It took a little while for Heath, Leonie and the rest of the campaign team to crawl out from under all the life admin that piled up while they were contesting the Dunkley by election, but Elana managed to sit down with Heath and Leonie and have a chat about the results and their experiences on the campaign trail ..read more

The by election in the Victorian electorate of Dunkley was triggered by the very sad passing of Labor MP Peta Murphy in December of 2023.  We pay our respects to Peta, and extend our condolences to her family and friends on what must be a devastating loss.  Our parliament, and Dunkley, are poorer for her absence. Heath McKenzie is a long time resident of Seaford, situated in the electorate of Dunkley.  He is a qualified landscape gardener, has managed a large client portfolio for a major paint manufacturer and is now a business development manager for a major producer of ..read more

Elana and Steve are back, with lots to catch up on as they look back at the year that was 2023, and look forward to the year that will be 2024. Show Notes Listen to Greg Jericho’s Dollars and Sense podcast, where he explains how the Australian economy works. Elana recommends his episode on the Reserve Bank ..read more

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One of the interesting stats that’s come out of the current referendum polling is that a surprisingly large number of Australians didn’t know that we even have a constitution, never mind what it is and why it’s important.  If you’re one of those Australians, or you’re not sure what the deal is with the constitution, that’s ok!  As I covered in our referendum explainer, it’s been quite a while since we had to look at amending the constitution, so if your civics education has been lacking, that’s not your fault.  But we’re here to help plug the gaps in your ..read more

This is a story about colonisation, racism, and genocide.  It’s a story about erasure, not just of a culture, but of an entire people.  But it’s also a story of survival.  And it’s a story about love.  It’s a story about a woman who abandons her people, flees her home, her ancestors, her culture, and her heritage, who denies her own identity, right down to her own name, in order to protect her child from the government of her own country, a government that had an official policy to erase her people. It’s also a story about her descendent. And ..read more

Too young to have never voted in a referendum before? Old enough that it’s been some time since the last time you voted in one? In this episode we explain what a referendum is, why changing the constitution shouldn’t be a big deal, and what you, as a voter, have to do on the big day. Show Notes Here’s all the references used to build this episode, with some useful links if you’re after more information on the 2023 referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice: Referendums and plebiscites – Parliamentary Education Office Chapter VIII: Alteration of the ..read more

It shouldn’t come as any surprise to our regular listeners that the official position of the Australian Democrats is to support the Voice to Parliament.  Part of the policy platform we took to the 2022 federal election on standing with First Nations people was whole hearted support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.  Since the Albanese government has chosen to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, starting with a Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution, our National Executive officially endorsed support for this back in April 2023.   In the fa ..read more

Women for Election is an organisation whose mission is to inspire, equip and sustain women to successfully stand for, and thrive in, public office in Australia. On this episode Elana ..read more

Listener questions answered! This is a new listener requested segment where we answer your questions about Australian politics, government or even the Australian Democrats that you really wanted to know ..read more