Demos, Heroes and Menopause

Panellists: Thomas Keneally, Acclaimed author and historian; Tara Moss, Author; Richard Flanagan, Novelist; Jean Kittson, Comedian and author; and Tim Storrier, Artist. -- Thomas Keneally Thomas Keneally is a giant on the Australian and world literary scenes. His output of more than 40 published works has won him numerous distinctions here and abroad. He is a passionate man and an Australian National Living Treasure. Tom has so far published two parts of his three volume history of this country Australians: Origins to Eureka and Australians: Eureka to the Diggers . Born in Sydney in 1935, Tom grew up in Kempsey, northern NSW. He attributes his verbal genes to those of his father, a great storyteller. His parents ensured he received a sound education from the Christian Brothers, who Tom says imbued him with a sense of social justice despite their generosity with the strap. After finishing school he took up theological studies for the Catholic priesthood. Tom abandoned this vocation in 1960 and turned to clerical work and teaching before publishing his first novel in 1964. Since that time he has been a full-time writer. On the international stage, Tom has been short-listed for the Booker Prize on 4 occasions: in 1972 for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Gossip from the Forest in 1975, and Confederates in 1979, before winning the prize in 1982 with Schindler's Ark. Here in Australia, Tom has won the Miles Franklin Award twice with Bring Larks and Heroes and Three Cheers for the Paraclete. His short biography of Abraham Lincoln, signed by the author, was recently given to President Obama as a gift.. He holds a number of national and international honorary doctorates and is particularly proud of the one awarded by the National University of Ireland. Tom has made cameo appearances in a number of Australian films, the last being as a gate-keeper in The Final Winter. His offer to Spielberg to play a rabbi in Schindler’s List was politely rebuffed. Tom was awarded the Order of Australia in 1983 for his services to Australian Literature. He was the founding chairman of the Australian Republican Movement, and served on the Australian Constitutional Commission and the Australia-China Council. Tom’s most recent novels The Daughters of Mars and Shame and the Captives explore hidden aspects of history such as the role of nurses in war and the internment of Japanese in Australia during World War 2. -- Tara Moss Tara Moss is a novelist, TV presenter and journalist. Since 1999 she has written and published nine bestselling novels – Fetish, Split, Covet, Hit, Siren,Assassin, The Blood Countess, The Spider Goddess and The Skeleton Key, and been published in 18 countries in 12 languages. Her writing has appeared in Australian Literary Review, The Sydney Morning Herald News Review, The Age, The Daily Telegraph, The Australian and more. She has earned her private investigator credentials (Cert III) from the Australian Security Academy and is currently undertaking a Doctorate of Social Sciences at the University of Sydney. Tara is an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and children. She has been an ambassador for the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children since 2000 and has hosted their annual charity flight for over a decade. She has also been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2007 and UNICEF Patron for Breastfeeding for the Baby Friendly Heath Initiative (BFHI) since 2011, advocating for better support for breastfeeding mothers in hospital, the workforce and general community. As of 2013, she has taken on a larger role as UNICEF’s National Ambassador for Child Survival. Her in-depth novel research has seen her earn her private investigator credentials, tour the FBI Academy at Quantico, spend time in squad cars, morgues, prisons, the Hare Psychopathy Lab, the Supreme Court and criminology conferences, take polygraph tests, shoot weapons, conduct surveillance, pass the Firearms Training Simulator (FATSII) with the LAPD, pull 4.2 G’s doing loops over the Sydney Opera House flying with the RAAF, and acquire her CAMS race driver licence. She has hosted the true crime documentary series Tough Nuts – Australia’s Hardest Criminals on the Crime & Investigation Network, Tara Moss Investigates on the National Geographic Channel and the author interview show Tara in Conversation on 13th Street Universal. Tara is a dual Australian/Canadian citizen and has lived in Australia since 1996. She is married to philosopher and writer Dr. Berndt Sellheim, with whom she has a daughter. She was listed as one of the 20 Most Influential Female Voices in Australia in 2012 by The Sydney Morning Herald’s DailyLife, and one of Australia’s Most Inspiring Women by Women’s Health magazine in 2013. In mid 2014 her first non-fiction book, The Fictional Woman, will be published with HarperCollins. -- Richard Flanagan Richard Flanagan was born in Tasmania in 1961. He is regarded internationally as one of Australia’s pre-eminent novelists. His multi-award winning novels include Death of a River Guide, The Sound of One Hand Clapping, Gould’s Book of Fish and The Unknown Terrorist. These have been published to popular success and critical acclaim in twenty-six countries. His book, Wanting, was shortlisted for the 2009 Miles Franklin Literary award. He directed a feature film version of The Sound of One Hand Clapping and collaborated with Baz Luhrmann on the script for Luhrmann’s blockbuster film Australia. In 2007 he entered the national political debate with a lengthy essay in The Monthly attacking the proposal for a pulp mill in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley. A collection of his essays is published as And What Do You Do, Mr Gable? . His most recent novel, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, was published in 2013 to great acclaim. Richard lives in Hobart with his family. -- Jean Kittson Jean Kittson is an actress, comedienne and writer in theatre, film, print, radio and television. Jean came to national attention on The Big Gig, followed by Let the Blood Run Free, Kittson Fahey and the Great Debate series, as well as Good News Week, The Glasshouse, Flat Chat, The Einstein Factor, Media Dimensions and Strictly Speaking. She is also well known for her comedy debates for the ABC, Channel 9 and Channel Ten. A regular guest on ABC Radio and Thank God It's Friday, Jean has been a regular columnist with New Weekly, Sunday Telegraph, Sydney Magazine, Inspire Magazine, Reader's Digest HealthSmart magazine and The Hoopla. She is the author of Tongue Lashing, published by Penguin. Her film credits include Hating Alison Ashley and The Nugget and her theatre credits Mum’s the Word, Calendar Girls, Siren and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is a regular guest on ABC 702 radio drive programme, Thank God It’s Friday. Jean is an experienced MC, keynote speaker, panellist, debater and facilitator of conventions, conferences, award nights and other after dinner frolics, in corporate, government and community arena. She was a founding Director of the National Cord Blood Bank, the inaugural Chair of the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation (AGCF) and a founding Ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Australia. She is currently an Ambassador for The Macular Disease Foundation, Northcott Disability Services, The Raise Foundation, Taldumande Youth Services and the Australian Gynaecological Cancer Foundation. She is the Patron of Junction Works and most recently she has been appointed the Patron of Palliative Care Nurses Australia. As an advocate for women’s health issues, she was invited to speak about her experiences of menopause at the National Press Club. This lead to her recently published book; You’re Still Hot to Me. The Joys of Menopause (Pan Macmillan). She is also a wife, mother and daughter, and is married to cartoonist and political satirist Patrick Cook. Jean is the mother of two daughters, Victoria 22 and Charlie, 16. -- Tim Storrier Tim Storrier is one of Australia’s most celebrated artists. His work has been collected by all major Australian art museums, including the National Gallery, and he has exhibited widely within Australia and overseas. In 2012 he won the Archibald Prize for portraiture with a self-portrait, entitled The Histrionic Wayfarer (after Bosch), which controversially did not include his face. He has also twice won the prestigious Sulman prize. Tim was born in Sydney in 1949. He attended the Sydney Church of England Grammar School and the National Art School. For much of his career he lived and worked in Sydney but now lives near Bowral in the Southern Highlands of NSW. In January this year several metropolitan newspapers featured front page images of Tim Storrier paintings to celebrate Australia Day. -- Audience: Coalition 37%, ALP 37%, Greens 13%, Not Specified 10%, Other 3% UNI PROTESTORS - "THUGS AND BULLIES" Monique Sebire asked: Monique Sebire has asked: Amanda Vanstone wrote in The Age on Friday that those protesting against the deregulation of uni fees are "thugs and bullies", and Annabelle Crabb labelled their methods as "Soviet-era". Do you agree with that? Given the significant impact these cuts would have to students and the younger generation, what method do you suggest they take to have an impact and avoid the label of being passive and lazy Gen Y? FROM TWITTER Bob Loblaw asked: Can art still be a form of protest? UNI FEES - ECONOMIC NOT SOCIAL Jack Samuel Whitney asked: Thomas Keneally, you recently said "We used to live in a society, now we live in an economy". Reflecting on plans for deregulating university fees and with interest when we pay these very fees back, do you feel that universities are now a business where students, like myself, are an economic commodity, rather than future possibilities who can better our society through an education? POLITICS & ACCOUNTABILITY Sandra Tranter asked: In parliament Tony Abbott said "It is an absolute principle of democracy that governments should not, and must not, say one thing before an election and do the opposite afterwards" and Clive Palmer has pointed out that if a company misleads investors they can be sued by shareholders. So if a government has clearly deceived the electorate in order to gain power, shouldn't we have the constitutional right to vote on whether a new election should be called? Why do we have lower standards for our government than for corporations and allow politicians like Joe-Liar to get away with conning the Australian people? ‘UNWORTHY’ LEADERS Joanne McBurnie asked: The Weary Dunlop character Dorrigo Evans in Richard's novel the "Narrow Road to the Deep North" felt unworthy to be their leader but compelled to live up to his men's expectations. What can the novel tell us about the failure of our current batch of leaders, particularly political leaders, to inspire us in the face of today's adversity? US MASSACRE – MISOGYNY Lauren Harvey asked: In Santa Barbara on Friday 22yr old Elliot Rodgers killed six people, after proclaiming on YouTube that he was punishing the women who had rejected his sexual advances. Is this, as Sheriff Brown stated, the work of a madman, or were Rodgers’ actions the symptom of a misogynist society? COMEDY & POLITICAL CORRECTNESS Tristan Black asked: A couple of weeks ago, comedy legend Mel Brooks said that today, it would be impossible for him to make his controversial but widely acclaimed film, “Blazing Saddles” because of political correctness. He said: "Political correctness restricts and restrains humour. Humour has to be very crazy and very free and very liberated. And dangerous!" Members of the panel, as writers, artists, and comedians, do you think what Mel Brooks says is true? Is the increased need for political correctness a hindrance to comedy and to art in general? MENOPAUSE TABOO Elaine Wziontek has asked: Jean Kittson, we can talk about menopause now, you’ve written a book about it. It’s a bit of a taboo subject but what is there to celebrate about it?