Q&A. Love it or loath it, or maybe a bit of both. But there is no denying that it strikes a chord with a sizable portion of the Australian population who would perhaps rather not be watching A Current Affair, Today Tonight or their new lovechild: The Verdict.

Along with talk-back radio and editorial sections in newspapers, these traditional media platforms still wield enormous influence over our community’s views – I don’t believe they merely reflect the opinions of their participants, but actively and powerfully engage their audiences. At their best, they challenge us to examine our own beliefs critically and promote constructive debate. At the other end of the spectrum, they encourage blind conformity and mob mentality.

On Monday (November 9th), Q&A will be “Facing Death“. The diverse panel includes Andrew Denton, Karen Hitchcock, Ralph McConaghy, Ana Lamaro and Rodney Syme. It promises to be a great programme on an important topic and I would encourage everyone to tune in if possible.

To warm up for the Q&A forum, I would also like to invite/remind everyone to join in our #PallANZ tweet chat on tonight (7pm Sydney) and “Let’s talk about death, baby!”

Andrew Denton’s speech a few days ago is also worth reading in the lead up to the Q&A forum. It certainly asks important questions of all of us involved in palliative care to reflect on what we do and how we can do it better. Hopefully it can help to promote (rather than distract or stifle) important conversations about death and dying in our community.