Policy salons
NEW ANNOUNCEMENT!
After the success of the first six salons, I've decided to host one final salon in Sydney, with Ken Henry. Date: 29 April.
Information here:
A Live Podcast Series on Australia's Most Urgent or Underrated Policy Problems
In early 2025, I’ll be hosting six live podcast conversations in Sydney and Melbourne—intimate, high-quality gatherings where big ideas meet thoughtful people.
Each session focuses on a pressing policy issue—from immigration and housing to inequality and defence—with a handpicked guest. I thought carefully about the perfect guest for each topic, and I’m lucky that every person I invited said yes!
What are "policy salons"?
These events are not public lectures. Think of them as "policy salons"—spaces for deep conversations with curious, thoughtful audiences. After each session, we’ll wrap up with a casual meet-and-greet to keep the conversation going.
Availability is highly limited. With just 50–70 tickets per event, the focus is on depth, not scale—giving you the chance to ask questions, share ideas, and connect.
How do I join?
I’ll be hosting two events in Melbourne and four in Sydney. You can get tickets at the button below.
Because these salons are about building a community, I’d be thrilled if the same group of thoughtful people joined me for multiple sessions. If you’d like to attend multiple events, email me at joe@jnwpod.com for a special discount code.
I can’t wait to see you there!
Schedule
Get tickets or find out more at the links below.
Abul Rizvi on immigration [Melbourne]
As it was for the US and UK in 2024, so it will be for Canada and Australia in 2025: immigration has become the most politically charged issue across the Anglosphere.
Abul Rizvi, former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Immigration, managed Australia's migration program from 1995 to 2007. He was instrumental in reshaping the system to focus on skilled migration, including significantly expanding the intake of overseas students.
Andrew Leigh MP on inequality [Sydney]
Dr. Andrew Leigh MP is Australia’s Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, and Treasury, and Assistant Minister for Employment. An economist by training, he was previously Professor of Economics at the Australian National University and earned his PhD from Harvard.
He is widely regarded as Australia’s leading authority on inequality. (On a personal note, I had the privilege of interning for Andrew several years ago—one of my most formative experiences!)
Richard Holden & Steven Hamilton on state capacity [Sydney]
Richard Holden, Professor of Economics at UNSW and President of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and Steven Hamilton, Assistant Professor of Economics at George Washington University, are two of Australia’s leading public policy economists.
Together, they’ve coauthored Australia’s Pandemic Exceptionalism, a book that, while ostensibly about Australia's policy responses to the pandemic, offers one of the most incisive explorations of Australian state capacity in recent years.
Peter Tulip on the housing crisis [Sydney]
Housing is the defining social policy failure of our time, and few people have worked as patiently to educate the public about its causes as Peter Tulip.
Currently Chief Economist at the Centre for Independent Studies, Peter previously held senior roles at the Reserve Bank of Australia and the US Federal Reserve. I learned more about Peter’s work through our email exchanges during his time at the RBA, and his insights have shaped my understanding of the housing crisis ever since (we catch up every year or so, and I learn some more each time).
Sam Roggeveen on defence [Sydney]
Sam Roggeveen’s The Echidna Strategy is one of the most independent and thought-provoking books on Australian defence and foreign policy in recent years. Inspired in part by Taiwan’s "porcupine strategy", it advocates for an approach that deters aggression by making any attack prohibitively costly.
Sam is the Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program and was previously a senior strategic analyst at the Office of National Assessments, Australia’s peak intelligence agency.
Judith Brett on political culture & compulsory voting [Melbourne]
Judith Brett, emeritus Professor of Politics at La Trobe University, is one of Australia’s foremost public intellectuals and political historians.
Her latest book, From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage, is much more than a definitive history of compulsory voting in Australia—it’s a deep exploration of the country’s unique political culture.
