VAC Brings Back the Hypothetical for Midsumma Festival 2015

During Midsumma, Melbourne’s annual three-week queer cultural festival, VAC is
partnering with the City of Melbourne to host a one-night event that uses the “hypothetical” panel
discussion format once made famous by Geoffrey Robertson on the ABC. With a panel including Australian
Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson, media personalities Judith Lucy and Adam Richard as well as
a line up of community leaders and health specialists, the event will be held at Melbourne Town Hall
on Tuesday 20 January at 7PM and will be moderated by Rob Moodie, Professor of Public Health at The
University of Melbourne.
“A hypothetical is such a effective way of getting meaningful insights from a panel of experts and leaders.
It surprises me that we don’t see it used more often,” said VAC CEO Simon Ruth. “The Geoffrey Robertson’s
Hypothetical episode ‘Does Dracula Have AIDS?’ from 1986 changed health policy overnight. VAC hasn’t
hosted a hypothetical since 2000, so it’s certainly time to introduce a new generation of the community
to this type of event.”
The hypothetical format explores social issues using a fabricated narrative as a framework for panelists to
discuss the considerations and possible ramifications for the characters involved - often with themselves
being woven into the storyline by the moderator. Professor Rob Moodie will be moderating VAC’s upcoming
hypothetical. Moodie was the inaugural Director of Country Support for UNAIDS in Geneva from 1995-98,
CEO of VicHealth from 1998-2007, chaired the National Preventative Health Taskforce from 2008-2011 and
was a member of the Commission on AIDS in the Pacific.
Rob Moodie says the audience can expect, “a set of compelling and important issues at the heart the
hypothetical which will be unearthed by a group of opinionated, smart and funny panellists in a format
that will make Geoffrey Robertson proud! I just didn’t want to miss it.”
Entitled MJ Loves Tina, Charlie’s Chasing Harry, the upcoming hypothetical will explore the social issues
surrounding drug use within the gender, sex and sexually diverse communities here in Melbourne and
Sydney. Panelists for the event include:
• Australian Human Rights Commissioner, Tim Wilson
• Judith Lucy
• Adam Richard
• Assoc Prof Edwina Wright
• ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill
• Assoc Prof Nadine Ezard
• Living Positive Victoria Executive Officer Brent Allan
• Jez Pez
• JOY 94.9 Presenter Dean Beck
• Steven Spencer
This event is free to attend, but spaces are limited. To register for the event, go to:
midsumma.org.au/event/mj-loves-tina