Experience Anu

Along with the increase in focus on the need for policymakers and the community to implement and support initiatives on countering violent extremism, there has been a tendency to put migration high on the agenda too. The phenomenon of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria – small in number but significant in political impact – is at risk of dominating the migration and security discussion. Recent events in Australia and Europe are causing some to reflect on the apparent failures of integration that have radicalised some immigrants and their descendants. There may be some who are drawing a line uncritically between irregular migration, asylum and the risk of importing terrorism. Each of the links between migration and violent extremism is relevant and needs to be understood and confronted; but to cast migration as only a negative influence would be erroneous. In this talk, Dr Koser will outline key aspects of the broader migration and security discussion and how it is changing as well as discuss some ideas abo

Are we headed for a geological event horizon? Dr Andrew Glikson explains how the rise of atmospheric greenhouse gases of 2-3 parts per million CO2 per year has reached an order of magnitude similar to rates associated with mass extinctions of species. Dr Andrew Glikson, an Earth and paleo-climate scientist, graduated from the University of Western Australia. He has conducted geological surveys of the oldest geological formations in Australia, South Africa, India and Canada, studied large asteroid impacts, including effects on the atmosphere, the oceans and the mass extinction of species.

Michael Cooney was Julia Gillard's speechwriter for most of her time in office. He came to the job a true believer in every sense, with years of Labor experience behind him, including Policy Director to Federal Labor leaders Kim Beazley and Mark Latham. But this was the prime minister's office. The stakes were high and the game had changed. From mining to the economy to Afghanistan, Cooney wrote the speeches that helped to define the Gillard project: the prime minister's program and vision for the country. He was there at the coalface of decisions on the carbon 'tax' and the budget surplus; in the lead-up to the 'misogyny' speech and the 'we are us' Labor conference speech. He cried and laughed and swore as Australia's first female prime minister got through a record number of pieces of legislation in the time she had. This is his story, and hers.

One in five of the world's population is Chinese, 300 million Chinese are under 30, and of these, most are only children as a result of the One Child Policy. What do these only children think and do? A generation burdened with high expectation and unprepared for responsibility. With journalistic acumen and a novelist's flair, Xinran tells the remarkable stories of men and women born and raised under China's single-child policy. Xinran shows how these generations embody the hopes and fears of a great nation at a time of unprecedented change. Buy Me the Sky provides an illuminating glimpse of the face of modern China.

In this talk Professor John C Turner, from the School of Psychology at The Australian National University, poses the basic question, "what is the nature of "prejudice"?

If Australian politics and public policy debates are a war of ideas, the National Press Club (NPC) is the battleground. For the past half-century, the NPC has been the epicentre of political and social debate in Australia. Leaders and opinion-makers have used its stage to launch leadership bids, rattle the cage of public opinion with courageous and sometimes outrageous ideas, and make a stand. Stand & Deliver author Steve Lewis joins political historian Frank Bongiorno in conversation to discuss some of the NPC's most powerful, controversial and entertaining speeches of the past fifty years. Steve Lewis has been reporting politics in Canberra since 1992 and has survived the near collapse of the Fairfax media group, three prime ministers, Mark Latham and a career switch from The Financial Review to the News Ltd tabloids. Steve now writes freelance and works for Newgate Communications. Associate Professor Frank Bongiorno is an Australian labour, political and cultural historian who teaches at the ANU.

The South China Sea is a major strategic waterway for trade and energy shipments to Asia’s major economies. It has been the focus of maritime disputes which have continued for more than six decades, with competing claims from China, Vietnam, the Philippines and others. In recent years, growing Chinese assertiveness in pressing its claims has unsettled the regional security order, drawing the attention of the United States, Australia and other powers concerned about freedom of navigation and a rules-based order. The springboard for this discussion is the recently published book, edited by Leszek Buszynski and Christopher Roberts, which examines the South China Sea as an ongoing maritime dispute which has become a potential conflict zone. This volume is the final outcome of a National Security College collaborative research project, which involved a number of present and former academic staff from both the College and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at ANU. The book examines the conflict potential of

When Kate Grenville’s mother, Nance Russell, died she left behind many fragments of memoir. These were the starting point for One Life, the story of a woman whose life spanned a century of tumult and change. Nance’s story reflects the changing patterns of the twentieth century which offered a path to new freedoms and choices. One Life is an act of great imaginative sympathy, a deeply moving homage to her mother by one of Australia’s finest writers. It provides an illuminating window into Australia’s social history, including attitudes to Aborigines, the role of women and the impact of politics and class. “Evocative and fascinating, this brave and heartfelt tribute will appeal to anyone interested in their own family story, Australian history, or the lives of women”. Joanne Shields, Australian Books and Publishing. Kate Grenville is one of Australia’s most celebrated writers. Her bestselling novel The Secret River received the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the

The belief that China will soon become the dominant power in Asia is based on assumptions that its continued and rapid economic rise, and its emergence as a regional peer of America’s in military terms is all but assured. Such a belief underpins arguments that a fundamental strategic reorganisation of Asia is inevitable, and that it will be necessary and perhaps even desirable to concede to China significant ‘strategic space’. Dependent largely on linear extrapolations about the future, such arguments ignore the implications of China’s economic, social and national fragilities, its lack of major friends or allies in the region as well as the considerable military deficiencies and challenges faced by the People’s Liberation Army. With the Defence White Paper due for release in 2015, the government should bear in mind that planning for an era of Chinese dominance in the region—or even its emergence as an American strategic peer in Asia—would be premature if not improbable. Australia should not design its defenc

ANU/Canberra Times meet the author event with Anna Bligh in conversation with The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP Anna Bligh knows something about hard knocks and high walls. She was raised by a single mother in the working class Gold Coast, a young girl with a soon-to-be-estranged dad who struggled with alcoholism. She spent over 17 years in the rough and tumble of the Queensland Parliament (seven of them as either Deputy Premier or Premier). In 2011, she led Queensland through the devastation of Australia's largest natural disasters. Her Party then lost the 2012 State election and Anna stepped down to start a new life, only to find herself diagnosed with cancer. Writing with her trademark honesty, warmth and humour about the challenges that public and private life have thrown her, Anna reflects candidly - as a wife, mother, daughter, friend and political leader - on the lessons of leadership, resilience, community and family. Anna Bligh became Deputy Premier of Queensland in 2005 and Premier in 2007. In March

Antibiotic resistance is rapidly rising internationally. Many bacterial infections are now very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat. Gram negative bacteria are the pointy end of this growing problem, including very common bacteria such as E. Coli. Antibiotic resistance is proportional to use. The more antibiotics used, the more resistance develops and spreads. This is both in individuals (e.g. with the pneumonia bacteria - pneumococcus) and for populations in different countries. Decreasing the total amounts of antimicrobial used in people and agriculture, decreasing corruption in countries around the world, adopting a One Health approach and ensuring people and food animals have access to “safe” water will all make major contributions to controlling antimicrobial resistance. Presented by Professor Peter Collignon AM. Exec Director, ACT Pathology. Infectious Diseases Physician and Microbiologist, Canberra Hospital. Professor, ANU Medical School.

The incoming Head of the ANU National Security College, Professor Rory Medcalf, offers some assessments on the long-term policy choices Australians and their governments will need to make to advance their country’s security interests in the uncertain decades ahead. Professor Rory Medcalf commenced as the Head of the National Security College in January 2015. His professional background spans diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks and journalism. Most recently he was the Director of the International Security Program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy from 2007 to 2015.

His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão is the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment for the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. He has served as President of his country for five years, Prime Minister for seven and a half years and was a central figure in his country’s 24-year struggle for the restoration of independence. In this public address he discussed Political Transition and National Unity: The Timor-Leste Story, exploring the lessons of nation building and transition in Australia’s ‘near neighbor to the north’. He reflected on the ways Timor-Leste’s experience relates to international experience and present his views on how emerging global trends are impacting developing nations and fragile States. His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão is the Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment of the Government of Timor-Leste. Until stepping aside in February 2015 to facilitate a generational leadership transition, he was the Prime Minister of his country for seven and a half years. Prior to this r

Internationally acclaimed author David Malouf joins Gerard Vaughan AM in conversation for a discussion featuring art, literature and music. After exploring the idea of home, where and what it is in A First Place, what does it mean to be a writer and where writing begins in The Writing Life, David Malouf moves on to words, music, art and performance in Being There. With pieces on the Sydney Opera House - then and now - responses to art, artists and architects, and including Malouf’s previously unpublished libretti for Voss and a translation of Hippolytus, this is an unmissable and stimulating collection of one man’s connection to the world of art, ideas and culture. David Malouf’s Collected Stories won the 2008 Australia-Asia Literary Award and his most recent books are A First Place and The Writing Life. Dr Gerard Vaughan AM is the Director of the National Gallery of Australia, a position he has held since November 2014.

The rise of the so-called Islamic State (IS) on vast swathes of territories in Syria and Iraq, and the US-led military response to it, have introduced another complex dimension to an oil-rich but already very volatile Middle East. The old correlation of forces in support of maintaining the status quo, especially following the Iranian revolution more than 35 years ago, has been changing. A set of new alignments and realignments along multiple regional fault-lines, including sectarian divisions and geopolitical rivalries at different levels, has come to redefine the region and possibly change its traditional political and territorial contours. IS has confronted all the regional states, from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a common enemy. Yet, it is the United States and its Western allies that have taken the lead in launching a military intervention to ‘degrade and eliminate’ IS, despite lacking a laudable past record in this respect. This raises a number of questions. Should

Science has evolved over thousands of years of human enquiry to provide a rational basis for understanding and predicting what happens in the world around us. We rely on science to enhance our standard of living, to keep us healthy and to address the problems and challenges that we face. Science has put men on the moon, probed distant planets, discovered DNA and cured disease. And yet, there are many who still question the value and legitimacy of science which raises the question: when and why does science matter? Four of the world’s most eminent scientists come together at ANU for one night only to discuss and deliberate on the biggest challenges facing the science community today. If you don’t think science matters to you, you may think again. Professor Steven Chu was the co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physics. He has devoted his recent scientific career to the search for new solutions to our energy and climate challenges. In December 2008 Dr Chu was selected by then President-elect Barack

In today’s classrooms academics and teachers are increasingly expected to incorporate new communication technologies into their curriculum. However, by adopting these new mediums are we reducing the quality of students’ educational experience or is this just the way of the classrooms of tomorrow? In the final ‘blow up the lecture’ event for the year, our panel of experts examine the future of education in an online world addressing questions such as: What digital resources can we harness to enhance our massive open online courses (MOOCs)? Are there any resources that need rapid development? What is our single most relevant hurdle to fully harnessing digital education What are the key target populations for ANU in online learning? What do you think are the measures of success for MOOCs? Armando Fox is a professor in Berkeley's Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department and the Faculty Advisor to the UC Berkeley MOOCLab. With his colleague David Patterson, he co-designed and co-taught Berkeley's f

Professor Steven Chu gives the plenary opening at the Light, Energy and the Environment Congress held on 5 December 2014.

The Australian community has, to an unprecedented extent, become involved in reconciliation through Reconciliation Action Plans and other initiatives. There is acceptance that there is a broad responsibility beyond governments to help close the gap. At the same time we have sharpened political and government focus with a Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, massive reorganisation of how the Commonwealth goes about its business, and all-party support for Constitutional recognition. In these respects, it can be said to be the best of times. But the wide community support this suggests is support for equality, that we all become the same in a social and economic sense. Reconciliation is about more than equality. It involves recognition of the possibility of continuing difference as well. The continuing place of the world's oldest living cultures is still unfinished business. Reconciliation here requires more than the legally mandated post-Mabo requirement to deal with the Aboriginal native title collectives id

In his valedictory address, outgoing Head of College Professor Michael L'Estrange argues that the NSC is a good example of how the worlds of public policy and academia can best work together.