Established in 1993, the CIS Bert Kelly Lecture Series runs lectures, seminars and policy forums that aim to present and encourage debate on vital national issues. Welfare, government involvement in universities, the health care system and free trade in Australia are some of the lecture topics in recent years.
The Bert Kelly Lecture Series is named after Charles Robert "Bert" Kelly, prominent member of the Australian Parliament and a Federal government Minister. He is possibly best known for his 'Modest Member' and 'Modest Farmer' articles published in newspapers and magazines nationally. For many years he was the lone parliamentary campaigner for free market ideas and against protectionism. Bert died in Adelaide on January 17, 1997.