
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
MC
Christine Jackman

I offer clients strategic counsel and communications expertise drawn from more than 20 years working in high-pressure environments, from newsrooms to board rooms, political campaigns to corporate crisis management.
I have been: a New York-based foreign correspondent, a member of the Canberra press gallery, an adviser to some of Australia's top CEOs via their peak body, and a consultant with one of the world's leading campaign strategists and pollsters.
What have I gained from these experiences?
They taught me the immense power of converting complex communications problems into compelling narratives that engage and activate their target audiences.
They gave me an impeccable contact book and an insider's familiarity with Australia's corridors of power.
They ensured I now have an utterly fearless approach to deadlines.
And they endowed me with a rich appreciation of creative minds, plus the ability to maintain grace and humour under pressure.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
PANELLIST
Stephen Hicks

Dr. Stephen Hicks is Professor of Philosophy and Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. He is the author of five books that have been translated into 18 languages: Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (Scholargy, 2004); Readings for Logical Analysis (W. W. Norton, 2nd edition, 1998); Nietzsche and the Nazis (Ockham’s Razor, 2010), Entrepreneurial Living (CEEF, 2017); Liberalism Pro and Con: A Primer Conor Court, 2020). He has published widely in academic journals such as Review of Metaphysics, Journal of Medicine, Law, and Ethics, and Business Ethics Quarterly, as well as more popular outlets such as The Wall Street Journal. His Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees are from the University of Guelph (Canada) and his Ph.D. in philosophy is from Indiana University. Most of his graduate work was in logic and philosophy of science. He has been a visiting professor at Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) and the University of Kasimir the Great (Poland), and a visiting fellow at the Social Philosophy & Policy Center (Bowling Green, Ohio), Harris Manchester College (Oxford, England), and The Objectivist Center (New York).
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
PANELLIST
John Quiggin

John Quiggin is a VC Senior Fellow in Economics at the University of Queensland. He is prominent both as a research economist and as a commentator on Australian economic policy. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and many other learned societies and institutions. He has produced over 1500 publications, including six books and over 200 refereed journal articles, in fields including decision theory, environmental economics, production economics, and the theory of economic growth. He has also written on policy topics including climate change, micro-economic reform, privatisation, employment policy and the management of the Murray-Darling river system. His latest book, Economics in Two Lessons: Why Markets Work so Well and Why they can Fail so Badly, was released in 2019 by Princeton University Press.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
PANELLIST
Hon Rachel Nolan

Rachel Nolan is an experienced leader, non executive director and consultant specialising in governance and public policy.
Rachel leads and teaches governance programs for foreign governments (mainly from the South East Asian region) through University of Queensland International Development and she is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at UQ.
Rachel was a Member of the Queensland Parliament for 11 years from 2001, when she was elected as the youngest woman ever. She is a former Minister for Finance, Transport, Natural Resources and the Arts. In those roles she oversaw an historic round of economic reform, jointly leading the successful privatisation of QR National, the Port of Brisbane and Abbot Point Coal Terminal. She was a member of the Queensland Government’s central budgetary organ, the Cabinet Budget Review Committee.
Her policy expertise lies at the interface of the public and private sectors.
Ms Nolan has a diverse set of interests. For five years she owned and ran a café ranked as one of South East Queensland’s best in her hometown of Ipswich and she has traveled extensively, including completing an independent near overland journey from Ireland to Indonesia in 2013/14.
GALLERY



Postmodernism: A Right Wing Philosophy?
What's the problem?
Polarisation and toxic discourse - old-fashioned intolerance and incivility on 21st century steroids - should be everyone’s concern. It’s not just in the public arena and not just online, they are seeping through everywhere, affecting day-to-day life and making it near-impossible to have productive discussions about the enormous challenges - and opportunities - facing humanity. This debate explored part of the philosophical background of the central concerns of The Brisbane Dialogues.