Paul Bibby
For nearly five years the Nagara Institute created a space for the critical discussion of progressive ideas and agendas, bringing some of Australia’s foremost thinkers to the Shire.
But after dozens of successful events attended by thousands of locals, the activist think tank is no more.
With its founder and convenor Richard Hil stepping down, Nagara’s management committee elected to pull the pin last week.
‘When we planned our first Politics in the Pub – an idea first muted by Hans Lovejoy – I thought we might get 50 people through the doors,’ Mr Hil said.
‘In fact, nearly 200 people rocked up. Wow! Clearly, there was a thirst for critical discussion out there, even in nirvana-central Mullum!’
‘I hope that we made a small difference to our local community and perhaps, too, that we made the world a slightly better place.’
Mr Hil said one major thought had guided him through the past five years at Nagara’s helm.
‘That bringing people together to discuss critical ideas and making them happen, in whichever way people choose, is a small but vital element in what is a global movement to dismantle and replace the train wreck that is racialised neoliberal capitalism,’ he said.
‘It’s also a means of building civic connection and enabling people to enjoy each other’s company – something I think most of us value.
From a standing start, Nagara grew into a major force within the Shire and beyond, drawing hundreds to the Civic Hall and the Courthouse Hotel to see speakers such as Jilian Triggs, Julian Burnside and Hugh Mackay.
There was also a particularly powerful presentation from indigenous author Thomas Mayer.
‘That was a special moment indeed,’ Mr Hil said.
‘What I sensed was the deep, unresolved pain and hurt of Australia’s First Nations people as well as the immense dignity and determination to achieve the justice to which they are fully entitled.
‘Australia is the sacred land of the Frist Nations people and until a treaty is drawn up there will be no reconciliation of the nation’s heart, soul and mind. The violent colonial takeover of Country and the continuing oppression of Indigenous people will remain a dark stain on this nation.’
In 2020, Nagara elected to direct its focus to arguably the key issue of our time, climate change and the ecological crisis, asking the question ‘How shall we live?’.
‘Above all, we need to reconnect with each other, build stronger neighbourhoods and communities, and bolster civic life – away from corrosive hyper-individualism,’ Mr Hil said.
‘We need more civility, sharing, caring, kindness, compassion, and respectful, supportive communities.
‘It’s by investing in civility, civic life and promoting social power and ecological democracy that we can build intersectional communities capable of withstanding what is to come, and in the process, co-creating a radically different way of life.’
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
