Published 13 February 2012 | St. James Ethics Centre – IQ2 Oz
Why should we assume that democracy is the best of all political systems?
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the Middle East demanding freedom and democracy. And countless numbers have been prepared to die in exercising these demands. But here, In the relative comfort of the Sydney Recital Centre, our panellists hammer each other in a robust IQ2 debate as to whether democracy is failing the planet.
SPEAKERS: FOR
Professor Clive Hamilton
Public Ethics and Vice Chancellor, Charles Sturt University.
Founder and former Executive director of The Australia Institute, a public interest think tank.
Cheryl Kernot
Leader of the Australian Democrats in the mid 1990’s and Shadow Labor minister for 3 years.
Currently Director of Social Business at the Centre for Social Impact at UNSW.
Luca Belgiorno-Nettis
Joint Managing Director, Transfield Holdings and Founder of The New Democracy Foundation, researching new forms of government.
SPEAKERS: AGAINST
Professor Steven Schwartz
Vice-Chancellor Macquarie University. His academic research spans clinical psychology, psychiatry, public health and medical decision making.
Martine Letts
Deputy Director of the Lowy Institute for International Policy.
Specialised in arms control and disarmament on postings in Geneva, Vienna and policy officer in the Dept. Of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Professor John Keane
Professor of Politics at University of Sydney and at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin. And Director of the recently founded Sydney Democracy Initiative. Chair Dr Simon Longstaff is the Executive Director of the St James Ethics Centre.
Watch or download the interview HERE.
