Long-form debate is disappearing in the era of the soundbite, the highlights package and the Q and A. So this old-school event, organised by the University of Western Sydney, is a welcome change.
Applause, too, for Guy Barnett, the former Liberal senator for Tasmania, who would have turned up knowing that his relentlessly conservative viewpoints were not going to play well.
This program will screen at 10pm tonight on TVS (Sydney).