August 7 The Hon John Brumby: a former Victorian Labor MP, a former Victorian Premier and Treasurer, and Chairman of the COAG Reform Council
The future of federalism
September 4 * Bob Condon
Collingwood – the suburb
October 2 Representative from the Public Transport Users Association
Shaping Melbourne’s transport future
November 6 Michael Danby: former Victorian Labor MP
A view from caucus 2007 – 2013
December 4 Andrew Tink: author and a former Liberal member of the NSW Parliament
The 1940 Canberra air disaster
2014
February 5 Detective Sergeant Mick Ferwerda: Victoria Police
The ice man speaks - destruction by ice
March 5 Jane Garrett: MLA (Victoria) and Federal Vice-President of the ALP, and former Mayor of Yarra
Daily grind, groundwork and greens - really representing people
April 2 Phil Davis: former Liberal MLC
Backroom boy - picking leaders (and winners) or managing leadership aspirations in the parliament
May 7 Tim Colebatch: former journalist and author
Abbott v Hamer - A liberal Liberal and the new Liberals
June 4 Steven Welch: modern European historian
The July crisis 1914 - one hundred years on: why WW1 began
July 2 Robert Murray: author of
The making of Australia - a concise history
August 6 Ken Phillips: Executive Director of the Independent Contractors’ Association
Too cosily big corporate Australia
September 3 Dr John Daley: inaugural Chief Executive of the Grattan Institute
We want more - but where's the money coming from?
October 1 Norman Hermant: journalist
In from the cold - Vladimir Putin's long game
November 5 Dr Peter Edwards: war historian
Vietnam, conscription and confrontation half century perspective
December 3 Josh Gordon: journalist
Victoria's new government - state infrastructure money from asset sales, Canberra and borrowing
2015
February 4 Anne Henderson: historian and author
Menzies at war - was Menzies a reactionary Anglophile or an Australian nationalist?
March 4 Colin Macleod
Islam and the West - Moslems and us
April 1 Dr John Basarin
A Turk at Gallipoli
May 6 Liam Houlihan: former lawyer, journalist
Murder in Melbourne
June 3 Sue Knopfelmacher: educator and philosopher
Pommy pollies on view - impressions of the UK and its politicians
July 1 Robert Doyle: Lord Mayor of Melbourne
Melbourne’s future - the Melbourne we're building
August 5 Sam Lipski: journalist, TV producer, chief executive of the Pratt Foundation
Australia and Soviet Jews
September 2 Mark Wild: Chief Executive Officer, Public Transport Victoria
Trams, trains and buses
October 7 Sam Kekovich: former AFL footballer
You know it makes sense
November 4 Peter Walsh MLA: Nationals Leader and Deputy Opposition Leader in the Victorian Parliament
Water - infrastructure and pipe dreams
December 2 Miriam Lasky and Bookcellar members
Documents from our past
2016
February 3 Joel Deane: journalist, speech writer and media advisor, and author
Ten lessons from Bracks and Brumby
March 2 Dr David Dunstan: journalist, public servant, university lecturer, and author
Planning, developers and zoning - history of Melbourne’s planning
April 6 Chip Le Grand: journalist and author
The Essendon drug crisis - the straight dope on Essendon and drugs in sport
May 4 Peter Reith: former MP, author and political commentator
The Reith Papers - insights from the past into good and lacklustre governing
June 1 Dr Steve Welch: military historian
The Battle of the Somme
July 6 Bookcellar members
The Australian election result and Brexit
August 3 Dr Tim Lynch: associate professor of American politics, The University of Melbourne
2016 US presidential election: the Donald and Hillary show
September 7 Detective Superintendent Patrick Boyle: Victoria Police
Street gangs in Victoria - what is going on?
October 5 Russel Howcroft: Executive General Manager of the TEN Network and previously boss at Young & Rubicam Brands
Free-to-air television and news - just the old media?
November 2 Molly Sasson: former intelligence officer
ASIO - Molly Sasson's insight
December 7 Malcolm Maiden: journalist and editor
The plight of The Age
2017
February 1 Ian Cummins: author and expert on Russia
The 1917 Russian Revolutions
March 1 Brad Norington: journalist
Planet Jackson – power, greed and unions
April 5 Brian Negus: General Manager of Public Policy at RACV
Trams, trains, cars and planes - Melbourne’s future transport
May 3 Dr Charles Livingston: academic and gambling expert and Paul Bendat, lawyer and anti-gambling activist
600-pound gambling gorilla
June 7 Sir Rod Eddington: former CEO of British Airways, company director
China a global power
July 5 Brad Dunstan: key figure in the Australian automotive industry (replacing Christopher de Fraga: motoring journalist)
Autonomous vehicles are coming
August 2 Philip Hopkins: journalist
Power prices - some facts
September 6 Captain Richard de Crespigny AM: airline pilot
QF 32 and the black swan
October 4 Dr John Carroll: former academic and author of
“Land of the Golden Cities”
November 1 Dr Robert Horvath: academic and author
Putin’s Russia
December 6 Bob Murray, Neil Perry and Geoff Richards: Bookcellar members
Three members’ tales
2018
February 7 The Hon Alan Stockdale AO: former Treasurer of Victoria
Reforming Victoria – reflections
March 7 Professor Glyn Davis AC: Vice-Chancellor, The University of Melbourne
“The Australian Idea of a University”
April 4 The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG: international jurist, educator and former judge, and former Chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry into North Korea
North Korea
May 2 Dr Richard Chauvel: academic and researcher of Indonesian politics and history, the Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne
Terrorism, religious change and democratisation in Indonesia
June 6 Gavin Silbert: QC, former Chief Crown Prosecutor of Victoria
Sentencing in our courts
July 4 Professor John Fitzgerald: sinologist
Australia and China
August 1 Professor Rob Adams AM: Director of City Design at the City of Melbourne
Planning a Melbourne for people
September 5 Kim McGrath: writer and researcher
The country upstairs - Australia and Timor L’Este
October 3 Michael L’Estrange AO: former senior public servant, diplomat and academic
Australia’s intelligence agencies - current reforms and future challenges
November 7 Peter Khalil: Labor MHR
The Middle East
December 5 Patrick Morgan: writer and academic
The Mannix era - a story of triumph and tragedy
2019
February 6 Elliot Cartledge: author
Inside the AFL
March 6 Leo Kennedy: lawyer and author
Ned Kelly
April 3 Peter Austin: agricultural journalist
Taking in the waters
May 1 Lucia Cade: Chair at South East Water and a Global Advisor on water to United Nations Global Compact – Cities Programme
The value of water
May 15 The Hon Alexander Downer: former Minister for Foreign Affairs and former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
Brexit and a changing world
June 5 Richard Gluyas: business correspondent
Banking - Hayne and the four pillars
July 3 David Cragg: former Assistant Secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council
From Bob to Sally - the ACTU, the CFMMEU & Unions after May 18
August 7 Rowan Callick: journalist and author
On China
September 4 Professor de Villiers Smit: Director, The Alfred Emergency and Trauma Centre
Emergency and trauma in Melbourne
October 2 Russell Skelton: founding editor of ABC Fact Check and now Director, RMIT ABC Fact Check
In a time of post-truth, alternative facts and fake news
November 6 Professor Geoffrey Blainey AC: historian and writer
“Before I Forget”
December 4 Kel Glare AO APM OStJ: former Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police
The state of policing in Victoria
2020
January 29 Margaret Court AO MBE: former champion tennis player
From Albury to Wimbledon – journey of a champion
February 14 Professor Allan Fels AO: inaugural Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, former academic and author
Chasing a better deal for battlers
March 4 Michael Danby: former Federal MP
Australia’s response to China
May 6 Dr Geoff Love: former Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau of Meteorology and Director of the World Meteorology Organisation
What’s going on with the weather?
June 10 The Hon Malcolm Turnbull: former Prime Minister
“A Bigger Picture”
July 1 Garry Linnell: journalist, editor and author
“Buckley’s Chance”
August 5 Professor Robin Jeffrey: academic and researcher of Indian history, society and politics
India’s role in Australia and Asia
September 10 The Hon Robert French: former Chief Justice of the High Court
The view from the High Court
October 8 John Barron: journalist, anchor of the ABC’s Planet America, honorary associate at the US Studies Centre, The University of Sydney and political documentary film maker
The US elections
November 4 Dr Peter Edwards AM: historian and author
Are Australia’s intelligence agencies protecting national security or threatening civil liberties?
December 2 Emeritus Professor Judith Brett: political historian and author
What would the enigmatic Mr Deakin make of the Australian Federation today?
2021
February 3 Professor Catherine Bennett: Chair of Epidemiology, Deakin University
COVID-19: what happened and what comes next?
March 3 Sue Morphet: Former CEO National Brand and senior business person
Women in leadership: the next steps
April 7 Fiona Pattern MLC: Leader of the Reason Party
Role of independents in Victoria
May 10 Justin Hanney: CEO, City of Melbourne
Can Melbourne live again?
June 23 Anna Blight AM: CEO Australian Banking Association and former Premier of Qld
Banking post the Royal Commission
July 14 Lyell Strambi: CEO Melbourne Airport
Clear for take-off - the future of Melbourne's airports
August 4 David McAllister AM: Former Artistic Director, The Australian Ballet
It's a long way to the top - if you want to dance
September 1 Charles
Livingston: Associate Professor Monash University
Come in spinner – the Crown
debacle
October 13 Gideon
Haigh: Senior Journalist – The Australian
Banking post the Royal Commission
November 3 Emma
Shortis: RMIT University
Our fatal alliance with the United
States
December 1 Judith
Brett: Professor Emeritus La Trobe
University
From secret ballot to Democracy
sausage
2022
All gatherings were held face-to-face
February16 Dr Janet McCalman: Professor Emeritus, The University of Melbourne
Victoria's repressed convict history
March 16 Geoffrey Court: Chair, The Bookcellar
Demise of Ansett Airlines
at short notice replaced Professor Gary Foley: Victoria University who was unable to attend
April 6 Deborah Glass: Victorian Ombudsman
Role of the Ombudsman
May 4 Christine Holgate: Chief Executive Officer, Toll Global Express
Challenges of Global Supply Chain Management
June 1 Dr Sally Young: Professor of Social and Political Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Paper emperors -where to in the digital age?
July 6 Dr David Hayward: Professor Emeritus, RMIT University
Victorian Government Social Housing Regulation Review
August 10 Dr Emma Lee: Associate Professor, Swinburne University
Indigenous voice to parliament and government - now?
September 9 Troy Branson: journalist and author
The demons and destiny of Bob Hawke
October 5 Aaron Patrick: journalist and author
Ego: Malcolm Turnbull Vs Liberal Party
November 2 The Hon Tony Smith: immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives
Mr Speaker . . . Point of Order!
December 7 Colonel (Ret’d) Richard Iron CMG OBE (British Army): writer and lecturer on the strategy of war
Ukraine – where to from here?
2023
February 1 Dean Ashenden: Academic, political advisor, journalist
The great Australian silence
March 1 Emma Germano: President, Victorian Farmers Federation
Victorian farmers facing complex challenges
April 5 Jon Faine AM: Broadcaster and lawyer
Apollo and Thelma: a true tall tale
May 3 Dr Jane Carey: Associate Professor, University of Wollongong
Australian Women in Science
June 7 Andrew Penn AO: Former Telstra CEO
Can the cyber threat be managed?
July 5 Professor Sharon Dolan: Chief Executive Officer, Peter MacCallum Research Centre
Can we end cancer as we know it?
August 3 The Hon John Howard OM AC: Former Prime Minister (25th)
A sense of balance in public policy formulation
September 6 Dr Alan Finkel AC: Former Chief Scientist
Australia’s role in achieving low emissions
October 25 Gerard Mansour: Recently retired
Commissioner for Senior Victorians
Elder abuse
November 22 Marion Terrill: Transport and Cities Program Director, Grattan Institute
The Commonwealth Games gone - what about other major projects?
December 13 Michael Gawenda: Former Editor-in-Chief of The
Age newspaper
Perspectives on war in the Middle East
2024
February 13 Alex Joske: Australian Strategic Policy Institute - International Cyber Policy Centre
Spies and Lies - is China Watching Us?
March 5 Dr Jenny Gray: Chief Executive Officer, Zoos Victoria
Zoos as Conservation Warriors
April 3 Dr Paul Monk: international affairs commentator
Wither Ukraine?
May 1 Professor Alice Payne: Dean of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University
Governing the ungovernable: fashion and textiles industries
June 5 Professor Tim Lindsey: Director of Asian Law and Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, The University of Melbourne
A new era in Indonesia?
July 3 Andrew Knopfelmacher: author
Frank Knopfelmacher: a humanist for our times
August 7 Dr Sandra McComb: former Managing Director, Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press
Does the book as we know it have a future?
September 4 Dr Nicholas Coatsworth: infectious disease and respiratory physician and former Deputy Chief Medical Officer
How are we coping in a post-COVID world - and what is the next pandemic?
October 4 Professor Tim Lynch: Professor of American Politics, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne
US Elections
November 6 Tony Thomas: retired journalist and current columnist
The Cronulla riots and the police response
December 4 December 4 Professor Robin Jeffrey: retired senior academic expert on Indian history, society and politics
India post the 2024 election
