In Conversation: Expertise, trust & public communication (IN PERSON)

At home and abroad, “expert” institutions—universities, medical research centres, news organizations and government departments—are in crisis. In the 20th Century, these organizations were widely respected and helped define society’s core agendas. In the 21st Century, their expertise is mistrusted. Targets of political and cultural warfare, objective reporting and expert opinions are often met with denial, disinformation and intimidation. Experts who venture into the public sphere increasingly pay political, economic and personal costs. Lack of trust in public institutions and civil society comes at a time when those very groups are most needed to confront the challenges of our changing environment.

Join us as the Cradle Coast Campus of the University of Tasmania welcomes Paul Hardisty—environmental scientist, author and advocate—in conversation on the complex landscape of expertise, trust, and public communication.

Together with Darryl Stellmach, UTAS Lecturer in Emergency Management, we will explore mistrust and misinformation, how effective communication can bridge the gap between scientific expertise and public understanding, and what and informed and engaged society might look like in the 21st Century.

Paul E. Hardisty worked for over 30 years as an engineer and scientist, including with the CSIRO and most recently as CEO of Australian Institute of Marine Science. As an author, he has written about conflict in some of the world's most dangerous places. He is the author of seven novels, including the best-selling climate change thrillers The Forcing, and The Descent. His most recent non-fiction book, In Hot Water: Inside the Battle to Save the Great Barrier Reef, is out now. Currently he is completing a first-hand non-fiction account of the Ukraine war, based on visits in 2022, 2023, and 2025. He lives in Perth, WA.

Darryl Stellmach spent 20 years in humanitarian aid before transitioning to academia, where he specializes in disaster research and community resilience.