The magic of public conversation with an archbishop and a cartoonist 

Anglican archbishop of Melbourne Reverend Dr Philip Freier has been holding public conversations at Federation Square for 18 years.

The first conversation, on the then controversial topic of stem cell research, took place at Fed Square’s The Edge, on April 17, 2007, with guests Rev. Dr Gordon Preece and Professor Loane Skene. 

A member of the faculty at the Melbourne Law School, Dr Skene had served on two major federal committees on human cloning and embryo research. Dr Preece continues to research issues around ethics and work.

Since that first conversation, in the year Rev. Dr Freier was installed as Archbishop, he has hosted more than 60 free conversations at Federation Square on topical matters impacting Melbourne and Victoria. 

His conversation guests have included many public figures, such as Aboriginal elder Auntie Joy Murphy Wandin, Julian Burnside QC, actor Noni Hazelhurst, Rev. Tim Costello, former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, author John Marsden, 2010 Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry, RMIT associate professor Sharif As-Saber, lawyer and social activist Nyadol Nyuon, and former Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp. 

In 2007 Rev. Dr Freier discussed with 2006 Young Australian of the Year Trisha Broadbridge whether happiness was just a dream for Australians. 

Trisha’s husband, AFL footballer Troy Broadbridge, died in the 2004 Asian tsunami on their honeymoon. Trisha established the charitable Reach Broadbridge Fund as a way of managing her grief, and with the help of Troy’s Melbourne Football Club teammates built the Broadbridge Education Centre on Thailand’s Phi Phi Island.

In 2008, the archbishop explored with actor Noni Hazelhurst and Julie Gale, campaigner against sexualisation of children, the topic of childhood wellbeing in a toxic society. Sadly, Julie died in 2018 after a five-year battle with breast cancer.

In 2009, three public figures, Tammie Fraser AO, Noelene Brown OAM and Bud Tingwell AM (1923-2009) talked with the archbishop about whether ageing was something to be feared.

A report produced by the Australian Parliament, titled Boat arrivals in Australia since 1976, reminds us of the political football so-called boat people became during the 1990s and 2000s. 

Quoting from the report: “The 1990s through to the mid-2000s saw an increase in policies aimed at deterring asylum seekers from coming to Australia by boat including the introduction of mandatory detention laws, the excision of external territories from the migration zone and offshore processing for those arriving at such places and the introduction of temporary protection visas.” 

The archbishop’s conversation on this topic in 2011 challenged the audience about how well our nation embraces the dispossessed. Titled, Welcome stranger? Australia and refugees, guests Abdul Karim, an Afghan refugee, youth worker, Jessie Taylor, lawyer and refugee advocate and Rowan Callick, Asia-Pacific editor of The Australian, joined the archbishop in a reflection about who we are as a nation and what is our response to the stranger.

Since 2007, the Anglican archbishop has invited the people of Melbourne to join these free conversations, to hear people with particular areas of expertise engage in robust conversations about significant matters of life and faith.

After 18 years of these public conversations, the very last will be held on October 2 between the archbishop and prophet, poet and cartoonist, Michael Leunig on the topic “Is our society allergic to God?”. 

All are welcome at Fed Square’s The Edge for an 8.30am start. •