Anne Summers on 50 tumultuous years

Since the 1970s, the writing of Dr Anne Summers AO – trailblazing feminist, author, journalist, editor and publisher – has helped define the important issues of our time. In conversation with Natasha Stott Despoja AC, Dr Summers will delve into her latest book Witness: People. Politics. Culture. Feminism. 1975-2025.

In this first-ever collection of her reportage, essays, interviews and articles, Dr Summers demonstrates the wry and incisive power of her observations and analysis. She revisits the vindictive politics of the Julia Gillard era, the unexpected legacy of Malcolm Fraser and the way John Howard upended the agenda for women’s equality.

Beyond the politics, Dr Summers explores the Mexican patron saint of drug runners, the terrorist bombing of an Ariana Grande concert and the women who marched against rape in war on ANZAC Day. She also reflects on the death of her mother, finally providing a headstone for a violent grandfather, sharing her name with a chain of sex shops and why she couldn’t throw out her Swinging Sixties wedding dress.

In a collection as varied and deeply considered as her own life, Dr Summers tells the stories of the people, issues and moments that have shaped our past and are key to understanding today’s tumultuous world.

Copies of Dr Anne Summers AO's Witness: People. Politics. Culture. Feminism. 1975-2025 will be available to purchase in the Auditorium foyer on the night of the event.

Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre 

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