Boyer Lectures

How did we get to where we are as a nation? How many mistakes did we make along the way and how many things did we get right? Over General Peter Cosgrove's lifetime we have grown from a population of 7.5 million to just over 22 million, and in that time our society -- and as a result our nation -- has changed.

Australia has had its fair share of pivotal political moments over the years, moments that have engaged the interest and opinions of its people. Yet, through them all, our democracy and our institutions have stayed strong and we have remained peaceful.

Peter Cosgrove has led the army and then the entire defence force, so he is eminently well placed to talk about leadership. So for him, what makes a good leader? Does it matter if that leader is running a business, a country, or the school tuckshop?

If Australia were for sale how would the real estate agent describe it? If a potential buyer asked the neighbours what they thought, what would they say? In reality, the USA may be our closest ally but it's not our nearest neighbour, and how we interact with the countries closest to us will determine our challenges and our opportunities for the future.

He's spent a lifetime puzzling over national security and in his first lecture, General Peter Cosgrove makes mention of all the wars we've been involved in since WW2 and talks about their place in the Australian psyche. They might have been considered other people's wars, but we knew intuitively they were ours as well.

The Oxford of Rupert Murdoch's youth was one of the most privileged places on earth. But freedom and information have changed the order of things. On a global scale more people than ever are taking advantage of the revolution. And that's how it should be.

Rupert Murdoch's recent trips to China and India have convinced him of one thing: there is no alternative to economic growth as a remedy for poverty. Caste and communism have condemned hundreds of millions to wretched lives.

An important theme of the lectures is the pressing need for Australia to develop human capital. But to do this successfully our schools need serious reform, otherwise the global bar will seem set far beyond our reach.

Rupert Murdoch at heart is a traditional newspaperman. But he sees the wood for the trees. Newspapers will thrive in the 21st century if proprietors fully comprehend what it means to be alive in the era of information.

Technology has helped transform the world. Some say it has turned it upside down. Rupert Murdoch argues that we must not be prisoners of the past - modern day Luddites - if we are to succeed in the golden era.