Fifty years of standing up for the ABC, and we’re not done yet. Join us on October 17 for a day of analysis, speakers and thinking on what it will take to keep public broadcasting fearless, independent and free.
Tickets:
- General: $30
- Student: $5
Conference program
Arrive and help yourself to refreshments, tea and coffee and assorted sweet and savoury biscuits.
MC introduces:
- Proceedings and House-Keeping.
- Welcome to Country by Shannon Ruska, a member of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Redlands and Sunshine Coast tribal groups.
MC Facilitates with Q&A
Panellists
Mark Hayes, former ABC Journalist
Dr Mark Hayes was a researcher, occasional reporter and occasional producer of The 7.30 Report Queensland Edition between mid-1987 and the end of 1990, assisting with and reporting on the
Fitzgerald Inquiry, Expo 88 and the last years of the Bjelke-Petersen regime.
Jonathan Holmes, ABC Alumni Board
Jonathan Holmes began his career with the BBC in 1969, working as a producer on current affairs programs like 24 Hours, Nationwide and Panorama. In 1982 he was invited to Australia to become executive producer of ABC’s Four Corners. He never returned to the UK and has since served as Head of ABC Documentaries, as executive producer of Foreign Correspondent and The 7.30 Report, as an on-camera reporter for Four Corners and Foreign Correspondent, and for two years as an ABC correspondent in Washington DC (1998- 2000). He is perhaps best known for his five years as presenter of Media Watch (2008-2013). He continues to write on media affairs and is the author of On Aunty (2019).
Cassandra Parkinson, National President ABC Friend
Cassandra Parkinson is the National President of ABC Friends in Australia, a position she has held since August 2022. She is a prominent advocate for public broadcasting, campaigning for increased ABC funding, independent board appointments, and the restoration of high-quality services, particularly in the lead-up to the 2025 federal election.
MC Facilitates with Q&A
Jennifer Bowen is committed to public broadcasting. She has had a career in radio as a producer with the BBC World Service and ABC Radio National. In 2018, she completed a PhD on early spoken word radio in Australia and has been a lecturer in journalism at Monash University. She has published on early radio, including a blog on regional radio for the National Film & Sound Archive and produced the website ‘ABC Friends: the first 50 years’ in June 2026. She is the convenor of the ABC Friends Inner Melbourne group and active in community music in Melbourne.
MC Facilitates with Q&A
- Pamela Creed, President, ABC Friends Victoria
- Tess Howes, President, ABC Friends NSW & ACT
- Ross McDowell, President, ABC Friends Queensland
- Roger Joseph, President, ABC Friends Tasmania
- TBC, President, ABC Friends SA/NT
- Cathy Bardon, President, ABC Friends Western Australia
Subway Classic, Meat and Vegetarian (with gluten and dairy-free options ordered on the day)
MC facilitates:
- Break up into workshop groups, What you can do
- Summary of ideas and plans.
people can mix and mingle if they do not attend
with Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Drinks and Finger Food Provided