Centre for Independent Studies

On Liberty EP83 | Gerd Schröder - Turk | Who Runs Our Universities?

We welcome Murdoch University mathematician Prof Gerd Schröder-Turk, a specialist in nano-geometry and member of the university's board of directors, the Murdoch University Senate. In 2019, Gerd appeared as a key interviewee on the ABC Four Corners investigation "Cash Cows", speaking out about his university's over-reliance on international students. The university's ensuing attempt to remove him from Senate landed them in the Federal Court.
We'll be asking Gerd who really runs Australia's universities: their Senates or their Vice Chancellors? How are university Senates even appointed in the first place, and how should they be? Is there any effective government oversight? How much say should ordinary academics have in deciding how universities should be governed? And we can't resist asking him a question or two about the nano-geometry of advanced materials.

On Liberty EP82 | David Adler | The Wider Impact Of War

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused huge amounts of human suffering and has disturbed any complacency about the stability of the ‘international rules-based order’. This has implications not only for Russia’s immediate neighbours and Western European countries. It also has implications for countries such as Israel with whom Russia has had a significant relationship.
What impact is the war in Ukraine likely to have on Israel security strategy, a country which also faces instability in its region – most notably from Iran? What are the impacts on Jewish Ukrainians who have been confronted with devastation and displacement in their homeland?

On Liberty EP81 | Kathryn Stoner | The Russian Invasion And A New Global Order

To the eternal shame of Vladimir Putin and his Kremlin cronies, Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has opened a new era in global politics. As a consequence, it has seriously undermined the post-Cold War international system. What can the West do about it beyond fulminating on the sidelines?
Russia has developed an outsized ability to exercise considerable influence abroad. And despite having an economy smaller than Italy’s, Russia has managed to spread its tentacles around the world. The strategy is reminiscent of that pursued by the Soviet Union, which was locked for decades after the Second World War in a global battle for influence with America, but with one crucial difference: it’s not about ideology, just money and mutual convenience.
This week's episode of On Liberty on Wednesday, 12:30pm CIS executive director Tom Switzer questions Russia expert Kathryn Stoner, professor of political science at Stanford University and author of Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order.

On Liberty EP80 | John Sweller | We Must Follow The Educational Science

On the show this week, we welcome CIS contributor and University of NSW academic, Emeritus Professor John Sweller. Author of the recent CIS papers: Why Inquiry-based Approaches Harm Students’ Learning and Some Critical Thoughts about Critical and Creative Thinking. In his recent paper, he writes that the science on learning is settled and that schools must reflect this.
Professor Sweller argues, those who write curriculum, train teachers, and make policy often don’t know or follow the educational science. Resulting in evidence-free teaching practices being widely used, curriculums teaching things that are non-teachable, and students assessed on skills that can’t be properly measured. For decades, Sweller’s research has focused on understanding the process of how we learn, with wide implications for education policy and practice.
Join us, when host, Glenn Fahey asks how schools and teachers can better follow the educational science.
What does human evolution have to do with classroom learning? Why are there some things we learn easily and others that are much harder to learn? Do we learn better when we teach ourselves or when we have someone teach us? How can we promote creativity and critical thinking? What are the common misconceptions that dominate the educational establishment?

On Liberty EP79 | Stephen Loosley | Culture And The New Cold Wars

Join us for the return of On Liberty for 2022 as we talk to senior fellow at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre Stephen Loosley to find out what film can teach us about the possible cold wars to come. As Russia masses troops on the Ukrainian border and China ramps up its military presence in the South China Sea and South East Asia, the development of new Pacific and global alliances such as the quad and AUKUS creates tensions amongst the world superpowers, it seems like a new cold war is on the horizon.
But do rising tensions really mean that the West faces "New Cold Wars"? Maybe the movies can tell us. We discuss what films like Wolf Warrior, Viking, and of course Dr. Strangelove mean for the state of international affairs. Does Xi Jinping's weaponisation of Wolf Warrior II presage a more global Chinese military adventurism? Does Vladimir Putin's endorsement of Viking telegraph his intention to invade Ukraine? And what do our own Cold War movies tell us about ourselves? Join us on YouTube at 12.30pm, Wednesday 23 February, as we find out.
Stephen Loosley is a senior fellow at the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre and a former NSW Labor senator from 1990 to 1995 and ALP national president from 1991-1992.He is a regular commentator on US elections in Australian media outlets.

S2E10 | Nick Cater ‘Liberalism needs moral vision not just economics’

Rob and Nick discuss the liberalism of Robert Menzies for whom the independence of the individual was paramount and whether liberalism is somehow in tune with the human soul and, if so, why is it not widespread in today’s connected world? Nick explains to us that liberalism has a strong moral vision that works in practice.
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S2E9 | Gordon Menzies ‘Liberalism as fundamentalism?’

Gordon's book is available on Amazon now; https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0817QK9KR
Rob and Gordon discuss issues arising from Gordon’s 2020 book Western Fundamentalism in which he critiques the unquestioning, and therefore ‘fundamentalist,’ adoption of democracy, free marked economic liberalism and sexual freedom as basic.
Rob and Gordon discuss why liberalism has been so effective in producing economic prosperity but why it is ineffective if spread to other areas of human life. They discuss the nature of freedom and whether liberalism itself may be naive about evils – especially in relation to issues of aggressive woke politics.
Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public.
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S2E8 | Simon Mordant ‘Why liberalism is essential to the arts’

Rob and Simon discuss how important liberalism is as philosophy of freedom and equality, despite concerns it is not applied uniformly across the board. Simon is particularly concerned about what he sees as a widening divide between haves and have-nots. Although there are limits to liberalism, larger government is not the solution.
Business leaders and the community need to have a stronger voice in terms of some of the policy settings that are required to create a better society. Long-term strategic vision is essential.
Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public.
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S2E7 | Nyunggai Warren Mundine ‘Liberalism says No to the Voice to Parliament!’

Rob and Warren discuss at length why Warren believes liberalism is good for indigenous Australians, why the voice to parliament proposal is not a good idea, and why the unjust deprivation of the lands of the First Australians, as regrettable as it is, does not delegitimise our nation.
Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public.
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S2E6 | Andrew Bragg ‘Liberalism says Yes to the Voice to Parliament!’

Rob and Andrew discuss some of the provocative ideas in his recent book Buraadja; The liberal case for national reconciliation (Connor Court 2021). Andrew is concerned that it is an anomaly that there are a number of special laws for a particular people in Australia but no proper way that they can have a say in them. He believes that a voice to parliament can be consistent with liberal principles and answers criticisms of his position.
Good policy leads to great outcomes. CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public.
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