Full line-up of panellists announced for VAC’s 2016 Midsumma Hypothetical

After the huge success of last year’s inaugural, booked-out event, the Victorian AIDS Council’s (VAC)
Midsumma Hypothetical is back for 2016, featuring an all-star line-up of comedians, politicians and community leaders.
Using the format once made famous by Geoffrey Robertson on the ABC in the late 1980s, the event sees a panel of guests
discuss the implications of a hypothetical narrative around a particular theme.
VAC has today announced the full line-up for the hypothetical’s panel, including comedians Tom Ballard and Denise
Scott, Victoria’s Gender and Sexuality Commissioner Rowena Allen, community leaders Nic Holas and Aram Hosie, and
returning panellist, Australia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson.
Last year the panel took on partying and drug use in our community, but this year the hypothetical looks to the future of
LGBTI issues with 2022: A Queer Odyssey. What if a syphilis super-virus is making people blind? What if a boat of LGBTI
Muslim refugees arrived in Sydney Harbour? What if equal marriage still isn’t law in Australia?
Throughout the evening, the panel will scrutinise, dissect and tease out the issues arising from the hypothetical narrative,
with the panellists themselves often woven into the storyline by the moderator.
“A big part of why the hypothetical was so successful last year is down to how the storyline tapped into an important
topic for our community, partying and drug use, and got smart, engaging people talking about it in a public space,” said
VAC CEO Simon Ruth.
“We have an election coming up later this year, so this time around we wanted to use the theme to get stuck into some
of the big issues facing LGBTI people across the nation.”
Comedian Adam Richard is returning in 2016 to moderate the hypothetical, after featuring as a panellist last year.
“Last year’s show was enormously fun, but also it was challenging. All the feedback I got from people was that they found
it fascinating, insightful, and on another level, quite silly and fun,” he said.
“I would describe it as Q&A with actual jokes.”
Nic Holas, HIV activist and founder of The Institute of Many, said the format showed the value of public community
discussions.
“As an activist, I’m often asked how to get people to see the world the way you do, so things can change. That’s not really
my activism. I just want people to talk more about issues they are passionate about. We used to descend upon town halls
and talk it out,” he said.
“The internet is great for discussion, but there’s something even greater about being the in same room. It’s impossible
to forget everyone’s humanity.”
Victorian Gender and Sexuality Commissioner Rowena Allen added: “I’m excited to join the panel to explore the
hypothetical, 2022: A Queer Odyssey. Join us for the adventure.”
The full line-up of panellists for the 2016 VAC Midsumma Hypothetical:
• Tom Ballard, comedian
• Denise Scott, comedian
• Tim Wilson, Australian Human Rights Commissioner
• Rowena Allen, Victorian Gender and Sexuality Commissioner
• Nic Holas, founder of The Institute of Many
• Sophie Ismail, ALP candidate for Melbourne
• Aram Hosie, trans rights advocate
• Associate Professor Edwina Wright, HIV researcher
• Kim Gates, Executive Director of the Northern Territory AIDS and Hepatitis Council
• Dean Beck, journalist and broadcaster with JOY 94.9
2022: A Queer Odyssey is onTuesday, 19 January at 7PM at the Deakin Edge at Federation Square.
The event is free to attend, but spaces are limited. To register for the event, go to www.vac.org.au/hypothetical.