According to Credit Suisse, Australia is the world’s most prosperous country. Why then, are some communities mired in poverty?

“Those who have a go, will get a go,” says Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Australia has always presented itself as a place that rewards hard work, but critics have derided the Prime Minister’s statement as implying that if you are poor, you haven’t worked hard enough; and as perpetuating the notion that if you are living off social security, you are bludging on the sweat of others. To what extent is this true? Is Australia a land of equal opportunity, or is your individual prosperity largely predetermined by your place of birth and your parents’ income? In a world of increasing austerity where social services are under growing pressure, it is urgent that we re-examine the responsibility of the state towards its most disadvantaged citizens.

Join UNESCO Chair in Journalism and Communication, Professor Peter Greste, and a panel of leading experts for a thought-provoking discussion on 'Poverty and inequality in an age of prosperity.'

Panellists:

Joshua Creamer, nationally practicing lawyer specialising in class actions and native title; Waanyi and Kalkadoon man; appeared in the class-action Pearson v State of Queensland (stolen wages QLD), Australia’s largest human rights case.




 

Tim Nicholls MP, LNP State MP for Clayfield since 2006; Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister for Justice and Shadow Minister for CBD Activation; former Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Trade (2012-15); former leader of the LNP Opposition (2016-17).




 

Gene Tunny, Director of Adept Economics; former Australian Treasury official who managed teams in Treasury’s Industry and Budget Policy divisions; regular economics commentator in national media; UQ alum (BEcon(Hons)).




 

Karyn Walsh AM, CEO of Micah Projects, a Brisbane not-for-profit organisation committed to social justice through service provision and advocacy to improve the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised people; UQ alum (Honorary Doctorate of Social Work and Nursing).

 



 

Moderator:

Professor Peter Greste, UNESCO Chair of Journalism and Communication at UQ; award-winning foreign correspondent who spent 25 years working for the BBC, Reuters and Al Jazeera in some of the world’s most volatile places; may be best known for becoming a headline himself, when he and two of his colleagues were arrested in Cairo while working for Al Jazeera and charged with terrorism offences; a vocal campaigner and advocate for media freedom.

 

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