2024 Solomon Lecture

The annual Solomon Lecture is a signature event marking International Access to Information Day (IAID) and this year the keynote was delivered by Professor AJ Brown AM from Griffith University.

Professor Brown's keynote is titled, ‘Push, Pull and Public Trust: Taking stock of citizens’ rights to know in a ‘Free Assange’ Australia’. A synopsis is below:

"Public trust and participation in government continues to hinge on ready access to official information. Yet the Australian policy landscape is riddled with tensions and mixed messages - from strengthened support for the proactive release of confidential information, to fragility and underfunding in information rights enforcement; from the moral and political victory of Julian Assange's return to Australia as a convicted but free citizen, to the Commonwealth Government's prosecution of public interest whistleblowers such as David McBride and Richard Boyle. This lecture will attempt to make sense of, and some recommendations for, this conflicted policy landscape, with a focus on the lessons of effective information rights enforcement for other areas of the Queensland and national integrity systems, especially the duties and protections applying to the public officials who serve us as primary custodians of public interest information."

The 2024 Solomon Lecture was followed by a panel discussion. Journalist and media personality, Ms Kendall Gilding, moderated the panel featuring:

  • Ms Elizabeth Tydd, Australian Information Commissioner
  • Ms Angela Pyke, Deputy Ombudsman Queensland
  • Mr Matthew Cooke, Chairperson, Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council
  • Professor AJ Brown, Griffith University

About Professor AJ Brown AM

Professor AJ Brown is a professor of public policy and law in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University. In this role, Professor Brown specialises in public integrity, accountability, governance reform and public trust. He is also Chair of Transparency International (TI) Australia, the world anti-corruption organisation, having served since 2010 on the TI Australia board of directors, and from 2017-2022 on the TI global board.

In 2019-20, Professor Brown led development of TI's worldwide strategy 'Holding Power to Account, 2021-2030'. In 2023, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to the law and public policy, particularly through whistleblower protection.