Senate Lecture Series by George Megalogenis - Annual Harry Evans Lecture: Australia's multi-party system and its influence on scrutiny and accountability.
11 September 2026
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Special Events Australian Parliament
12:43 - 15:16
Speaker 2
Good afternoon and welcome to the 2026 Harry Evans Lecture. My name's Richard Pye, I'm the Clerk of the Senate. Welcome to the theatre at Parliament House, Canberra. We meet here today where people have met for thousands of years, and I acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, who are the traditional custodians of the Canberra region. I pay my respects to their elders past and present, and extend that respect to any Indigenous people here today and watching us online, because today's lecture is being streamed online on our YouTube channel and on the web.
You have to say these things these days. Today is the 10th annual lecture in honour of the late Harry Evans, the longest-serving Clerk of the Senate. I'd like to extend a warm welcome to members of Harry's family who are here with us again today for this special occasion. I also want to acknowledge the presence in the audience today of the President of the Senate, Senator the Honourable Sue Lines. We have some other senators and members registered to attend today, so welcome.
I'd like to extend a warm welcome to my predecessor, Dr. Rosemary Laing, former Clerk of the Senate. Thank you for being here again, Rosemary, to honour our great mentor. It's my pleasure to introduce today's presenter, George Megalogenis. George is an author and journalist with four decades of experience in the media, including 11 years in the federal parliamentary press gallery. His book, The Australian Moment, won the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction and the 2012 Walkley Award for Non-fiction, and formed the basis for his ABC documentary series, Making Australia Great.
George is also the author of Faultlines, The Longest Decade, Australia's Second Chance, and The Football Solution, as well as four Quarterly Essays. His most recent book, Three Shocks: Who We Are Becoming in the 21st Century, was published in August 2026. There will be a book signing after the lecture today. Would you please join me in welcoming George Megalogenis to deliver the 2026 Harry Evans Lecture: Australia's multi-party system and its influence on scrutiny and accountability.
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