The Brisbane Institute
The Brisbane Institute was an independent think tank based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. History The Brisbane Institute was founded in 1999. Peter Botsman, who had previously been the executive director of the Evatt Foundation, was the inaugural Director. Botsman left Brisbane in 2001 to run the Whitlam Institute at the University of Western Sydney. Operations were ceased in 2013, despite the organisation still having an active website. Their last social media post was on Twitter 27 September 2013, where it self-describes as "Queensland's forum for ideas, insight and innovation", and signalled the institution was defunct from that point onward. Activities and issues The Brisbane Institute was very active in its first two years, holding seminars, breakfast and lunch discussions and weekly lectures. Notable speakers included Noel Pearson, Derek Shearer, Peter Beattie, Anna Bligh, Justice Michael Kirby, Lady Kennedy of The Shaws and the painter Jeffrey Smart. The Institute specialised in social, political, economic and cultural issues. In 2004-05 it had a particular emphasis on the regional planning issues confronting South East Queensland. In addition to the regular functions, the Brisbane Institute also curated exhibitions, including 'The Two Hundred Kilometre City' and 'Defending the North: Queensland in the Pacific War'. The