Hamer Oration
In 2007 the first of an annual series of lectures on the topic of good government - the Hamer Oration - was held in conjunction with the University of Melbourne. Author and social commentator Hugh Mackay delivered this first Hamer Oration to an audience of several hundred people, using the title 'Relaxed and comfortable? Or diminished and disengaged?'
Previously, in October 2006, a lecture in memory of David Hamer was delivered by Harry Evans, Clerk of the Senate. The event was held at Parliament House, Melbourne, in conjunction with the Australian Study of Parliament Group.
David Hamer, MHR for Isaacs for eight years and a Victorian Senator for another twelve, was a great champion of the committee system in the Senate and an advocate of reform to the Westminster system, as outlined in his book 'Can Responsible Government Survive in Australia?' Harry Evans' lecture, titled 'Government Majority in the Senate: a Nail in the Coffin of Responsible Government?', covered similar territory and provoked lively debate.
