What would it take for communities reliant on fossil fuels to be leaders in the climate transition? In this chat Elise Ganley, the National Lead Organiser for the Real Deal for Australia project explores how communities like Gladstone and Geelong are leading the way in designing policies that create an economic transition in ways that are shaped by their interests. Elise lives in Gladstone and grew up in regional South Australia, she tells the story of how these communities have used community organising and worked with the Sydney Policy Lab at the University of Sydney to create a community-le ..read more

We are all different - but some of these differences are hard to see. That includes differences based on our neurodiversity or our mental health. This conversation is with Jacinta Dietrich the co-host of the Differently Brained podcast. She is autistic and has lived with the challenges of mental health. She co-created a podcast to make a space for people to share how they live differently. Jacinta shares openly about her neurodivergence and the community she has created. We also have a lovely chat about changemaking - and the power that “small” change, like one to one conversations can bring t ..read more

If you are in Australia you might have heard of GetUp, or if you are in the United States you probably know about MoveOn - but you might not be aware that these kinds of digital advocacy movements operate in 20 countries around the world. These groups are linked through a global network called OPEN (Online Progressive Engagement Network) and today we talk with Nina Hall who has written the book about how the network works!  We explore what makes these organisations similar and how their work differs across the world. We talk about a big debate inside the network - about having their campa ..read more

It’s been one year since the Australian Federal Election that swooped an unprecedented number of community independents into the House of Representatives, and it’s been 10 years since that “Voices for” movement started. In celebration of Voices for Indi, we are sharing this Chat with Nick Haines - in case you missed it (ICYMI). Nick worked on Cathy McGowan’s campaign and his mum Helen Haines is the current member for Indi. In this conversation he shares the long story of how community independents used community organising techniques like kitchen table conversations to build an independent ele ..read more

In the 2022 Australian Federal Election the Greens won an unprecedented number of seats in Queensland - producing what came to be known as the “Green Wave.” Max Chandler-Mather was at the centre of that movement - and is now the current Member for Griffith. In this conversation he shares how the Queensland Greens translated community organising techniques into an electoral force. He shares his unusal story into the Greens, as someone who was frustrated and disenchanted by traditional electoral politics. But gentrification and the Brisbane floods changed his perspective, and he was encouraged t ..read more

Thomas Mayo - ChangeMaker Chat by Amanda Tattersall ..read more

Australian of the Year Grace Tame talks with us about her journey into change making and the challenges she has encountered. She talks about the power of even small action, and the impact that petitions had in the #LetHerSpeak movement. She talks about how the pathway to making change can be uneven, made difficult by the experience of trauma. It is a wide ranging conversation where, with a full heart, Grace shares some of the qualities that have made her a fierce advocate for change. Grace’s book “Ninth Life of a Diamond Miner: a memoir” is available here. For more on ChangeMakers check us out ..read more

Today we talk with Claire O’Rouke - a former journalist, climate campaigner and author of Together We Can - about the diverse and creative grassroots movement of people around Australia taking action to respond to the threat of climate change. Together We Can canvassed over 70 stories of Australians who have developed novel community based responses to help our climate, defying the logic that you need to be a scientist or a politician to make a difference, We unpack how people have sought to overcome challenges like climate distress and what Claire has learnt about what goes into the most succ ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more