The Power of Choice
Event details
Thursday 24 September 2026
6pm - 7.15pm ACST
Online & Allan Scott Auditorium, Hawke Building,
Adelaide University - City Campus West
55 North Terrace Adelaide
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24 September 2026
THE POWER OF CHOICE
Join us for a thought-provoking panel discussion exploring The Power of Choice and what it means to have autonomy and control at the end of life. Panellists include:
- Andrew Denton: Founder, Go Gentle Australia
- Julian Kingma: Award-winning Photographer, Author of The Power of Choice
- Annaliese (Annie) Holland: A 26-year-old Australian woman who has lived with Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy (AAG) since childhood
- Dr Chloe Furst: Palliative care specialist and VAD practitioner, Royal Adelaide Hospital
PANEL DISCUSSION
At the heart of this conversation is the story of Annaliese (Annie) Holland.
At age 26, Annie is confronting the end of her life with clarity and courage. Vibrant, funny and full of warmth, Annie is dying – and she has been frank about her intention to access voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
It’s a decision she describes as reclaiming dignity and agency after years of relentless suffering. “This isn’t me just choosing to end it,” she says. “I’m going to die anyway. It’s just me choosing when and how.”
In early 2026, Annie agreed to be photographed by Julian Kingma for the Walkley Award-winning The Power of Choice project in collaboration with Go Gentle Australia.
Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre and Go Gentle Australia
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About the power of choice
Julian Kingma is one of Australia’s most accomplished portrait photographers whose work is regularly exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. In The Power of Choice, Julian turns his camera on those who choose assisted dying, and those who help them on their final journey.
For 18 months, Julian travelled Australia to do something no-one has attempted before – document the people who choose VAD, and the families and health professionals who help them on their final journey. In this nuanced and powerful book, he captures their stories of hope, struggle, courage and acceptance in deeply personal portraits and photo essays.
His intimate portraits reveal the human face of these compassionate laws and invite us to ask, perhaps for the first time, what constitutes a good death?
Dymocks will be selling copies of Julian Kingma's The Power of Choice in the Auditorium foyer on the night of the event.
speakers
ANDREW DENTON
FOUNDER, GO GENTLE AUSTRALIA
An award-winning writer, performer and producer, Andrew Denton is one of Australian media's genuinely creative forces with a career covering radio, television, and film. Drawing from over 30 years of experience in the media, as well as his love for stories, Andrew has campaigned for compassionate laws around voluntary assisted dying (VAD) that help protect the vulnerable. A true advocate for dying Australians, Andrew established Go Gentle Australia in 2016 to help Australians with untreatable or terminal illnesses, as well as their families and carers.
JULIAN KINGMA
AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER, Author of The Power of Choice
Julian Kingma is an award-winning photographer who has been awarded Quill Awards for Best Portrait and Best Picture Story in addition to Australian Nikon Photographer of the Year. His work is regularly exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. Many of his works feature in their permanent collection.
Website: Julian Kingma
Annaliese (annie) holland
Annie is a 26-year-old Australian woman who resides in Adelaide, South Australia. She has lived with Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy (AAG) since childhood. She has been sick since the age of 12 but it took six years to diagnose the rare autoimmune condition that attacks the autonomic nervous system.
Dr Chloe FURST
geriatrician and palliative care physician,
Royal Adelaide Hospital
Dr Chloe Furst is a dual trained geriatrician and palliative care physician working across both specialties in the Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN). She is the Co-Head of unit for the Royal Adelaide Hospital Department of Geriatric and Rehabilitation Medicine and the state division president of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Geriatric Medicine (ANZSGM) as well as member of ANZSGM’s council.
Presented by
The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre and go gentle australia
While the views presented by speakers within The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre public program are their own and are not necessarily those of either Adelaide University or The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, they are presented in the interest of open debate and discussion in the community and reflect our themes of: Strengthening our Democracy - Valuing our Diversity - Building our Future. The Hawke Centre reserves the right to change their program at any time without notice.
