At the 1998 Constitutional Convention, despite the scores of eminent Australians in attendance, far and away the most notable speech was by Neville Bonner. Bonner rose from hardscrabble beginnings – literally born under a tree in northern New South Wales – to become a federal Senator for Queensland. He was a very proud Aboriginal man but, in a manner that confronts assumptions, was conservative in his politics, disposition and philosophy. This put him in lonely company, especially given the activism of the 1960s and 70s – the era of Bonner’s political awakening and ascendance. By the 1998 Convention he had […]

In this piece I warn against the dangers of dragging identity politics into Australia’s vice-regal office. Was Hurley the right choice? Let me know your thoughts. Please click below to read. Is our next Governor-General too safe, too male, too white?

I’m a big fan of our current system of constitutional monarchy and Australia not becoming a republic. Here are my thoughts rebutting the republicans’ claims in The Spectator. What are your thoughts – should we become a republic?

I’m not the world’s greatest fan of the American musician and rapper Machine Gun Kelly. In fact, I couldn’t even tell you one of his songs. But, like many people, I do enjoy paying attention to success and ‘MGK’ – as the distinctively white Cleveland-born 28-year old is known – appears to have it in spades. His recent stoush with Eminem has dominated entertainment headlines for months, catapulting Kelly to mega-stardom, listens, views, likes and all the other instruments we attribute to modern day success. But it was in 2015, prior the rapper’s current fame, where I remember his response […]

The Power of Varied Role Models Well, thank you Michael and Brooke. And thank you for the opportunity to very briefly reach out. My name is Sean Jacobs – the author of Winners Don’t Cheat: Advice for young Australians from a young Australian, which was released a few months ago. While the title of my book is “Winners Don’t Cheat” it is not a biography of the Australian cricket team! This is something I do get asked a lot. But the book covers topics on education versus employability, building skills, resilience, finding your aptitude, setting goals, how to properly look […]

A quick snippet of me on ABC Radio, advancing arguments against Australia becoming a Republic.

Check out this video – a great long-form chat on my book Winners Don’t Cheat. We talk about my turnaround story, finding your aptitude, education versus employability, and how to get more reading done.

Here’s a link to my latest piece on the Liberty Works website. It’s based on my recent speech at Liberty Fest 2018 on building better individuals and thriving in a great place like Australia. Enjoy the read and please comment for feedback. Overcoming the ‘red tape’ of character – identity politics

My appearance on Sky’s “Outsiders” to talk about my book – Winners Don’t Cheat – with Rowan Dean and Ross Cameron. In this extract I talk about resilience and the lessons from Margaret Thatcher and John Howard.

I thought I’d share with parents and young professionals some of the books that I wish I’d read sooner. Granted, this list may seem like a slight ‘stretch’ for a school-aged reader, as I didn’t conquer some of these books until my 20s. But I hope it achieves the right mix of self-development with a taste of the historical, economic and political issues that will continue to shape our country. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey Growing up in early 1900s Western Australia (WA), the late Albert Facey had an impeccably difficult life, with much more heartbreak and loss than […]