Grattan Events
Grattan Institute’s events and seminars provide an opportunity to hear something you have not already heard. We provide a fresh viewpoint.
Our events cover a range of public policy topics focusing on the main issues facing Australia. We aim to further the debate, sometimes by presenting controversial viewpoints. Our events concentrate on the current Grattan Programs, but also go more broadly on occasion.
Our events are held regularly “south of La Trobe Street” in Melbourne, engaging with the city, businesses, government, and people who live and work there. Inter-state events will be held regularly in support of Grattan’s national focus.
We regularly live stream our events over the internet. Click here to go to our live stream page. Upcoming live streamed events are listed on the right.
Subscribe to our event podcasts in iTunes
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Upcoming Events |
Australian higher education: trends, policies, performance
9 February 2012 | Andrew Norton and Julie Hare | Higher Education
What is going on in Australian higher education? Andrew Norton, Grattan Institute's Higher Education Program Director, discusses the program's first report with Julie Hare, Higher Education editor at The Australian, at this public event in Sydney.
| Technology choices: no quick fixes,no easy choices
15 February 2012 | Tony Wood and Andrew Charlton | Energy
SYDNEY event - In early February, Grattan Institute will release the first of a two-part report on the technology choices that will frame Australia's energy future. The report explores in detail the seven technologies that might enable Australia to achieve the targets set out in the Federal Government's Clean Energy Legislation for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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Previous Events |
Summer reading list for the Prime Minister
5 December 2011 | Grattan Institute | Australian Perspectives
Every year, Grattan Institute produces a Reading List for the Prime Minister; the books and articles we recommend Australia's leaders read over the summer break.
Getting the housing we want
21 November 2011 | John Brumby and Jane-Frances Kelly | Cities
Former Victorian Premier, John Brumby, spoke with Grattan's Cities Program Director, Jane-Frances Kelly, at the launch of Grattan's latest report, Getting the housing we want. Our big cities are deadlocked. They continue to grow yet the market is not providing the housing that Australians say they want. Residents feel they have little say in how their neighbourhoods change: developers point to a range of barriers to building housing in established areas. Change is urgently needed. Grattan's new report offers a plan to make it happen.
The Future of Solar Power in Australia
16 November 2011 | Various | Energy
Ultimately, all our power comes from the sun, but converting solar radiation to electricity directly using photovoltaics, or less directly through solar thermal power is still relatively expensive compared with the processes that convert the solar energy stored in coal and natural gas into electricity. But the cost is rapidly dropping. What are the prospects for photovoltaics and solar thermal? At what point do they become competitive and what might be the implications for the broader energy generation system?
The Economics and Politics of Teacher Merit Pay
14 November 2011 | Andrew Leigh MP | School Education
The debate over merit pay can be summed up as follows: economists like it, voters love it, and teachers are divided. Can merit pay be made to work? Andrew Leigh MP discussed these issues with John Daley, Grattan's CEO.
The Future of Transport in Australia
25 October 2011 | Various | Energy
This seminar looked at how Australians might get around in the low carbon cities of the future. Experts in research, policy and industry will explore the technologies that could be used to decarbonise the transport system and the realities of the challenges associated with bringing these online.
Measuring Educational Quality
25 October 2011 | Brian Stecher | School Education
At this event, Dr Brian Stecher discussed recent changes in education policy in the United States and what lessons Australia can learn from these.
The Spirit of Cities
4 October 2011 | Prof Daniel Bell | Cities
Cities define us. They shape the outlooks, opportunities and lives of billions. Yet most contemporary political thought neglects their role. Daniel Bell thinks it is time to revive the thinking of the Greeks and rediscover the spirit of cities.
The Challenges of Learning from Others
27 September 2011 | Professor Yong Zhao | School Education
Professor Yong Zhao, Presidential Chair, Associate Dean of the College of Education at the University of Oregon, presents Challenges of Learning from Others where he discusses some of the benefits and pitfalls of international policy research.
The Future of the Electricity Network in Australia
24 August 2011 | Grattan Institute | Energy
Effective and efficient transmission of electric power from generators to consumers is a vital part of the electricity system. But what is the optimal design to support a very different energy system in the 21st century?
Big Shifts in the Global Economy
15 August 2011 | Professor Michael Spence | Productivity Growth
Professor Michael Spence, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, examined how emerging economies are reshaping the global economy and the international order.
How to Create a World Class University
28 July 2011 | Professor Andrew Hamilton | Higher Education
In an era of globalisation, everyone wants to be world class. But what is the real measure of a world class university, and what does it take to get there?
The Future of Wind Energy in Australia
20 July 2011 | Various | Energy
Wind power is a rapidly growing source of energy globally and is now becoming a significant source of power in countries such as Germany, Spain, Ireland and Denmark. As one of the lowest cost zero-carbon energy sources available to date, this seminar explored wind market trends in Australia and internationally.
The Housing We'd Choose Report Launch
27 June 2011 | Jane-Frances Kelly | Cities
Grattan Cities Program Director Jane-Frances Kelly in conversation with John Daley on the challenges to Australian cities and governments presented in The Housing We'd Choose.
Trading Our Way to More Jobs and Prosperity
7 June 2011 | Trade Minister Craig Emerson | Productivity Growth
In April, Trade Minister Craig Emerson released the Gillard Government's Trade Policy Statement: "Trading our way to more jobs and prosperity". This aims to put the pursuit of free trade at the heart of the Government's economic reform program. At this event, the Minister will outline the five principles of this policy, and discuss how sound trade policy and solid economic reform should work hand-in-hand.
Investing in regions: Making a difference - Report Launch
2 June 2011 | John Daley and Annette Lancy | Australian Perspectives
Grattan Institute launched its latest report, Investing in regions: Making a difference. The report shows that Australia's "patchwork economy" - in which some regions are both booming and others are going backwards - is becoming more pronounced. This has profound implications for government policy to promote economic growth and the opportunities of its regional citizens, many of whom risk missing out on basic services.
Sustainable Energy - At what cost?
25 May 2011 | Patrick Hearps, Andrew Stock, Terry Teoh | Energy
The debate surrounding the transition from the current carbon intensive energy system to one that is sustainable and low-carbon largely centres on cost.
Better Teacher Appraisal and Feedback: Improving Performance
2 May 2011 | Ben Jensen | School Education
Following the release of this Grattan Institute report, Dr Ben Jensen presented and discussed its findings. The report proposes a new system of teacher appraisal that provides constructive feedback to teachers based on a comprehensive appraisal of learning and teaching in classrooms. The new system will bring overdue recognition to effective teachers, spreading good practices through their school and beyond.
Current Trends in Civic Engagement in America
19 April 2011 | Professor Robert Putnam | Cities
Join Professor Robert Putnam, Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, a pioneer of research in social capital, for an exploration of how communities have become increasingly disconnected and how they may reconnect. Grattan Institute, in association with The United States Studies Centre, and the Australia and New Zealand School of Government presented this seminar.
Global Perspective: Implementing Carbon Pricing in a World of Political Resistance and Evolving International Participation
14 April 2011 | Professor Michael Grubb | Energy
Carbon pricing is the 'first among equals' in a broad triad of climate policy mechanism for cutting CO2 emissions, but is also the most politically difficult. This talk will briefly review the role of carbon pricing, the debates between taxation and emissions trading as a way of achieving it, and some of the key lessons learned from the European Emissions Trading Scheme. Professor Michael Grubb is Chair of the international research organisation Climate Strategies, headquartered at Cambridge University.
Manufacturing Regained: New Prospects for Business and Regional Communities
5 April 2011 | Dan Swinney | Productivity Growth
Grattan Institute, in association with the Foundation for Sustainable Economic Development, the Centre for Public Policy, and Enterprise Connect, presented an evening forum with Dan Swinney, Executive Director of the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council. In this session, he reflected on the Council's 25-year effort to maintain and expand high-skilled manufacturing jobs.
Carbon Emissions: subsidies, incentives or taxes - what makes effective policy?
30 March 2011 | John Daley and Tristan Edis | Energy
Australian governments, both State and Federal, have tried hundreds of policies and programs over the past decade to reduce carbon emissions in the energy sector. A new study by Grattan Institute launched at the seminar investigated their impact and identify the patterns.
Progress on Education Reform in Australia
17 March 2011 | Minister Peter Garrett | School Education
Following the release of the second version of My School, Minister Garrett outlined the direction of education reform for the coming year and beyond.
Wellbeing in Public Policy Practice
25 November 2010 | Ken Henry, Don Henry, Gemma Van Halderen | Australian Perspectives
Around the world governments are recognising that there is more to life - and government - than GDP. The Australian Government Treasury has developed a "well-being" framework for evaluating policy and outcomes, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics has developed a project named "Measuring Australia's Progress". This is the last in a series of three seminars about social and environmental measures for public policy. The panel will discuss how well-being frameworks might develop in Australia, how they are already being used in practice, and how they might influence the future development of public policy.
Effective performance management: the next challenge for our schools
23 November 2010 | Ben Jensen | School Education
A new era of transparency will force considerable change in our schools. The My School website will soon include financial information for each school and more accurate measures of school performance. These changes will provide numerous strategic challenges and opportunities for school administrators, school boards and policy makers. The research shows that improving teacher effectiveness is the most successful way to confront these challenges. However, recent evidence highlights that both government and non-government schools are generally not effective in shaping their organisations to maximise teacher effectiveness and engage in successful teacher evaluation and development. Dr Ben Jensen, Director of the school education program at the Grattan Institute, will address these issues and present strategies for how schools can best confront these strategic challenges.
Understanding Australia's Productivity Performance - A Grattan Report
11 November 2010 | Saul Eslake | Productivity Growth
The Nobel Prize-winning economist (and more recently New York Times columnist), Paul Krugman, famously described productivity as being "not everything, but in the long run nearly everything". At this event, Saul Eslake discussed Grattan Institute's Productivity Growth Program's first report, which examines how productivity growth is important to meeting several of Australia's more important economic challenges; a new perspective on the reasons for the marked deterioration in Australia's productivity growth performance over the past decade; and a preliminary look at some of the policy options for reversing that trend over the decade ahead.
The Social Life of Cities
8 November 2010 | Geoff Mulgan | Cities
Thinking about social design for cities is lagging behind thinking on economic and environmental issues. Yet history has shown us that without design that takes account of social needs, built environments can easily lead to isolated individuals and communities. All over the world developments are being demolished only a few decades after they were built because of poor understanding of human needs and social design. Design has to incorporate an understanding of how people live, what makes them feel they belong, and the right balance of interaction and privacy. Geoff Mulgan discussed these issues
Resilient Cities
28 October 2010 | Neil McInroy | Cities
Cities in Australia are facing a series of challenges, particularly relating to their next stages of growth. The Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), based in Manchester, UK, helps cities and communities cope effectively with such challenges. CLES has recently laid out a "place resilience framework" - a partnership model for local government and other sectors to work together to develop a resilient economy. The framework has been piloted in 15 locations in the UK with fascinating results. At this Grattan seminar Neil discussed the findings of the CLES's resilience pilot, and suggest how Australian cities and places might prepare themselves better for upcoming challenges.
Australian Cities: Liveable and Sustainable?
26 October 2010 | Peter Newton | Cities
Australian cities rate highly internationally on liveability and well-being indices. State and metropolitan governments are keen to promote the liveability of their cities as a means of attracting mobile capital, skilled labour and tourists. An examination of the liveability-environmental sustainability nexus, however, suggests that Australia's capital cities have gained their high liveability ratings while having high, and now unsustainable, levels of resource consumption.
Cities: Who Decides? - A Grattan Report
19 October 2010 | Jane-Frances Kelly | Cities
From population growth to climate change, the challenges facing Australia's cities are much talked about. Facing these challenges will involve making hard decisions. But very little attention is paid to how these decisions might be made. Jane-France Kelly discussed the issues raised in Grattan's report.
The Cities We Need - A Grattan Report
29 June 2010 | Jane-Frances Kelly | Cities
The most important characteristic of a city is whether it meets the needs of its residents, both material and psychological. Despite the fact that these needs are central to our lives, they are often at the periphery of conversations about the future of Australian cities. On Monday 28 June Grattan Institute released its report "The Cities We Need".
Mapping Social Cohesion: 2009 Scanlon Foundation Report
1 June 2010 | Andrew Markus | Australian Perspectives
Grattan Institute hosted a discussion with Professor Markus to talk about the report's findings. The discussion focused on contemporary immigration and immigrants' experiences of connectedness, social justice, sense of belonging and worth.
What Teachers Want: Better Teacher Management - A Grattan Report
25 May 2010 | Ben Jensen | School Education
Grattan Institute released their second education report on Monday 24 May 2010. Dr Ben Jensen, Program Director School Education presented a seminar about the report's findings.
People, Pride and Purpose
13 May 2010 | John McTernan | Cities
After decades of decline, Chicago, Glasgow and Manchester are experiencing a renaissance. Different cities have different stories to tell. However, three ingredients are common across all these cities; people, pride and purpose.
Economic Returns to Education
6 May 2010 | Colm Harmon, Saul Eslake, Ben Jensen | School Education
What are the links between education and productivity? With the Australian school education system currently going through a major reform, Grattan Institute hosted a seminar which discussed the relationship between education and economic returns. Will the proposed education reforms make a difference to Australian productivity?
Water Competition: the UK Experience
3 May 2010 | Martin Cave | Australian Perspectives
Over the past decade, water restrictions have been imposed in many Australian cities. There have also been significant investments to augment supplies, which are coming on-line. With the immediate risks to water security abating, there is now an opportunity to explore how delivery of water services could be improved in the future.
Restructuring the Australian Economy to Emit Less Carbon - A Grattan Event
28 April 2010 | John Daley and Tristan Edis | Energy
Grattan Institute released its public report "Restructuring the Australian Economy to Emit Less Carbon" on Thursday 22 April 2010. Using a detailed analysis of Australian industries' own data, the report concludes the proposed free permits being offered by the Federal Government under its carbon pricing scheme are unnecessary. The report also shows that adapting to a carbon price is less difficult than the structural adjustments as a result of tariff reduction, competition policy reforms and the introduction of the GST. John Daley, Grattan Institute's Chief Executive Officer, presented a seminar on Wednesday 28 April, outlining the key findings of the report and discussed the implications for Australian policy making.
Carbon pricing - is a Tax Better than Emissions Trading?
25 March 2010 | Cameron Hepburn | Energy
Grattan Institute hosted a seminar on energy policy, with special guest Dr Cameron Hepburn. This seminar provided an opportunity for detailed discussion about climate change policy around the world, and what it means for Australia. We discussed the economics of various options for designing carbon pricing schemes.
American Cities: A 21st Century Urban Agenda
17 March 2010 | Henry Cisneros | Cities
State and Federal governments in the U.S. have grappled for decades with urban issues such as urban regeneration and affordable housing. As Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton Administration, Henry Cisneros was at the centre of these efforts. Mr Cisneros talked about the challenges facing urban areas in the U.S. today. Drawing on direct experience with the current White House team, he discussed the shape of the Obama Administration's new urban agenda.
In Defence of Liberty - A Grattan Seminar
11 March 2010 | The Hon. Joe Hockey MP | Australian Perspectives
The Hon. Joe Hockey MP, Shadow Treasurer, spoke at Grattan Institute on Thursday 11 March 2010. His speech 'In Defence of Liberty' pursued the theme that as a nation we have not struck the right balance between individual freedoms and collectivism. This will be an influential contribution to a core issue of our times.
Measuring What Matters: Student Progress
8 February 2010 | Ben Jensen | School Education
Grattan Institute is released its first public report "Measuring what matters: student progress" on Wednesday 27 January 2010, looking at the issue of measuring school performance. This issue is relevant to the Commonwealth government's launch of the "my school" website of school performance.
Changing Social Needs and Innovative Ways to Meet Them
4 February 2010 | Geoff Mulgan | Cities
Dr Geoff Mulgan, Director of the Young Foundation, is one of the world's leading experts on social and organisational innovation. Straight from ANZSOG, he gave a mid afternoon seminar for Grattan Institute, sharing his knowledge about social and organisational innovation, what it is and how to it can be applied in Australian cities. He discussed his current research on the changing social needs of society.
Political Polarisation: Lessons from the United States
1 February 2010 | David Brady | Australian Perspectives
David Brady, Professor of Political Science and Leadership Values, and Deputy Director, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, will be beginning Grattan's 2010 events program, taking part in a Q and A seminar. His knowledge comes from a breadth of areas including public policy, women's movement and internet voting; making him well equipped to discuss political polarisation, and what Australia can learn from the United States.
Australia-US Relationship and the President Partnership Agenda
9 December 2009 | US Ambassador, Jeffrey L Bleich | Australian Perspectives
Grattan Institute invites you to hear the new US Ambassador, Jeffrey L. Bleich, in his first public appearance in Melbourne. He discussed the Australia-US relationship, and how President Obama plans to strengthen it into the future.
Governing Growing Cities
1 December 2009 | Duncan Maclennan | Cities
Australia is famously one of the most urbanised countries in the world, with our cities producing the bulk of GDP and jobs. Today our cities are on the front line of responding to climate change, and are projected to significantly increase in size.
The Pricing of Carbon Emissions and International Trade
5 November 2009 | Daniel M. Price | Energy
The United States, the European Union, and other developed nations, including Australia, are moving towards regimes to put a price on carbon emissions. Daniel Price addressed questions such as: Are shifts in location to avoid carbon emission costs likely?
Trade Policy and Climate Change Policy: Some Inconvenient Truths
9 September 2009 | Professor Ross Garnaut | Energy
The economic distortions associated with arbitrary allocations of free emissions permits to trade exposed industries in Australia is just one part of a global story. Without an effective international approach, this will contribute to a breakdown of the WTO based global trading system. Professor Garnaut discussed the problem and the way out.
Thomas E. Mann Visit, Brookings Institution
April 2009 | Thomas E Mann | Australian Perspectives
Prestigious US political commentator Thomas E. Mann was brought to Australia by the University of Melbourne as a 2009 Miegunyah Distinguished Visiting Fellow and spoke at the launch of Grattan Institute in April 2009.
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