The third and final event of our Uncensored Conversations, ‘Freedom of speech and censorship: How free are we?’ was held at 6pm in King’s Hall at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Canberra on 15 June 2010. Three members of Sydney hip hop group, The Herd, shared their thoughts alongside Professor Dr Julianne Schultz.

Event podcast

Download the podcasts of the final event, Freedom of speech and censorship: How free are we? held on 15 June, 2010.

• Introduction
• Julianne Schultz talk
• Julianne Schultz - questions and answers
• The Herd talk
• General questions and answers

The Herd have used music as an outlet to express their opinions on a variety of issues. Their song ‘77%’ – which features the line ‘77% of Aussies are racist’ – refers to survey results that revealed the majority of Australians agreed with the former Australian Federal Government’s response to the Tampa affair. With a history of expressing active opinions through their music, The Herd members will discuss how democracy influences the inspiration of their craft. Tracks of The Herd are included in the Museum of Australian Democracy’s Living Democracy exhibition.

Julianne is a professor at the Centre for Public Culture and Ideas at Griffith University in Queensland. At the 2020 Summit she co-chaired the Creative Australia session, which explored the future of Australian arts, film and design. She has also written extensively about the media and democracy.

You can follow the Museum of Australian Democracy on Twitter @MoAD_Canberra.