The third and final event of the Uncensored Conversations Speaker Series, ‘Freedom of speech and censorship: How free are we?’ was held in King’s Hall at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Canberra on 15 June 2010. Three members of Sydney hip hop group, The Herd, (Urthboy, Ozi Batla and Traksewt) shared their thoughts alongside Professor Dr Julianne Schultz.

The Herd have used music as an outlet to express their opinions on a variety of issues. Their song ‘77%’ – which features the line ‘77% of Aussies are racist’ – refers to survey results that revealed the majority of Australians agreed with the former Australian Federal Government’s response to the Tampa affair. With a history of expressing active opinions through their music, The Herd members will discuss how democracy influences the inspiration of their craft. Tracks of The Herd are included in the Museum of Australian Democracy’s Living Democracy exhibition.

Tracks from The Herd are included in the MOAD-LD exhibition, along with some brilliant photos of The Herd and the other speakers captured by celebrity photographer Robin Sellick (Robin Sellick Webpage). Each Uncensored Conversations event has been recorded and are available as a free podcast at: www.moadoph.gov.au.

aahh’s interview with Herd member Traksewt (Kenny Sabir)

Direct Podcast Page Links
Event 1: Immigration, asylum seekers and refugees: What is the real impact? – With Les Murray and Abdalla Ahmed.

Event 2: Involvement or intrusion: Where is the line for our Government? – With Tim Costello and Stephen Kenny.

Event 3: Freedom of speech and censorship: How free are we? – With Members Of The Herd and Dr Julianne Schultz.

Image credit
Photograph by Robin Sellick.

You can also follow the Museum of Australian Democracy on Twitter  @MoAD_Canberra.