George Negus

After studying Arts and later journalism at Queensland University and pursuing a career into his late 20s as a high school teacher, George Negus entered journalism commencing with several years of reporting for The Australian and Financial Review newspapers. In between, there was a brief spell behind the political scenes in Canberra with then Attorney General Lionel Murphy leading to his first TV political interviews on the irreverent and highly regarded flagship ABC TV's This Day Tonight.
George's list of interviewees and profiles over the years, both nationally and internationally spans politics, the arts and sport. His "wonderful, warm, common touch" aids George's profiles of their non-famous equivalents in his efforts to reveal the Australian persona.
Like any versatile journalist George Negus has also covered a huge gambit of community issues -- addressing the treatment of the intellectually disabled, the scandal of uranium dump sites in outback Aboriginal settlements and the economic fortunes of "Down Under" - working alongside some of the great cameramen and producers of the past twenty years.
Throughout his public career, George's commitments extended to various boards and committees including the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal's Violence Inquiry, the Federal Government's Environmental Futures Group, the Order of Australia Committee, Soccer Australia, Saggi - the promotional of Italian language & culture and LandCare.
In 2004, George Negus hosted the 6.30pm national time slot on ABC Television. Recommissioned for 2003/04 and renamed George Negus Tonight, the trends and issues program included an Australia-wide team of reporters and producers.
George Negus has unforgettable contributions as founding presenter of two of Australia's most watched television current affairs programs, Channel Nine's Sixty Minutes (1979-86) and ABC Television's Foreign Correspondent (1992-99) as well as Nine's Today Show and ABCs This Day Tonight.
George Negus currently presents Dateline at 8.30pm each Wednesday - the SBS flagship current affairs program.

Speaker Topics Include:

Australia – Are We Ready for the Third Way?
Facilitator and MC
Life as a Foreign Correspondent
The Personalities of Power