On 30 April 1975, the democratic government of South Vietnam collapsed as the North Vietnamese army captured Saigon. Under North Vietnamese control, thousands of South Vietnamese citizens were arrested and put in re-education camps leading to a mass exodus of refugees. With the election of the Liberal/National government of Malcolm Fraser in December 1975, Australia agreed [...]
With just three weeks of campaigning to go, The Sydney Institute invited The Hon Pru Goward, a director of Bespoken Consulting and former Minister for Housing and Darrin Barnett, media and government relations professional and former Labor ministerial advisor to lead a discussion on the issues and party prospects in the 2025 federal election. As [...]
After publishing four books that earned the admiration of Patrick White, Shirley Hazzard and Christina Stead, Elizabeth Harrower published no more novels. She faded from the literary landscape, until being rediscovered decades later to international acclaim. Helen Trinca has now written her story in Looking for Elizabeth – The Life of Elizabeth Harrower. On Monday [...]
After publishing four books that earned the admiration of Patrick White, Shirley Hazzard and Christina Stead, Elizabeth Harrower published no more novels. She faded from the literary landscape, until being rediscovered decades later to international acclaim. Helen Trinca has now written her story in Looking for Elizabeth – The Life of Elizabeth Harrower. On Monday [...]
In 1966, with the words “Bombard the Headquarters!” Mao Zedong unleashed the full, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the time he died ten years later, millions had perished, China's cultural heritage was in ruins, its economic state was perilous, its institutions of government were damaged and [...]
Australia’s development has so often been about land – acquiring it, stealing it, buying it, developing it, depending on its fundamental importance to life, revenue and identity. For the European colonisers, land was the basis for wealth. Enter John Robertson. London born, John Robertson served as NSW premier on five separate occasions and defeated the [...]
The results of the May 2025 federal election have opened up serious challenges for the Liberal Party opposition - not least of all the end of the coalition arrangements with the National Party. The full impact of what has happened has not yet been fully realised and the way ahead will be full of rebuilding [...]
As a modern-day Professor Henry Higgins might have said, Beatrice Faust is the voice who helped put today’s women in your life. “Beatrice Faust,” said Helen Garner, “is not scared of anybody.” Faust was the transformative feminist activist, writer and intellectual who founded the Women’s Electoral Lobby in Melbourne in 1972. She campaigned for abortion [...]
On 30 April 1975, the democratic government of South Vietnam collapsed as the North Vietnamese army captured Saigon. Under North Vietnamese control, thousands of South Vietnamese citizens were arrested and put in re-education camps leading to a mass exodus of refugees. With the election of the Liberal/National government of Malcolm Fraser in December 1975, Australia agreed [...]
On Wednesday 30 April 2025, The Sydney Institute held a discussion of the Trump administration at the 100-day mark. After a breathtaking number of executive orders and administrative targeting of Trump enemies, the discussion evaluated the pros and cons of the Trump “correction”. Bruce Wolpe, commentator on US politics & Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the [...]
