Anglican Media, together with Barney Zwartz, organises the Archbishop’s public conversations in Deakin Edge, Federation Square. These conversations usually run three times a year, and feature special guests speaking with the Archbishop about prominent social issues.

Below is the library of past conversations. Click on a topic to be taken to the video.

The Public Purse – June 2023

The Government has far too many demands on its resources to meet the needs of Australians as it might wish. Its budgets are stretched, from $368 billion for nuclear submarines plus long-range missiles for defence to the ballooning costs of national disability, from the problems in public housing to the separate issues in hospitals and the health system. Around half of Australian households receive some sort of government payment. The demands are near infinite, the means are decidedly finite.

Victoria Votes – Oct 2022

Public cynicism about politics has seldom been higher as Victoria heads into a state election next month. Surveys show that both the main party leaders carry polarised views about their leadership into the campaign. What will be the key issues, and what should they be? Pandemic management, the state health system and political integrity are likely to be prominent. Can the personalities of the politicians be separated from the issues, or are they interlocked?

Coping with the climate crisis

75% of young people are frightened about the future, an international study shows. But is the climate crisis inevitable? Is there still time to stop the worst effects? What can young people do? Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier will focus on climate in a public conversation with the Forest Maker, Tony Rinaudo, AYCC activist Olivia Sutherland and Melbourne Grammar student Jack Lowman at 10.30am on August 19. This will be an online event – online link will be sent in confirmation email.

What will decide the federal election – March 2022

Australia is going to the polls some time before the end of May in what is tipped to be a close-fought election. What issues might be decisive? Pandemic and economic management, national security and leadership are likely to be prominent. But what should the issues be to lead Australia into the next decade? Join Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier and guests Michelle Grattan and Jo Knight in the first of the Archbishop’s public conversations for 2022.

Covid Economics: what comes next? – Oct 2019

In this first ‘Conversations with the Archbishop’ for 2021, Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Dr Philip Freier is joined by the CEO of Anglicare Australia Kasy Chambers and economist Saul Eslake to talk about how the Australian Government has responded to the economic challenges imposed by the pandemic and what it should be doing in the months and years ahead.

The Scandal of Victoria’s Housing Crisis  – Oct 2019

Archbishop of Melbourne Dr Philip Freier is joined by Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp and the Grattan Institute’s Brendan Coates to discuss the growing problem of homelessness and what political decisions might make a difference.

Loneliness: Australia’s next health crisis? –  Jun 2019

Archbishop Philip Freier discusses the causes, affects and those who are most at risk of loneliness in our society with Patrick McGorry, Professor of Youth Mental Health at Melbourne University, co-founder of headspace and former Australian of the Year, and Helen Page, head of Community Aged Care for the Brotherhood of St Laurence, in a discussion moderated by former ABC radio host John Cleary.

Victoria goes to the polls – Oct 2018

Dr Freier is joined by former Victorian Deputy Premier Pat McNamara and CEO of Launch Housing Bevan Warner to talk about the issues facing Victorians in the lead up to the state election.

Uncovering the cover-ups – May 2018

We know from recent history of the Church’s secrecy and avoidance of open process. But the Church is not the only institution to need scrutiny, as shown by the current Royal Commission into Banking. Government also should not be immune from scrutiny, as here too there is the temptation to conceal. The case for a national anti-corruption commission with real powers seems overwhelming. Meanwhile, the Government has proposed national security legislation that would criminalise much journalism that is now legal and vital, and thereby make it much harder to expose abuses. Former Supreme Court Judge David Harper AM, a member of the National Integrity Committee, and award-winning journalist and academic Margaret Simons join Melbourne Archbishop Philip Freier to discuss these vital issues.

Is there a problem with African youth? – Apr 2018

Featuring lawyer and social activist Nyadol Nyuon and Anglican minister Chaplain Soma, who are both members of the South Sudanese community, Dr Freier said the subject had become increasingly emotional, and polarising on many sides.

North Korea, China, and Australia in the age of Trump – Dec 2017

Will tensions between North Korea and the United States result in war, or even a nuclear Armageddon? Nuclear conflagration, biological warfare or conventional war on the Korean peninsula no longer seems unthinkable. If populism is the new democratic reality can civil society deal with complex issues? What if US President Donald Trump continues his apparently erratic foreign policy or is replaced by someone more irresponsible? Can Australia, an important regional ally of the US, avoid entanglement in any showdown with North Korea or, much more dangerously, China? Is the relationship between North Korea and China, its most important protector, as simple as it is sometimes portrayed, or do fissures run deep there too? Should Australia maintain its commitment to the US, or reconsider wider strategies for the Asia-Pacific? Geopolitical difficulties seem endless in a new world order in which the United States seems to be in retreat. Former Foreign Minister Bob Carr and University of NSW foreign affairs specialist Sally Burt joined Melbourne Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier to discuss these issues.

The Homelessness Crisis – Oct 2017

Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Dr Philip Freier, was joined by head of the Brotherhood of St Laurence Tony Nicholson and former homeless man turned homeless advocate Jason Russell to discuss the reality of the homelessness crisis facing Australia today.

Is Democracy Broken? – May 2017

Only 60 percent of Australians believe democracy is the best political system, according to a 2012 Lowy Institute poll. Mainstream political parties in Australia and around the globe are in crisis, with membership, public engagement and trust all plummeting. It seems populist parties are rising fast, but they failed two recent tests – Pauline Hanson in Western Australia and Gert Wilders in the Netherlands. What is going on in our democracies? Is there any way back? Can there ever be consensus? Must public policy now focus only on short-term solutions? Living National Treasure, Labor great and public commentator Barry Jones joins rights advocate Fiona McLeod, president of the Law Council of Australia, and Melbourne Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier for this Conversation with the Archbishop.

Ethics and the Big Banks – Dec 2016

A sizable majority of Australians want a royal commission to investigate unscrupulous behaviour by Australia’s big banks. Polls show they have not been placated by evidence by chiefs of the big four banks to Federal Parliament. How did the banks lose public confidence so badly? What might a royal commission uncover, and would it be worth the cost? How important are the banks to the Australian economy? Walkley Award-winning Age journalist Adele Ferguson provides some insights in a public conversation with Archbishop Philip Freier, moderated by ABC Radio’s John Cleary.

Refugees: A New Way – Oct 2016

Archbishop Philip Freier and Tim Costello, moderated by ABC Radio host John Cleary. For years, Australia’s refugee policy has staggered between two appalling problems: asylum-seekers getting on leaky boats and dying at sea, and the calculatedly callous and cruel approach of successive governments, leaving refugees to die slowly in offshore detention centers, all hope deliberately removed. Is there a way through this impasse?

The Quest for Meaning – Jun 2016

At least two in every three Australians believe in God or a ‘higher power’ but fewer than one in 10 go to church every week. yet religion is still growing around the world and, even in the materialistic West, the vast majority identify as spiritual, if not religious. Why do we insist on looking for a meaning to life, a sense of something beyond ourselves? Researcher on social commentator Hugh Mackay, who asks these and other questions in his new book, Beyond Belief, ventures on some answers in a public conversation with Archbishop Philip Freier, moderated by ABC Radio’s John Cleary.

Harnessing Religion’s Power for Peace – Mar 2016

The world’s religions have a mixed record when it comes to war and violence – sometimes complicit and sometimes providing a powerful narrative for peace and understanding. What can people of faith do to combat violence, reduce tensions and promote peace.

Can the planet be saved? – Nov 2015

The world has known of the dangers of climate change for several decades. Why has so little been achieved? Are we now on the verge of making progress? Will the Pope’s recent encyclical have any impact?

The Challenges Facing Young Australians – Sept 2015

Host: Archbishop Philip Freier Guests: Fatima Measham, Eureka Street Benson Saulo, former Australian Youth Representative to the United Nations

To see videos from earlier conversations please go to the Anglican Media Melbourne YouTube Channel