Kate was on a panel of authors, converging in Sydney for the city’s annual writers’ festival, who were discussing the definition of free speech and its relationship to religion in a liberal society.
Before Kate’s final act, Q&A host Tony Jones warned some might find the content of the poem Progress offensive.
“The world is your playground, go and get your kicks as long as you’re not poor or ugly or sick,” was one of Kate’s tamer lines.
Others included: “All we have is surplus to what’s needed and we feed our callous little urchins in the best ways that we can and then we wonder how they’ve grown to only to know what’s in their hands.”
Kate’s performance sent social media into overdrive – many called it a rant and horrific.
But the vast majority were supportive and inspired by her passion.
The poet was just as outspoken in the debate, breaking in on a conversation on the problems with Middle Eastern regimes by saying: “It’s interesting we’re talking about these diabolical regimes but there is an equally diabolical regime in power which is the regime of capitalism controlling … which is oppressing its people.
“You talk about the terrible regimes where young people can’t work. That’s Britain.
“We can spot barbarity in other cultures in our past but when it’s in our midst we find it harder to accept and own up to it. We are in the middle of a barbarous time and greed is at the root of it. I don’t disagree it’s terrible in Saudi Arabia but I also think what’s terrible is … what’s happening in Australia, what’s happening in my country, in Britain, I have been in America doing this book tour and seen it for myself, the divides between people.”
