The Peter Wilenski Memorial Lecture is an annual event of the Australian Institute of Policy & Science; however, owing to the referendum on the republic, the Lecture for 1999 was replaced by a debate, as this was felt to be the best way to deal with this issue.

Established in 1995, the Lecture commemorates Dr Peter Wilenski AC, a renowned public servant who served as a Director of the Institute from 1977 to 1984. Born in Poland, Wilenski came to Australia as a young child and later had a distinguished career in various positions as public servant, academic, ministerial adviser and diplomat. Wilenski's qualifications spanned medicine, science and political science. From 1972 to 1974 he was principal private secretary to Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and in later years was Foundation Professor of the Australian Graduate School of Management (1977—1981); Chairman of the Public Service Board (1983—1987); Secretary, Department of Transport and Communications (1987—1988); Permanent Representative to the United Nations (1989—1992) and Secretary to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (1992—1993).

Peter Wilenski died on 3 November 1994, aged 55. Paul Keating, then Prime Minister, in offering condolences in the Australian Federal Parliament, said of Wilenski that, "Much of what he did, which seemed radical to some at the time, has now been integrated into Australian life, especially in the areas of social justice and access and equity in Australian public administration." He added that Wilenski was, "... a person of many dimensions", and "... a public servant in the highest tradition of public service in this country ...".

Notable speakers at the Peter Wilenski Memorial Lecture have included the Hon. Gareth Evans (then Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs), Justice Michael Kirby (High Court of Australia), and Professor Robert Officer (Melbourne Business School).

Canberra, 13 October 1999

The Peter Wilenski Debate was held at the Australian National University, Canberra, on Wednesday, 13 October 1999. The topic was "Should Australia Become a Republic?", a topic chosen in anticipation of the referendum on a republic to be held on 6 November 1999.

Speakers at the Debate were Associate Professor Malcolm Mackerras, political analyst and academic, who argued for the negative, and Ms Anne Witheford, the ACT Convenor for the Australian Republican Movement, who argued for the affirmative. The moderator was Mr Paul Bongiorno, political correspondent for the Channel 10 network.

The debate prompted some lively questioning from the audience, and hopefully stimulated further thought about this extremely important issue. We thank our speakers and moderator for their participation, and members of Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy and the Australian Republican Movement for their assistance in organising this debate.