The 2009 lecture series, A Very Australian Conversation is presented by General Peter Cosgrove AC MC (ret'd). General Cosgrove's 40 years of military experience and service to the nation places him in a unique position to talk about the challenges and opportunities faced by society today and into the future. He will talk about things like national security, the wars we chose to be in and those we were asked to be in; our regional relationships and our leadership abilities both as a nation and as individuals; the political and sociological changes over his lifetime, and a future we might aspire to—one which will challenge our descendants.