Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Wednesday 11 August
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
This conversation originally scheduled to take place on Wednesday 11 August was cancelled in response to current health advice and the restrictions on public events. While it is unfortunate that we can't present this event in person we invite you to subscribe to the Wheeler Centre podcast to hear this conversation, or listen here.
Find out more about our response to Covid-19 here.
‘Talk about returning the economy to normal after the crisis is misguided. Before the crisis, normal was nowhere near good enough.’
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the global economy has changed drastically. As we adjust to a new normal, is it possible to recover the economy we once had? Or should we rebuild it from the ground up?
For Ross Garnaut, the answer to the latter question is a resounding yes. In his latest book, Reset: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession, Garnaut makes the case for a radical overhaul of the Australian economy and argues that returning to our previous conception of ‘normal’ would be a missed opportunity.
Post-pandemic times, Garnaut argues, present us with the opportunity to reimagine economic structures and build a more prosperous and equitable society. Calling for the introduction of a basic income, a new business tax system, and a push towards full employment, Garnaut believes Australia should raise its economic ambitions higher than ever before.
Brimming with optimism and practical ideas, Reset presents a bold new vision for the Australian economy from one of our leading thinkers.
In this thought-provoking conversation at Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute, Garnaut will discuss his roadmap for progress, policy, and diplomacy with host Prue Bentley.
Presented in partnership with Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute.
The bookseller for this event is Collins Booksellers.
Featuring
Ross Garnaut
Professor Garnaut is a Professor of Economics at The University of Melbourne. He was previously distinguished Professor of Economics at the Australian National University, the Director of the ANU Asia Pacific School of Economics and Management and was the longstanding Head of the Department of Economics. He is the author of numerous publications in scholarly journals on international economics, public finance and economic development, particularly in relation to East Asia and the Southwest Pacific. Recent books include The Great Crash of 2008 (with David Llewellyn-Smith, 2009); Dog Days: Australia After the Boom (2013); Forty Years of Reform and Development in China (2018), Superpower: Australia’s low carbon opportunity (2019) and Reset: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession (2021). He is Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Economic Society, Distinguished Fellow of the Australian Agricultural and Resources Economic Society, Fellow of the Australia Academy of Social Sciences and Honorary Professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Garnaut has had longstanding senior roles as policy advisor, diplomat and businessman. He was the senior economic policy official in Papua New Guinea’s Department of Finance in the years straddling Independence in 1975, principal economic adviser to Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke 1983-1985, and Australian Ambassador to China 1985-1988.
He is the author of a number of influential reports to the Australian Government, including Australia and the Northeast Asian Ascendancy, 1989, The Review of Federal State Financial Relations (with Vince Fitzgerald) 2002, The Garnaut Climate Change Review 2008, and The Garnaut Review 2011: Australia and the Global Response to Climate Change.
Professor Garnaut has chaired the boards of major Australian and International companies since 1988, including Lihir Gold Ltd (1995 – 2010); Bank of Western Australia Ltd (1988 – 1995); Primary Industry Bank of Australia Ltd (1989 – 1994); Papua New Guinea Sustainable Development Limited Pty Ltd (2002 – 2012) and its subsidiary OK Tedi Mining Ltd; Lonely Planet Pty Ltd; Aluminium Smelters of Victoria Ltd; ZEN Energy Technologies Pty Ltd. He is currently the Director of ZEN Energy and Chairman of Sunshot Energy.
Professor Garnaut was made Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1991 for service to education and international relations and a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2017 for service on climate change and energy.
Prue Bentley
Prue is the Editor for ABC Ballarat and Southwest Victoria, overseeing the development of broadcast and digital content for two regional Victorian bureaus. As a content maker for over 15 years, Prue has produced and ...