Alex Baumann
Dr. Alex Baumann is a Degrowth Academic at Western Sydney University. His work highlights the significant role of land ownership in shaping collective reliance on economic growth. This structural analysis is gaining recognition in Degrowth scholarship, with recent publications in The Journal of Australian Political Economy and the De Gruyter Handbook of Degrowth, alongside several discussion pieces. To address this structural impediment to degrowth, Alex advocates for revitalising housing and food land commons, in modern urban contexts. To this end, he is involved in practical policy development through the “Neighbourhood That Works” project, which seeks to reframe public housing initiatives to support commons-based alternatives.
Watch Alex and his Sustainable Futures students deliver a short presentation on this analysis here: https://youtu.be/zuaWj58eIvI
Char Weeks
Char Weeks is the founder of the award-winning secure digital information safe, Secure My Treasures. Way back, she championed innovation and improvement in healthcare delivery. She campaigns against job ageism, elder abuse, and domestic violence. Char has owned three strata title units, two in Melbourne and in Sydney, and has been a member of a strata committee of management.
Jill Klein
Professor Jill Klein is the daughter of a Holocaust Survivor. She has published research on Holocaust and has written the book We Got the Water: Tracing My Family’s Footsteps Through Auschwitz.
Jawad Khalid
Jawad Khalid is a climate finance specialist based in Islamabad. He works on green innovation, low-carbon investment, and climate resilience in South Asia. He writes frequently on climate justice and adaptation policy for regional and international outlets.
Graham Maddox
Graham Maddox is Emeritus Professor of Politics, University of New England. He is author of five editions of Australian Democracy in Theory and Practice, and more recently Stepping Up to the Plate. America, and Australian Politics.
Warwick Anderson
Warwick Anderson AO is Emeritus Professor at Monash University and Chair of the Global Biodata Coalition. He was Secretary General of the International Human Frontier Science Program Organisation (2015 to 2021) and Chief Executive Officer of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (2006-2015). He authored Trust in Medical Research: What Scientists Must Do to Enhance It.
Richard Mathews
Richard Mathews was Australia’s first Consul-General in Makassar, eastern Indonesia from 2016 – 2020. He retired from DFAT in 2021 after a 30-year career which included postings to Brunei, Greece, Taiwan and Indonesia. Since retirement he has published articles in the Canberra Times and Lowy Interpreter on climate change and is currently writing a crime-thriller set in eastern Indonesia, and short-stories about travel.
Damir Mitrić
Damir is a historian whose research on the Bosnian war has been widely published. He previously taught Genocide Studies at La Trobe University.
Daniel A. Bell
Daniel A. Bell Chair Professor of Political Theory with the faculty of law at the University of Hong Kong, the writer served as dean of the school of political science and public administration at Shandong University from 2017 to 2022. “He is author of The Dean of Shandong: Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University (Princeton, 2023)” https://press.princeton.edu/our-authors/bell-daniel-a
Richard Heydarian
Richard Heydarian is a Manila-based academic and author of “Asia’s New Battlefield: US, China and the Struggle for Western Pacific” and the forthcoming “Duterte’s Rise”
Michael Taylor
Michael is a retired Public Servant. His interests include Australian and US politics, history, travel, and Indigenous Australia. Michael holds a BA in Aboriginal Affairs Administration, a BA (Honours) in Aboriginal Studies, and a Diploma of Government.
Geoff Thompson
Geoff Thompson is a retired academic theologian. Originally trained in Agricultural Science, he later turned to the study of theology, including completing a PhD at the University of Cambridge. He has written widely on the theology of the Uniting Church in Australia. His other publications include Christian Doctrine: A Guide for the Perplexed (T&T Clark, 2020). He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Divinity.
Adriel Kasonta
Adriel Kasonta is a London-based political risk consultant and lawyer. He is an expert at the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) in Moscow and former chairman of the International Affairs Committee at the oldest conservative think tank in the UK, Bow Group. Kasonta is a graduate of London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). You can follow him on Twitter @Adriel_Kasonta.
Barbara Preston
Barbara Preston is an independent researcher, and a former union official and public servant. She has been researching and writing on education, workforce and public policy issues since the 1970s.
Robert Reich
Robert Reich Professor, writer, former Secretary of Labor, author of The System, The Common Good, Saving Capitalism, Aftershock, Supercapitalism, The Work of Nations. Co-creator of “Inequality for All” and “Saving Capitalism.” Co-founder of Inequality Media
Allon J Uhlmann
Allon Uhlmann is a former public servant, an academic and an intelligence professional. He holds an undergraduate degree in Middle Eastern History from Tel Aviv University and a PhD in anthropology from the Australian National University. He has worked at various policy, analysis and managerial roles in Canberra, and held academic positions at universities in Australia and abroad. He has published research on diverse areas including Arabic instruction in Israel, intelligence studies and cybersecurity. You can find some of his non-academic work on his substack site (https://intelligence101.substack.com/).
Katie Maher
Katie Maher lectures in Education at the University of South Australia. She co-chairs the Pedagogies for Justice research group and is a Series Editor for AARE’s Local/Global Issues in Education book series.
Ben Newell
Ben Newell is a Professor in the School of Psychology and Director of the Institute for Climate Risk and Response at the University of New South Wales. His research interests include judgment and decision-making, with particular interest in the application of this work to societal issues like climate change. He is co-author of the books Open Minded: Searching for Truth about the Unconscious Mind and Straight Choices: The Psychology of Decision Making.
Sara Abdelmawgoud
Dr Sara Abdelmawgoud is a Gaza representative and a member of the ACT Activist Leadership Committee with Amnesty International Australia. She advocates for human rights and refugee justice, and works closely with local communities to amplify Palestinian voices.
Dominick A. DellaSala
Dr. Dominick A. DellaSala is Senior Conservation Science Associate in the North America Initiative of the Conservation Biology Institute and former President of the Society for Conservation Biology, North America Section. He is an internationally renowned author of >350 peer-reviewed papers and 9 award-winning books on forests, climate change, endangered species, and speaking truth to power. Dominick received the Planet Earth Award in 2026 from the Alliance of World Scientists and has received conservation awards from the World Wildlife Fund (twice) and Wilburforce Foundation for his work on roadless areas and national monuments.
Jonathan Pie
Jonathan Pie is a fictional character portrayed by British comedian Tom Walker. Pie is a liberal political correspondent who rants angrily about British, American, and Australian politics, giving his true personal opinions before or after filming a scripted news segment.
Stephen Langford
Stephen Langford born in New Zealand-Aotearoa but in reality I am a recovering Pom. I did go to Leeds University and lived with people from all over the world and somehow came out with a degree. Don’t ask me how! I came to Australia on the strength of my NZ passport and have mostly been a nurse. I take my hat off to all the overseas nurses who keep the hospitals and nursing homes running. I have been most involved in the E Timor campaign… Australian major political parties supported the illegal invasion and occupation until nearly the bitter end. In the end, we won. Inspired by the Timorese resistance, we all won. Since then I have been involved in trying to stop Australia’s racist trashing of the UN Refugee Convention, and freeing Assange. I am a Socialist Alliance member. I have two lovely children and an even lovelier grandchild! I am 65 and retired from paid work… Gott sei dank! as my late father might have said before he learned English.
Howard Lisnoff
Howard Lisnoff is a freelance writer. He is the author of Against the Wall: Memoir of a Vietnam-Era War Resister (2017).
Jeff McMullen
Dr Jeff McMullen AM is a journalist, author and filmmaker. Best known from his work on television over the last fifty years, McMullen has been a foreign correspondent for Australian Broadcasting Corporation, reporter for Four Corners and Sixty Minutes, anchor of the 33-part issue series on ABC Television, Difference of Opinion and director of independent documentaries. He was awarded the United Nations Media Peace Prize for his trilogy of hour-long documentaries about conflicts in Central America. He made many forays behind the former USSR’s Iron Curtain including disclosure of the impacts of Russian nuclear tests in Kazakhstan.
Terry O'Leary
Terry O’Leary worked at Garden Island Dockyard as Technical Officer Electronics & Communications in 1970s, then Hardware Engineer in IT industry and then Laboratory Manager. Served 6 years Army Reserve in 1970s & 1980s. Completed part time Applied Science Degree followed by Master of Applied Science.
Terry moved to Canberra in 1990 to work in Defence as an Analyst. Then worked as Senior Professional Officer for DSTO in Navy Office. Attended Joint Services Staff College and completed Master Degree at ADFA UNSW Campus in Management. Worked in Defence Project Management and left Defence to teach at Canberra Institute of Technology till retirement.
Ruddy Gobel
Ruddy Gobel has more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sector, UN agencies, and government. He has extensive experience in working with high-level government officials not only in policy design and advocacy but also in policy implementation. He has been involved in various important issues and policies in Indonesia including the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh-Nias after the 2004 Tsunami, the Jakarta Mass Rapid Trans (MRT) project, poverty reduction, social protection, energy subsidy policy reform, and development of renewable energy.
Ko Ko Aung
Ko Ko Aung is Special Counsel at Albert Arthur Lawyers, practising in Sydney and Melbourne in refugee and humanitarian law, complex protection matters and high-stakes migration litigation. He advises on protection visas (subclass 866), merits review, visa cancellation revocation and character issues, ministerial intervention submissions, employer-sponsored visas, labour agreements including Skilled Refugee pathways, offshore Humanitarian (Class XB) cases, partner and family visas, and judicial review. He serves as Company Secretary at Afghan Women on the Move and previously served as General Counsel at Heart Beams Rising. Earlier, at Ajuria Lawyers, he led the Pro Bono and Private Clients practice and collaborated with Talent Beyond Boundaries to expand access for skilled refugees. His earlier experience includes senior and associate roles at Agape Henry Crux, and internships with the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law and the HIV/AIDS Legal Centre.Ko Ko is currently undertaking a Master of Laws in International Human Rights Law at UNSW, and holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from UNSW. His recognition includes the John Gibson AM Young Australian Migration Lawyer of the Year Award and NSW Humanitarian Award in the Government and Legal sector. He works bilingually in English and Burmese.
John Lawrence
John B. Lawrence SC has been practicing in the law in Darwin since 1987. He was appointed Senior Counsel in 2010. He was a Crown prosecutor in Darwin and later solicitor in charge of the Northern Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service. He is a past president of the Northern Territory Bar Association and of the Criminal Lawyers Association of the Northern Territory. He represented one of the Don Dale youth detainees during the Royal Commission.
Angus Deaton
Angus Deaton is the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Emeritus, at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. He is the 2015 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
Linda Briskman
Linda Briskman holds the Margaret Whitlam Chair of Social Work at Western Sydney University. She is a member of the advisory committee of the Jewish Council of Australia. Linda is a panel member on the People’s Inquiry.