Pod On The Hill - Victorian Labor Podcast

With Ministerial portfolios that cover Youth, Women and the Prevention of Family Violence, Gabrielle Williams has plenty on her plate, but she took some time our of her busy schedule to join us this week on Pod On The Hill. Toby Halligan spoke to the Minister about why she decided to quit studying creative writing to focus on the law, what speaking to ex-IRA prisoners taught her about how societies recover from violent conflict, and the progress the Andrews Government has made in helping survivors of family violence.

This week our guest is Martin Pakula, the Minister for Racing, Jobs, Innovation & Trade, Tourism, Sport & Major Events. We talk about why so many children of immigrants join the Labor Party, what he won when he appeared on Sale of the Century and why he loves gangster films.

2019 has been a busy year across Minister Martin Foley portfolio's of Equality, Mental Health and Creative Industries. Toby Halligan sits down with the Minister to talk through the Andrews Government's iconic changes to Victoria's birth certificate laws, the stories from the mental health Royal Commission, and why it's important to have a portfolio dedicated to the arts.

Fresh from the latest battle in the Coalition's War on Workers Sally McManus joins us to talk about the defeat of the "Ensuring Integrity Bill".

The Parliament has wrapped up for the year. Conrad French and Nicola Castleman caught up with Member for Essendon Danny Pearson and Member of the Legislative Council representing the Western Metropolitan Region Ingrid Stitt for the 2019 Parliamentary Wrap.

Andrew Leigh is the member for Fenner in the Federal Parliament. He joined Pod on the Hill as he launches just this week his new book "Innovation + Equality", which he co-wrote with economist Joshua Gans. The book explores the tensions between these two critical ideals. Andrew argues that equality can stay at the forefront of our movement even while we embrace innovation. We ask him how.

Australia is a successful multicultural society with monocultural institutions and symbols. Tim Watts' family personifies this contradiction. He joins Toby Halligan to discuss his new book which investigates why Australia's imagined community is so far behind its lived community and what can be done.

Nick Staikos won the critical seat of Bentleigh in the Victorian state election in 2014 with a margin of just 0.8%. Fast-forward to 2018 and he increased his margin to over 11%. We discover how Nick’s values were shaped by his parents who migrated from Greece in the 1960s and 70s and how his grandfather's love of Gough Whitlam cemented those views. We also talk about Nick’s time on Glen Eira Council and how that has helped him as the member for Bentleigh.

Steve Bracks is a legend of the Labor Party and we've just celebrated the 20th anniversary of his historic victory over Jeff Kennett in the 1999 election. Nicola Castleman sat down with Steve to talk about that remarkable election.

As the clock ticks down on the United Kingdom’s deadline for a Brexit deal, Toby Halligan speaks to Monash University and expert in all things Brexit, Dr Ben Wellings. Is the UK approaching yet another cliff in the never ending slap-stick tragedy of Brexit? Would a second referendum yield a different result? What will it all mean for Australia? Ben answers all this and more on this week’s Pod On The Hill.

Senator Kim Carr joined the podcast this week, to discuss a new inquiry taking place in the Senate. With a look back into history and an examination of the tensions in Australia and abroad Kim discusses his inquiry into nationhood, national identity and democracy. As the world grapples with technological transformations, social fragmentation and the loud disturbances from the extremist fringes how do we protect and enhance our hard-won democratic institutions?

It is Grand Final week! We're joined by Shadow Minister for Health Chris Bowen, plus GWS fan and Richmond stalwart and Member for Bayswater Jackson Taylor.

This week Nicola Castleman interviewed Chris Brayne, Member for Nepean in the Victorian Parliament. They spoke about his stunning win in 2018 which left Antony Green stuck for words, the journey via Indonesia to his brand new parliamentary career and a little bit about the gorgeous Mornington Peninsula he loves so much.

Timor Leste was witness to dramatic scenes 20 years ago as they embarked upon their independence from Indonesia. Damien Kingsbury joined Nicola to relate the history of Timor Leste's incredible journey from colony to young democracy, Australia's varying role through the decades and the challenges ahead for our close friends to the north.

Nicola sat down this week with activists from Hospo Voice to discuss conditions for staff in Melbourne's hospitality industry. Wage theft and sexual harassment confront alarming numbers of hospitality workers, but James and Tim are making a difference in the industry. They also give us tips on how we can make an enormous difference in the industry, whether we're hospo workers or not.