Afternoon Light

Andrew Fankhauser on Konfrontasi & the evolution of Australian defence policy | Menzies Early Career Network

In this special series of the Afternoon Light podcast Georgina Downer speaks with participants from the Menzies Early Career Network to discuss their chapters in the new book, Menzies Rediscovered: A new generation’s inspiration for political philosophy, domestic challenges and foreign affairs.
In this episode, Georgina speaks with Andrew Fankhauser on the topic 'Konfrontasi and evolving defence policy'.
The Menzies Early Career Network (MECN) is a flagship program of the Robert Menzies Institute, designed to identify, nurture, and connect a new generation of emerging leaders with a deep understanding of Australia’s national story.
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Brent Taylor on Australia's WW2 Commander Sir Thomas Blamey: "A real stomach for pugnaciousness"

How did Australia's most decorated military leader become so loathed, & is his negative reputation unfair?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Brent Taylor to discuss the distinguished yet controversial career of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey. The man Robert Menzies chose to lead the Australian Army in World War Two, and who equally received the full backing of John Curtin. Yet, a figure who has since been subject to an extensive smear campaign for allegedly accusing the heroes of the Kokoda Track of 'running like rabbits'.
Brent D. Taylor is an engineer and businessman, specialising in quantitative research and statistics, including benchmarking studies for management in the private and public sectors. His focus on Thomas Blamey stems from a keen long-term interest in military history and high-impact leaders, having previously written three books on what drove extreme achievers. He is a member of Military History & Heritage Victoria and has been mentored on by senior military officers in authoring Blamey: The story of Australia's greatest general. Brent lives in Richmond in Melbourne.
 
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Leila Brammer on the art of fostering healthy debate: "Tell me more"

Is the sickness of modern democracy our increasing inability to argue constructively, with an honest view towards convincing or even learning from our opponents?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Leila Brammer to unpack the centrality of debate to democracy, why its quality has declined in recent years, and what we can do to reverse the trend. For as Robert Menzies said, ‘if truth is to emerge and in the long run be triumphant, the process of free debate, the untrammelled clash of opinion must go on’.
Professor Leila Brammer is Director of Outreach and Instructional Development of the Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse at the University of Chicago. The University of Chicago’s Parrhesia Program for Public Discourse aims to foster ‘vigorous, inclusive, and productive public discourse’ through its undergraduate curriculum, live events, and support for principles of free expression. Professor Brammer’s academic work focuses on rhetoric — how arguments are made, how persuasion works, and how public disagreement shapes democratic life. She studies not just what people argue about, but how they argue — which goes directly to the heart of respectful disagreement.
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Andrew Hastie on 75 Years of ANZUS & the Challenges that Australia Faces Today: "What value do you bring"

After 75 years of the Australian-American Alliance, are we still pulling our weight?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Andrew Hastie to mark 75 years of the ANZUS Treaty and explore the myriad of challenges that Australia faces today. From unpredictable allies to deindustrialisation, the complacency with which we have coasted through the post-Cold War period will no longer keep us safe.
The Hon Andrew Hastie MP is Shadow Minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability, and the Member for Canning in the House of Representatives. Mr Hastie completed a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in History and Philosophy through the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy. In 2006, he graduated officer training at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. In 2009, Mr Hastie deployed to Afghanistan as a Cavalry Troop Leader. In 2010, he was selected for service with the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) as a Troop Commander, taking commands in maritime and special reconnaissance capabilities. He deployed to Afghanistan again in 2013 as a Troop Commander with the Australian Special Operations Task Group. During his service with the SASR, he deployed to various theatres in the Middle East and Indo-Pacific.
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Damien Wright on the Anzacs who fought in the Russian Civil War: "Tragedy... in that remote Russian forest so many years ago"

How early did Australia come to see Russian Bolshevism as a threat to the world?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Damien Wright to reveal the untold story of Anzac involvement in the Russian Civil War. Our nation's first battle against communism, which saw two Australians win the Victoria Cross, only for their heroism and sacrifice to be all but forgotten.
Damien Wright is a historian and author with a lifelong interest in Australian military history. He is a recognised expert on British military operations in Russia and author of the books, Churchill’s Secret War with Lenin: British and Commonwealth Military Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1918-20 and Australia’s Lost Heroes: ANZACs in the Russian Civil War 1919. In 2019 he travelled to Russia with the grandson of Sergeant Samuel Pearse, VC, MM and held a commemoration on the 100th Anniversary at the site of his death and posthumous Victoria Cross action, the first time an Australian had visited the location in 100 years. His articles have been published in Journals of The James Caird Society, The Orders and Medals Research Society and commercial history magazines. He holds a Security, Terrorism and Counterterrorism degree and works in the international education sector.
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Michael Gawenda on the rise of antisemitism in Australia: "Growing up... I don't even think I knew what it was"

How did Australia go from being the 'golden land' to a place of persecution?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Michael Gawenda to unpack the horrific rise of antisemitism in Australia. Drawing on his own family history as Menzies era migrants, and recent experiences as a prominent Jew in Australia's media landscape.
Michael Gawenda is a multi-award winning journalist and former editor-in-chief of The Age - the only Jewish editor-in-chief in the newspaper’s history. In 2023 he published a memoir, My Life as a Jew, which won the Leslie and Sophie Caplan Award for Jewish Non-Fiction at the Shalom Australian Jewish Book Awards. He now provides regular commentary and reflections on his substack, Gawenda Unleashed.
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Joseph Healy on what Adam Smith would make of modern Australia: "We focus so much on what is counted and lose sight of what counts"

250 years after Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, have we in Australia forgotten the foundational economic lessons that Smith offered?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Joseph Healy to resuscitate the insights of famous Scottish Enlightenment thinker Adam Smith to help tackle Australia's current problems. From cost of living and housing crises to corporate cronyism and moral decline, Smith can help us understand why we've gone wrong, and what we can do to bring back not just our prosperity, but our vitality.
Joseph Healy is a career international banker and mental health entrepreneur. He was a co-founder and CEO of Judo Bank, a bank created to serve the needs of the SME economy - the baker, the butcher, and the brewer. He is also a co-founder and Executive Chairman of Malu Health Group, which specialises in mental health care. Joseph holds six master’s degrees in subjects covering financial economics, business studies, Chinese studies, and the psychology and neuroscience of mental health. He is the author of What Would Adam Smith Make of Modern Australia? How Lessons from the Past Provide Answers for a Better Future.
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Ben Saunders on the intent behind Australia's utilitarian Constitution: "The Character of the People"

Does Australia's utilitarian constitution reflect a lack of inspiration on the part of our founding fathers?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Ben Saunders to unpack the intent behind the framing of Australia's constitution. Something which eschewed grand value statements and a Bill of Rights, in favour of trusting the Australian people to 'breathe life' into the 'dry bones' of constitutional machinery. Under the understanding that it's ultimately the quality of the electors, rather than the theoretical designing of the institutions, that ultimately determines the success or failure of a democracy.
Dr Ben Saunders is an Associate Professor at Deakin Law School. Ben’s principal areas of research interest are constitutional law, especially executive power and responsible government, law and religion, and public sector governance. He recently published Responsible Government and the Australian Constitution: A Government for a Sovereign People (Hart Studies in Comparative Public Law, 2023). In 2024 he co-authored an Australian Journal of Politics and History article on ‘The Australian Constitutional Framers and the Languages of Virtue’, with Simon Kennedy.
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Lydia Khalil & Zachary Gorman on the Conditions for a Successful Democracy: "They go hand in hand"

Amidst seemingly unending crises of social cohesion, cost of living, and in the party system, how is Australia's democracy holding up?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Lydia Khalil and Zachary Gorman to unpack the conditions under which democracy thrives, and issues which currently threaten Australia's democratic health. Offering both timely warnings and enduring optimism about the strengths and weaknesses of Australia's political institutions 125 years on from Federation.
This discussion is based on the Robert Menzies's Institute's new policy paper, authored by the Institute's Historian Dr Zachary Gorman, which you can access here.
Lydia Khalil directs the Transnational Challenges Program at the Lowy Institute, overseeing the Digital Threats to Democracy Project. Her career spans governance, technology, and security, with expertise in terrorism and political violence. She is a Senior Research Fellow at Deakin University’s Alfred Deakin Institute, co-convening the AVERT Research Network, and leads the Crisis Points project at the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies. Lydia has advised the US Department of Defense and New York Police Department.
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Bruce Kingston on the eccentricities, dominance and legacy of Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen: "The truth is"

Before Dan Andrews, who was Australia's most polarising state premier?
On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Bruce Kingston to discuss one of Australian history's most beloved and bemoaned Queenslanders, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. The man who turned the Sunshine State into a modern economic powerhouse, yet who is contrastingly reviled for allegedly representing all of its maroon shades of reactionary conservatism.
Bruce Kingston has some 35 years experience in management, marketing and public affairs in Australia in corporate, consulting and government roles working in various States and Territories. He was Senior Director Community Partnerships with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority co-managing Australia’s largest community consultation program.  He has also been a University lecturer, a Ministerial speechwriter for two Ministers in Bjelke-Petersen Cabinets, a political campaign consultant and a restaurateur. He authored the Australian Biographical Monograph on Johannes Bjelke-Petersen.
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