STREAM
IQ2 Debate

DATE
27 OCTOBER 2015

LOCATION
CITY RECITAL HALL

Is Australia really a multicultural safe haven? Or is racism more prevalent than ever before?

Who wouldn’t want to live the Australian dream?

The Australian dream is magnetic, attracting vastly more people to our shores than ever move away. A quarter of the population is born overseas and almost half of us have a parent born abroad. The Australian Bureau of Statistics counts one international migration every two minutes.

Everyone is entitled to the same basic levels of safety, protection and opportunity, no matter their race or religion. Indeed, Australian laws protect everybody from racial discrimination, ensuring we all get a ‘fair go’ in life. But is Australia really a multicultural safe haven of equal opportunity? Or is racism more prevalent than ever before?

Indigenous Sky News anchor Stan Grant and Indian Australian immigration layer Pallavi Sinha went head to head against American-born Iranian Australian Herald Sun columnist Rita Panahi and iconic Australian actor Jack Thompson.

To view Stan Grant’s powerful opening argument which has since received worldwide acclaim and has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, click here.

Catch up

Missed the debate? Watch this compelling debate below and see where you stand.

Photo gallery

Speakers

Stan Grant

Stan is a Wiradjuri author, political journalist, news presenter and ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.

Pallavi Sinha

Pallavi is a immigration and family lawyer, lecturer at ANU, and a former People of Australia Ambassador. She is a regular contributor to national newspapers on government policy and social justice.

Rita Panahi

Rita is a columnist for the Herald Sun, host of The Friday Show at Sky News, and contributor to Sunrise on the Seven Network.

Jack Thompson

is an leading actor, best known for his role in acclaimed Australian classics The Club, Sunday Too Far Away, The Man from Snowy River, Breaker Morant and recent blockbuster’s Star Wars II, The Great Gatsby and Australia.

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Who is it for?


  • THE ACTIVIST
  • THE CURIOUS
  • THE PROVOCATEUR
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What you'll take away


  • 01A VISION OF WHERE WE’RE HEADED
  • 02AN INTRO TO AUSTRALIAN HISTORY
  • 03STAN GRANT'S POWERFUL WORDS ON THE INDIGENOUS EXPERIENCE
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Things to think about