Political forum will discuss Gillard Government 'one year on'

Parliament House, Canberra.
Full Image (115.18K)

Monday, 12 September 2011

A free public forum will be held at the University of Adelaide tomorrow (Tuesday 13 September) to discuss the performance of the Gillard Government one year after taking office in a hung parliament.

Former Howard Government Minister Amanda Vanstone and leading University of Adelaide academics will explore the pros and cons of the minority government, asking how well it has worked for Australia since the federal election in August 2010.

Leading political commentators Professor Carol Johnson and Dr Wayne Errington from the University of Adelaide's Discipline of Politics will join Amanda Vanstone, a former Immigration Minister in the Howard Government, for the hour-long public forum. It will be facilitated by Professor Clem Macintyre.

Amanda Vanstone was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the Howard Government. After her resignation from the Senate in 2007, she served as the Australian Ambassador to Italy until July 2010.

Professor Carol Johnson specialises in federal Australian politics and is the author of two books − The Labor Legacy: Curtin, Chifley, Whitlam, Hawke (1989) and Governing Change: From Keating to Howard (2000 and a second edition in 2007).

Dr Wayne Errington co-authored with journalist Peter van Onselen the political best-selling John Winston Howard: The Definitive Biography (2008) and has research and teaching interests in Australian political parties and elections.

The forum will cover the following topics:

• the carbon tax policy;

• whether the ALP is alienating its 'traditional' core voters;

• will the balance of power make or break the Greens?;

• what would be the policy priorities of an Abbott-led Coalition government?

Members of the public are invited to bring their own questions for the panellists and join in the discussion. The forum is free but people must register to attend at http://blogs.adelaide.edu.au/researchtuesdays/ or call Kate Reinfeld on 8303 3692.

WHAT: Australian Politics: The Gillard Government one year on
WHERE: Horace Lamb Lecture Theatre, North Terrace Campus
WHEN: 5.30pm-6.30pm Tuesday 13 September 2011
WEBSITE: http://blogs.adelaide.edu.au/researchtuesdays/

Contact Details