Does Our Media Help Or Hinder Democracy?

First Pub Night for 2026

Join us for a night of fun, froth and frivolity plus some lively debate when we discuss the influence of the media in Australian democracy. You'll hear from our guest speakers and you'll get a chance to have your say. And we'll wrap up the night with a game of pub bingo to see whether you were paying attention during the presentations.

Date: Tuesday, 12th May

Time: 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm

(If you don’t want food arrive at 7:30 pm for presentations only)

Venue: Matthew Flinders Hotel, 667 Warrigal Rd, Chadstone [HERE]

Speakers:

Sue Barrett is a civic campaigner, entrepreneur, and one of the consistent voices for democratic integrity in Australia. A co-founder of March4Justice and Voices of Goldstein, she managed Zoe Daniel's landmark 2022 Goldstein campaign and led the Goldstein for Yes referendum campaign in 2023. She is the founder of Democracy Watch AU and Before You Vote - a free, independent civic education platform publishing every Tuesday and Friday to cut through the spin, make sense of what is really going on, and give every Australian the tools and agency to act and vote for what genuinely matters to us - our families, our communities, our future. Sue has spent three decades building Barrett Consulting Group on the principles of ethical, human-centred business practice, and believes an informed, engaged community is the foundation of a healthy democracy and a fairer Australia.

Rachel Withers is a freelance journalist living on unceded Wurundjeri Woo-Wurrung Country. Rachel has written for Crikey, Meanjin, The Age, The Saturday Paper and The Monthly, where she was awarded Mumbrella's "2021 Columnist of the Year" for her newsletter, "The Politics". She has interviewed every current crossbencher with the exception of Dai Le and Andrew Gee who did not wish to chat, and Barnaby Joyce, though she's got plenty of thoughts on the matter.