Beyond The Deficit Myth: Money, Government and the Public Interest | Sydney

A new interactive weekend seminar using modern monetary theory (MMT) as a guide to economic policy analysis, institutional reform, economic development, and promoting social justice and a transition to ecological sustainability.

The program will comprise a series of introductory talks by Associate Professor Steven Hail and participatory group discussions based on short articles and case studies covering the fundamentals of MMT.

This workshop will empower participants to counter the common narrative that significant climate action is unaffordable or must be paid for by implementing austerity measures.

Day One
9:30am—11:00am Part 1: Money - what it is and where it came from.
11:30am—1:00pm Part 2: The power of the purse - federal budgeting.
2:00pm—3:30pm Part 3: The big bad wolf - sources of inflation.
3:00pm — 4:30pm Part 4: FINDING THE MONEY documentary screening.

Day Two
10:00am—11:30am Part 5: The RBA - what it can do and what it can't.
12:00pm—1:30pm Part 6: Private money creation, financial resilience and financial fragility.
2:30pm—4:00pm Part 7: Exchange rates and international debt - small and not-so-small economies in a big system.
4:00pm—4:30pm Part 8: Things you and I could do next.

ABOUT FINDING THE MONEY:

An underdog group of economists is on a mission to instigate a paradigm shift by flipping our understanding of the national debt — and the nature of money — upside down.
FINDING THE MONEY follows former chief economist to Senator Bernie Sanders, Stephanie Kelton, on a journey to unveil a deeper story about money, injecting new hope and empowering democracies around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century: from climate change to inequality.

This event will be presented as part of Climate Action Week Sydney 2025.