Don't give up

One of the most compelling aspects of working for the Don Dunstan Foundation is delving more deeply into our founder’s approach to social change. Politics is a flawed science, as we all know, but Don gives us an effective roadmap for making change. The proof is in his unmatched record of reform.

A notable theme in his approach is patience, which has surprised me given he’s most well-known for achieving a seemingly huge cascade of change in a relatively short time. But many of these reforms were a decade or more in the making.

For example, as Attorney-General, Don had approval from Cabinet to introduce legislation decriminalising homosexuality. It took 10 years before a Private Members’ Bill eventually passed, in 1975, the 50^th anniversary of which we’re celebrating this year.

The patience wasn’t a result of timidity, but of deep care for achieving the best result for the community. Don understood South Australians well, and worked to convince them of both the principles and the evidence behind his ideas.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as our community grapples with long-standing problems, with our responses sometimes thrown off-track by something that Don never had to contend with – a fragmented and online-driven media environment.

The toxic algae bloom, for example, has clear causes supported by science – in brief, a marine heatwave and a heavy supply of nutrients and other 'favourable' occurrences. Despite the evidence, though, conspiracy theories have abounded. As we see our precious marine environment devastated, public figures are still calling for the end of net zero, because we “can’t afford it”. Yet, the algae bloom is a concrete example of  economic damage caused by climate change - here and now. The ecological damage and the psychological pain for many South Australians cannot be measured so easily.

We can’t give up on trying to limit climate change and we can’t give up on consistent and goals-focused advocacy for the right policies to achieve this.

The Foundation is increasingly focused on supporting evidence-based policy – and convincing the community of its merits. One part of this process is a new series of “Spotlight” articles on our website, with links to resources for advocates who support our policy agenda.

We’ve written so far about the algal bloom, youth justice (an area that desperately needs facts and evidence to be put to the fore), poverty, and the importance of public advocacy and protest. We’ll be publishing these articles weekly on our website. Click the link below to read.

David Washington

Executive Director

Raise a Glass to Don

The Don Dunstan Foundation’s annual Raise a Glass celebration is coming soon and tickets are now available.

The annual fundraiser will be back at the Strathmore Hotel on North Terrace for the second year running, with drinks, food and great company on the agenda.

The event celebrates the lifting of the six o’clock swill by Don in 1967, but has grown into a broader celebration of the former Premier’s legacy and achievements.

Event Details:

• When: Thursday, 18 September 2025

• Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

• Where: The Strathmore Hotel - Verandah Bar, 129 North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000

Tickets available for Homelessness Summit

The Don Dunstan Foundation is pleased to support the South Australian Zero Homelessness Summit, coming in October.

The summit, convened by the South Australian Alliance to End Homelessness and the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness, will bring together people and organisations interested in ending homelessness in South Australia.

The locally-focused summit will:

• Show that homelessness is solvable by showcasing proven solutions from South Australia and beyond, including Advance to Zero.
• Strengthen collaboration across government, community organisations and housing providers to accelerate progress.
• Elevate lived experience voices to ensure that the people most affected are central to the conversation.
• Align advocacy efforts ahead of the South Australian state election, securing commitments and investment to end homelessness.

Event Details:

• When: Thursday 23 October 2025
• Time: 8:00am–5:00pm ACDT
• Where: Adelaide Convention Centre

Save the Date!

We’ve got an exciting announcement soon about the Don Dunstan Foundation’s event at Feast Festival celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the decriminalistion of homosexuality.

On the evening of Wednesday, November 19, our event will focus on some rarely heard voices and stories from the campaign, with a very special musical accompaniment.

The Feast program is announced next month and we’ll provide the exciting details to our newsletter subscribers as soon as it’s released.

Last chance to complete our survey

The Don Dunstan Foundation has prepared a short survey to help us better understand our community, including the issues that concern you.

If you haven't done so already, we’d appreciate it if you could complete our survey – it should take about 10 minutes. We'll be closing the survey at the end of this month.

Completing the survey is voluntary and your responses will remain anonymous. Your answers will inform our work and how we communicate with you.

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