Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Friday 15 February
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Melbourne is famously multicultural – but the past year has proven that racism is also rife.
For instance, a VicHealth survey reported 97% of Aboriginal Victorians had experienced racism in the past 12 months.
What are we doing to combat racism? And how can we learn from past mistakes?
With Susan Carland, Adam Bandt, Kutcha Edwards and Chin Tan.
Ideas for Melbourne
We’re kicking off 2013 with a series of public forums that take a closer look at the city we call home – and the problems and challenges facing Melbourne right now.
Make your voice heard as we debate Melbourne’s future – and the kind of city we want to live in.
Featuring
Adam Bandt
Adam Bandt is a Greens MP and the Federal Member for Melbourne. He was elected in 2010 when he made history by becoming the first Greens MP elected to the House of Representatives at a general election.
Adam was elected Deputy Leader in April 2012 and is the federal Greens spokesperson on industrial relations, banking, science and industry spokesperson. He was also participant in the government’s Multi-Party Committee on Climate Change.
Since being elected to Parliament he has successfully moved motions on marriage equality and condemning the government’s refugee deal with Malaysia. He has introduced legislation on protecting the Alpine National Park, banking reform, banning live animal exports and Parliamentary approval for sending troops overseas. Adam’s Bill to compensate fire fighters with cancer passed both houses in November 2012 and his Equal Marriage Bill is currently before a house committee.
Adam received undergraduate Law/Arts Honours degrees at Murdoch University, where he won the Sir Ronald Wilson Prize for Academic Achievement and he completed a PhD at Monash University in 2008.
His thesis looked at the recent trend of governments suspending basic human rights in areas such as migration, workplace relations and criminal law. He has written articles for many publications and has taught industrial relations law at RMIT.
For many years he worked at the labour law firm Slater & Gordon, where he became a partner in the industrial and public interest unit, the same job former Prime Minister Julia Gillard used to have. He is now a barrister who specialises in the field of industrial, employment and public interest law. Adam has represented many unions and low paid workers and has worked on cases involving freedom of speech and implementation of international covenants into Australian law.
Adam lives in Flemington with his partner Claudia and their two dogs.
Chin Tan
Chin Tan has broad experience and involvement in the legal profession, business and community service. He is committed to active involvement in the area of multiculturalism, having held various community and government board positions. He is currently Chairperson of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, Victoria’s pre-eminent multicultural body.
Susan Carland
Dr Susan Carland is a sociologist of religion in the School of Social Sciences at Monash University. A DECRA fellow & Churchill fellow, she researches the intersection between gender, Islamophobia, sexism, and social cohesion ...
Kutcha Edwards
Multi-award winner Kutcha Edwards uses his mesmeric music to create connections across cultures, generations, and spaces. His charismatic stage presentations deepen our understanding of Australia’s first people ...