Welcome to The Gist Of It, the website that gives you the gist of what matters in Australian law and politics. Here you will find a series of interviews in which prominent Australians discuss the fundamental building blocks of Australian law, politics, and society.
Each interview is on a different topic – the Constitution, for example, or the education system – and features a different specialist. However, like the topics they address, the interviews are all connected, so the best way to get the most out of the website is to watch them all.
In our Quick Facts section, you will find summaries of what is said in each interview. In our Links and Recommendations section, you will find links to our sponsors – Liberty Victoria, the Australian Lawyers Alliance, and Amnesty International – as well as to further resources for the topics covered in the interviews.
The Gist Of It is an independent, not-for-profit project that aims to provide easily accessible information on the ideas and institutions that underpin Australian politics. By interviewing people who have a unique knowledge of each topic – from scientists and public servants to politicians and academics, many of whom have spent years working at the tops of their fields – we hope to go behind the news to shed light on the framework within which Australian politics takes place.
At The Gist Of It, we firmly believe that an informed public is an empowered public. By providing a forum in which some of the nation’s top minds discuss the issues that matter, we hope to contribute to the breadth and vitality of democracy in Australia.
