Chief Minister's Governance Lecture


In a city like Canberra, the issues represented in our publicly available archives continue to have relevance and resonance today. The archives are not merely quaint relics of some long-forgotten past. They are vital resources, capable of informing our current debates while also accounting for our previous actions.

The Chief Minister's Governance Lecture highlights the rich resources that can be found in ACT Government archives, and their links with the debates in our city today.

This annual event provides the opportunity for a researcher of some standing to explore a topic relevant to the history of the administration of the ACT through the use of newly released archival records. The aim of the lecture is to encourage substantial use of the Territory's archives and to share the results of that research with the broader community through a public event.

The 6th Chief Minister's Governance Lecture was delivered by Professor Jen Webb from the the University of Canberra on 22 June 2022. Professor Webb delved into arts grants files of 2000 to explore the theme of "Art for Art's Sake" and to see what they can tell us today about what artists want to do and what we might think they can do for us.

A second lecture was presented in 2022 by Ms Deborah Stokes. Our 7th Chief Minister's Governance Lecture, held in October, was hosted by the Chief Minister Andrew Barr in association with the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA). The event was held during the week-long ASA National Conference held in Canberra. Ms Stokes, a Non-Executive Director of Transparency International Australia delivered her paper on 'Archives, Governance and Integrity', having delved into records made available by ArchivesACT relating to the development of the Territory Records Act. She then shared her thoughts on how good recordkeeping and archives benefit us today and into the future.

Links to our previous lectures are listed below.

Lecture Resources

7th lecture - For the benefit of current and future generations: archives, governance and integrity

6th lecture - Art for Arts Sake

5th lecture - Established as a Body Politic..: Thirty Years of Self-Government in the ACT

4th lecture - Data and Government: Opportunity and Trust 

3rd lecture - All Aboard:  The Journey of High Speed Rail 

2nd lecture - Content unavailable for release

1st lecture -  Governing the City State: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (PDF version 280Kb)