Pollie Bites Podcast: Recent Episodes
Voice For Victoria
Welcome to the Pollie Bites Podcast, bringing you bite sized politics every week, presented by Voice for Victoria.
*Note: This episode is an upload of an Instagram live recording.
In this episode, I am again joined by Dean Hurlston, President of Council Watch, to host an online info session event for people who want to understand their local council operations better and may be thinking about running in the upcoming Victorian council elections in October 2024.
This online event covered topics such as:
- The structure and function of local councils
- The key responsibilities of a councillor
- The election process and important dates
- Skills and attributes that make an effective councillor
- Resources and support available for candidates.
Whether you’re just thinking about putting your hand up, running for the first time or wanting to just better understand council operations, this event will help provide you with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions.
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In this episode I am joined by Damian Scattini, partner at Quinn Emanuel and the lawyer on record for the Hotel Quarantine Class Action.
In this class action, Damian is representing thousands of businesses that suffered losses because of the months long lockdown following the State of Victoria’s botched operation of hotel quarantine.
In this episode we go through many of the frequently asked questions of the case including; does it cost anything, how does a class action work, what would settlement look like, why would someone get involved, what are the potential outcomes and why did Quinn Emanual take this on.
This class action goes to mediation on November 14, 2024. If it does not settle at mediation, it will go to trial on September 1, 2025.
The window to join the class action closes on July 8th at 4pm.
For more information on the class action or to sign up, visit:
https://hotelquarantineclassaction.com.au/
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In this episode, Council Watch president Dean Hurlston joins the podcast again to talk about the latest news with councils, the growth of Council Watch as an organisation and most importantly, the upcoming council elections in Victoria in October.
If you want to learn more about Dean and Council Watch you can visit the website www.councilwatch.com.au
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This week I was joined by David Limbrick MP, who sits as a member of the crossbench in the upper house of the Victorian Parliament and became known in recent years for his advocacy of human rights during the lockdown era.
In this episode we go into his unexpectedly hard-left beginning in politics and how he developed into a Libertarian, what government is like now with soaring debt and a new Premier, his public profile developing during the lockdown years and where to, now that the mania has faded.
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This week's podcast guest is Leo Puglisi, the founder and chief newsreader of 6 News online.
Over the past few years Leo has successfully taken a passion project started in his garage and developed it into a fledgling digital media empire - entirely run by teenagers.
Having interviewed two Prime Ministers and a wide range of high profile guests in business and politics (all before he was old enough to drive a car), Leo has created his own niche in the Australian media landscape and 6 News continues to grow.
In this episode we discuss how 6 News got started, how Leo balances running the platform with attending school, highlights of the journey so far, the latest advancement into running 24/7 news bulletins and what the future may look like.
To follow or support 6 News, you can visit their website here.
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The Pollie Bites podcast is back for 2024 with the first guest episode featuring Victoria's newest member of Parliament, Richard Welch.
Selected by the Liberal Party to fill the upper house vacancy in the North Eastern Metro Region after Matt Bach resigned at the end of 2023, this was a rare 'golden ticket' opportunity to join Parliament mid-term without a by-election being required due to how upper house seats function.
Welch, who comes from a global business background, was successful from a field of 10 candidates and will be sworn into Victorian Parliament this week.
In this episode we talk about his brief but intense political history, why he chose the Liberal party, if he feels his business background actually helps in politics and what he plans to do with his time as an MP.
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We're closing out 2023 with a catch up episode with Matt Wong from Discernable.
It's been a while since we co-hosted an episode and so we had an informal catch up talking about politics, platforms and what the new year brings.
If you're looking for more from Matt, you can find him at discernable.io.
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In this urgent special guest episode I am joined by Ken Philips from Self Employed Australia to talk about the major industrial relation law changes the federal government is currently trying to get through Parliament.
An unexpected and sneaky deal in the last week of Parliament saw two crossbenchers, Pocock and Lambie, suddenly do a deal with the government to smash through half of this legislation. This is despite both senators voting for a full committee review into the legislation and the report on this due in February. They went against their own previous votes and did a deal to pass half of it anyway before seeing the report.
This has blindsided industries and stakeholders who are now grappling with the fallout of some of these reforms getting through. There are now valid concerns that these two may do another deal to smash through the balance of this legislation, which contains outrageous changes to how small businesses, casuals and independent contractors operate in Australia. If this legislation passes, it will impact almost every casual worker, independent contractor and small business in the country.
In this episode we go through what has happened so far, what the major issues are and what can be done next.
Further information can be found at:
Self Employed Australia (latest blog update)
Defend Your Rights campaign (run by MBA)
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Ian Cook, best known for his business being at the center of the 'slug gate' saga joins the podcast for this special guest episode to talk about his ongoing court cases and his time running as an independent candidate for the seat of Mulgrave in both the 2022 state election and recent by-election.
As mentioned in the episode, links to previous interviews with Ian Cook relating to the slug gate series of events can be found at the links below:
Discernable special two-part series
Rogue Bogues Podcast
Andrew Rule Podcast
You can find Ian on social media via Instagram and Facebook.
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In this record-length podcast episode I am joined by Tosh Finnegan, the ex-Labor staffer, red shirts whistleblower and one of the founders of the 'Restore Democracy Sack Dan Andrews' Party from 2022.
Content warning - swearing & adult themes
In this episode we go through in detail, from start to finish, Tosh's journey in the Labor party and how the red shirts scandal and subsequent investigations unfolded.
We also discuss the founding of the RDSDA Party, if it was really a Labor front, how much Glen Druery had to do with the party, where their preferences really went and more.
If that weren't enough, we also go through Tosh meeting with conservative Liberals Moira Deeming & Renee Heath, who he says are definitely not the anti-trans personas they are painted by some to be, and some quick Q+As on the future of Labor and politics. This is an episode not to be missed.
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This week on the podcast I am joined by a familiar face, Ken Phillips from Self Employed Australia.
In this episode we discuss what happened with his highly publicised "Not Above The Law" case where an attempt was made by SEA to have Work Safe do their job and investigate the Hotel Quarantine failure in Victoria.
We also go through what's next for Self Employed Australia, including their efforts on a new piece of federal legislation that could disrupt the entire self-employed industry in Australia.
To find out more about Self Employed Australia or Ken, please visit:
https://selfemployedaustralia.com.au/
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In this weeks episode I'm joined by Dean Hurlston, Vice President of Council Watch, a not-for-profit organisation that made headlines recently for publishing a full list of Council CEO's outrageous salaries.
Council Watch's website state that they are the 'peoples watchdog' for councils and act to research, investigate and publish information to ensure accountability.
In this episode we discuss everything from why councils are meant to exist, why we pay rates, where the money goes, how it's possible that councils are now involved in social or policy issues they never have been before and much, much more.
This episode is a must listen for anyone wanting to better understand how councils in Victoria really work.
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This week I'm joined by Nicole Werner, who will shortly represent the Liberal Party on the ballot at the upcoming Warrandyte by-election after an intense and competitive preselection process.
In this episode we talk about why Nicole joined the Liberals, how she has found being a young, ethnically diverse candidate, her response to the claims she is a conservative, whether she agrees with the claims this upcoming by-election is a test of Pesutto's leadership and more.
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This week we are joined by special guest James Catlin, a previous journalist and political advisor turned barrister who has particular expertise and interest in protected disclosures (whistleblowing).
In addition to working as a solicitor, he has worked as a finance journalist with Australia’s two leading news entities The Herald and Weekly Times and Fairfax. He was a Press Secretary and Advisor to the Premier of Victoria. He briefly worked with Julian Assange in 2010. He is a chairman of Blue Print for Free Speech which specialises in developing and promoting world’s best practice whistleblower legislation and lobbying for its enactment world wide. As part of Blueprint’s empirical research, James has interviewed high profile whistleblowers in the UK, and co-wrote Blueprint’s submissions to the UK House of Commons review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. He was the lead writer on the Victorian Parliamentary IBAC Committee’s Review of the Victorian Protected Disclosure Act.
He joins us this week to discuss protected disclosure law in Australia, if Assange will ever be free, ways of holding governments to account, whether IBAC could be more effective, the current Victorian political landscape and more.
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This week we are joined by special guest James Catlin, a Barrister who has particular expertise in protected disclosures (whistleblowing).
In addition to working as a solicitor, he has worked as a finance journalist with Australia’s two leading news entities The Herald and Weekly Times and Fairfax. He was a Press Secretary and Advisor to the Premier of Victoria. He briefly worked with Julian Assange in 2010. He is a chairman of Blue Print for Free Speech which specialises in developing and promoting world’s best practice whistleblower legislation and lobbying for its enactment world wide. As part of Blueprint’s empirical research, James has interviewed high profile whistleblowers in the UK, and co-wrote Blueprint’s submissions to the UK House of Commons review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. He was the lead writer on the Victorian Parliamentary IBAC Committee’s Review of the Victorian Protected Disclosure Act.
He joins us this week to discuss protected disclosure law in Australia, if Assange will ever be free, ways of holding governments to account, whether IBAC could be more effective, the Victorian political landscape and more.
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The Pollie Bites podcast returns with special guest Brad Rowswell MP, shadow treasurer for Victoria, to talk about the upcoming Victorian state budget.
In this episode we go through the basics of; what a budget is, where the money comes from and why people should care about it. After that we delve into more detailed questions, including a number submitted by the audience, such as how long it will take Victorian to get the debt under control, will any of the budgets make any difference to inflation and what can the opposition really do to make a difference?
If you enjoyed this episode please leave a review.
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It's the final episode for 2022 and Matt joins the podcast as usual to discuss the Victorian upper house election results, the new Liberal shadow cabinet and how many Victorian's now believe corruption is an issue.
Victoria's upper house results
New Liberal shadow cabinet
More Victorian's believe corruption is an issue
Watch Victorian Parliament sitting live
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The recaps are back and this week Matt and I discuss the additional data that has come to light about how narrow some of the election results were, the new Liberal leader being Pesutto and what we think the next 4 years will look like in Victoria.
If you want to hear more from Matt you can find him in his Locals community here - https://discernable.locals.com/
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We're back with the recap podcasts and of course we kick off with a special episode looking at what's happened with the state election results.
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One of the most-requested interviews on the platform, I got to sit down very briefly with Jeff Kennett in between his busy schedule and the campaign trail to talk about the current performance of the two major parties, what he would do differently if he were still in the ring, Victoria's outrageous state debt level and what he thinks the election outcome will be.
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It's a special episode this week as we record this live to an audience at the first ever Pollie Bites dinner with Discernable and Voice for Victoria.
In this episode we talk about the train wreck media that Dan has been receiving, including the doctor that saved his life speaking out about a failure to receive hospital funds, Lydia Thorpe's latest scandal and where it looks like the state election will be heading.
A massive thank you to all the sponsors for the evening, including Jagger Watches, SJ venues, Little Envioneers and Hopper Motor Group.
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We are back with Matt for another week talking about politics in Victoria as things continue to ramp up in the final few months before the state election.
This week we discuss Kaushaliya's ongoing battle with WorkSafe over her bullying claims, Shane Pattons' crocodile tears over VicPol's pandemic policing and how both parties are performing.
Love the podcasts? Listen to them live!
Next week is the first podcast event where that weeks recap episode will be recorded to a live audience enjoying a beautiful three course dinner with free flowing drinks. Afterwards there will be a live panel discussion with an open mic to the audience talking about the upcoming election and future of politics in Victoria.
You can buy tickets here.
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We are back with Matt to discuss what's going on in politics as we get past the grand final long weekend, which means the media attention on politics will be ramping up for November.
This coincides with the states finally dropping the isolation requirement for positive covid cases for most people and just in time for the government to have their proposed policy platform publicly leaked the same day one of their own candidates criticised their policies.
Covid isolation requirement ends.
Labor candidate criticises decision to rename Maroondah hospital.
Labor's policy platform is leaked to the media, along with criticism from the unions.
IPMAC reports have finally been tabled.
The VEC is following up a complaint about a 'survey' run by Labor that lacked authorisation for a promotional video.
If you want to hear more from Matt you can find him in his Locals community here - https://discernable.locals.com/
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We're back with Matt for another week of recapping politics as we head into the last sitting week of the Victorian Parliament before the election, with Labor also dropping their new campaign slogan. The media around this change was drowned out by the thoughtless comments of the Education Minister in relation to a cancer patient, while both sides of politics continue to drop big policy and spending promises in the leadup to November.
Minister's comment to cancer patient about 'rolling with the punches'.
Health Minister says cancer patient was misinformed by the hospital staff.
Labor's new campaign slogan.
If you want to hear more from Matt you can find him in his Locals community here - https://discernable.locals.com/
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This week Matt and I are back to talk politics, starting with the impact the death of the Queen is having on Australian politics, the ongoing drama of the 000 (ESTA) report the government tried to sweep under the rug and the warfare declaration from the UFU trying to corner Labor into doing what they want.
Dan offers 'an apology' following 000 report claiming deaths were linked to underfunding.
Link to the IGEM 000 report itself.
The UFU threatens to campaign against Labor unless their demands are met.
The impact of the Queen dying on Victorian politics.
If you want to hear more from Matt you can find him in his Locals community here - https://discernable.locals.com/
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We are back with Matt to talk about another big week in Victorian politics, with it getting announced that Dan Andrews will be facing some local competition in Ian Cook, multiple internal leaks from Labor to the media and the government once again demonstrating they are unfit to govern by ensuring there is not enough time for certain departments to table their reports prior to the election.
Ian Cook announces his candidacy in Mulgrave.
Dominic Perrottet joins Dan Andrews in Melbourne for a joint health announcement.
Fiona Patten gets roasted on 3AW for voting against Ombudsman referral of Red Shirts whistle-blower report.
Leaked information claims the Premier's office wants a campaign job for old Red Shirts staffer.
VAGO report into lack of business case for Victoria Police.
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We are back for another week in Victorian politics with Matt from Discernable talking about everything from Red Shirts being in the media (again) to the latest decision from the government to pledge 'free' study for new nurses and midwives.
Red shirts whistle-blower police statement leaked to media.
Shane Patton on 3AW talking about the latest leak.
Libs tell government not to sign contracts.
New class action on the lockdown impacts on businesses to go ahead.
Government announces 'free' study for nurses and midwives.
If you want to hear more from Matt you can find him in his Locals community here - https://discernable.locals.com/
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Matt and I are back for another week talking about politics and what a week it's been with the Liberal party dropping their big policy announcement to shelve the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) to put the funds into healthcare, only days before a new costing analysis shows that it's blown out by a record amount before it's even started being built.
Libs announce their big policy to shelve SRL to fund healthcare.
SRL estimated cost blowouts report released from PBO.
Healthcare crisis is highlighted with a stroke victim having to wait in a tent.
The government says they may only build part of the loop now.
New private emails between Dan Andrews and John Woodman come out.
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The team is back together as Matt joins me once again to discuss a week in politics in Victoria. This week was all about the internal dramas of the Liberal party only mildly overshadowing the chaotic mess in Victoria that is our collapsing health system and hypocritical government.
If you want to hear more from Matt you can find him in his Locals community here - https://discernable.locals.com/
Matthew Guy appoints new Chief of Staff.
The disastrous 3aw interview.
The resignation of the Liberal communications advisor.
IBAC Commissioner criticises oversight committee.
Ambulance Victoria data is finally released.
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We are back this week talking everything politics at both a state and federal level, from looking at if Albanese touring Ukraine during the latest floods really was his 'I don't hold a hose moment', to Victoria where our government just will not let go of the pandemic orders.
Links to referenced materials:
How the fuel excise impacts the trucking industry.
Pandemic declaration extended in Victoria.
Teals rule out running in certain Victorian seats at the election.
Fridges energy credit rort exposed.
Rise in children suffering cognitive/development difficulties.
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In this week's episode we are back to talk about politics just in time to catch the news of a decent chunk of the Victorian Cabinet Ministry abandoning ship only a week after the government suddenly and unexpectedly ripped most of the vaccine mandates off without so much as a whiff of a presser.
Adam Bandt removes Australian flag.
Ministers abandon ship in Victoria.
Victorian treaty legislation.
Changes to vaccine mandates in Victoria.
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This week's episode we are back to talk politics and this time we really got carried away talking about everything that is going on - this is a long one!
From Albanese having his first 'I don't hold a hose' moment as PM while the economic situation in Australia continues to decline, to looking at the week in Victoria where we're trying to bribe our healthcare staff to stay over winter and are currently standing as the last state with widespread worker vaccine mandates.
Treasurer warns of an expensive winter.
Victoria trying to bribe medical staff to stay over winter.
Viral clip of Dan's comments in Parliament.
NT ends most worker mandates.
Greens pushing for mask campaign.
David Limbrick on Discernable talking about Denyer.
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In this weeks episode I am once again joined by Choc and we cover the major political events of the week, such as Albo forming a majority government while the economic situation continues to rapidly decline. In Victoria it's been another week of bad media and corruption headlines for the state government with the delivery of the toxic soil dumping report, an ABC special into Dan secretly getting grilled by IBAC and the government fighting the release of documents around the $2 million dollar public surveys they ran during the lockdowns.
As mentioned in the episode, links to references are below:
Albo forms majority government.
Predicted rise in interest rates.
ABC 730 Report on Dan Andrews and IBAC.
Matthew Guy referred himself to IBAC over the 'lobster' incident.
Fiona Patten & Bernie Finn get into debate on 3AW.
Trucking companies at risk of collapse due to changes to fuel tax credits.
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Following the federal election and the state continuing to have various industries fall apart there was no shortage of things to talk about this week as I co-opted a friend into joining me for this recap episode.
We talk about the brand new Labor government, what it means that the 'teals' may end up with no more power than a backbench and what the election result told us about the mood of voters. Given the federal result is now relatively finalised there is no doubt the media will soon turn to the state election as parties start to soft launch policies and we face an election fought over the health system, corruption and cost of living.
Labor won on low primary vote.
Tim Smith op-ed on the Liberal loss.
The ambulance system crashes temporarily (again) in Victoria.
Voter swing against Labor in key electorates.
IBAC witnesses blocked from testifying to committee.
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It's the last recap before the election and what better special guest to have for the episode than Victorian MP turned Senate hopeful David Limbrick.
In this episode we get into the hits and misses in the last week of the federal campaign, from Albo muddling up borders to Scomo body slamming a child in a non-contact sport and the AEC managing to cause mass confusion for those who have covid but need to vote.
When looking at Victoria we've also had quite a lot going on, with Dan getting grilled by PAEC, the IBAC Commissioner getting cut off by a Parliamentary committee and the collapse of ESTA and the ambulance crises getting solved by the government with a rebrand.
References in the episode:
Albo's border gaffe.
Scomo knocks over a child during while attempting to play sport.
AEC updates voting policy for those with covid who need to vote.
IBAC Commissioner fronts government committee and gets cut off.
ESTA to be renamed after damning performance report.
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In this special guest episode is with Ken Phillips from Self Employed Australia following his article in the Spectator raising concerns about federal Labor's policy to change the laws around 'employee-like' work that may affect self-employed business owners.
While I had Ken we also caught up on the progress with the Not Above The Law Campaign, which is where he is leading the charge to take WorkSafe and the Victorian government to court over the unsatisfactory investigation about who was responsible for the hotel quarantine breach deaths in Victoria.
You can click the following links to websites mentioned in this podcast:
The Self Employed Australia blog post on the federal Labor policy.
The Self-Employed Australia website outlining the NATL progress.
The Discernable interview with Gina who is speaking about the NATL campaign.
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It's been a busy time as we head into the final week of the federal election campaign. Matt once again joins me for this episode but is off after this week to focus on building his fancy new studio, so next weeks pre-election-night episode will feature a special guest co-host.
In this episode we discuss just how feral the campaign has become, which was epitomised during an out of control election debate, before spending quite a lot of time talking about the corruption close to home. As Dan comes out as having faced yet another IBAC inquiry in the middle of our health system having a meltdown, you can start to see the Teflon wearing thin.
Leaders debate that got out of hand.
Leaked IBAC report being investigated.
The Victorian Ombudsman announces dual investigations.
Dan faces another private IBAC interview.
Victorian healthcare is in a crisis.
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In this weeks episode I am once again joined by Matt from Discernable to discuss the developments in another week of the federal campaign trail, including Labor launching their housing policy and Albanese continuing to have 'gaffes' with the media. On a Victorian note we had the state budget drop this week which looks disturbingly like the promises the government made 4 years ago and didn't do, with many questions around how many times Dan has been questioned by IBAC and where the IPMAC is right now.
References:
Labor's "Help to Buy" housing policy announcement
Albanese 'gaffe' when questioned on NDIS policy
Victorian Budget has been delivered
Daniel Andrews faces IBAC (again) over property developer links
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This special guest episode is a bonus double interview where I ask the exact same questions to 'both sides of politics'.
I am joined by Kos Samaras from the polling and advisory firm Red Bridge Group, who was also previously the campaign director for the Labor Party, and Evan Mulholland, a Liberal Party member who works as the Director of Communications at The IPA, a right-leaning public policy think tank.
As you might imagine, their answers on a number of these questions differed quite a bit!
The questions asked are below:
How do you think both parties have handled the campaign so far?
What is the biggest hit and the biggest miss for Albo and Scomo?
Will that Liberal ad trying to link Albanese to Dan have an impact in Victoria?
What are your thoughts on Labor's campaign launch announcement on the weekend?
What are your thoughts on the teal independents and claims that they aren't really independents?
Given the very low primary vote stats for both major parties, do you think it's safe to say we won't know the winner on election night?
What do you currently think the election outcome will be?
Want to follow their updates?
You can find Kos on Twitter here, or Evan here.
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We're back for the week with Matt from Discernable talking about how things are going as we hit midway in the federal election cycle and see the Victorian government face even more scandals as the preliminary IBAC report gets leaked to the media.
In this episode we talk about political debates and if the public even pays any attention to them, the new ad getting pushed by the Liberals to link Albo to Dan in key seats, how much hot water is the Labor government in between a leaked IBAC report implying they are systematically corrupt and having one of their previously closest unions declare open warfare for the state election and so much more.
Relevant links:
Scomo caught texting during the ANZAC Day service.
New Federal Liberal Party ad trying to link Albo to Dan.
Leaked Operation Watts IBAC report.
United Firefighters Union launches campaign attack on Labor.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/voiceforvictoria)
Matt from Discernable joins me again this week to recap everything that has been going on in both federal and Victorian politics.
It's been a big news week with the federal election campaign in full swing and the first leaders debate, while in Victoria they suddenly ripped off the majority of the restrictions from midnight Friday - all except the ability for the unvaccinated to work.
Leaders debate re-watch (full) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z74A3OY_GnU
Meaning of a 'wedge issue' in politics - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_issue#:~:text=Wedge%20issues%20are%20also%20known,it%20divides%20%22the%20base%22.
Dan Andrews wants the pandemic to magically end in July - https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/end-to-covid-rules-in-sight-premier-wants-to-scrap-remaining-restrictions-in-july-20220421-p5af1y.html
Victoria refuses to lift the workers mandate - https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/we-re-left-to-speculate-minister-asked-to-explain-vaccination-decision-20220421-p5af0c.html
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/voiceforvictoria)
Our weekly episodes are back, this time featuring special guest Matt from Discernable (who will hopefully be sticking around).
In this episode we recap a big week in politics as the federal election is finally announced but the campaign gets off to a train wreck start for Albo, while the Victorian government is finally starting to feel the heat on when they'll pull back their obsession with arbitrary and authoritarian restrictions.
Albo has a rough start to the campaign trail - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-15/election-albanese-morrison-tables-turned/100993738
Adam Bandt says politics shouldn't go for 'gotcha' moments - https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/watch-live-adam-bandt-addresses-national-press-club/news-story/a58081e1728f5406f124facd8a792ea7
Dan extends the Pandemic Declaration - https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/no-date-yet-for-victoria-to-lift-covid-19-rules-but-pressure-to-scrap-vaccine-mandates-mounts-20220414-p5adfl.html
Pressure is on for vaccine mandates to end in Victoria - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/victorian-hospo-workers-abused-over-mindboggling-vaccine-rule/news-story/ba07c002fa649ee6f4f988d89df2795c
Rita Panahi piece about former Dan Andrews staffer and VicPol - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/rita-panahi/rita-panahi-victorians-for-good-reason-have-no-trust-in-victoria-police/news-story/6de5424174dce76981733d3f56c95d39
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/voiceforvictoria)
This week on the Pollie Bites Podcast I am joined by Evan from the Australian Electoral Commission to talk about, you guessed it, the upcoming federal election.
In this episode we cover the basics; on voting - how can we vote & how to they get counted, on preferences - where do they go & what are how to vote cards, on viral rumours - do we use counting machines in Australia & can people be barred from voting based on vaccination status, and so much more.
Hopefully this episode can cover off many of the basic questions from people as we kickstart the official six week campaign trail to May 21st.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/voiceforvictoria)
We're back with the Pollie Bites podcast and this special guest episode is with Victorian Shadow Treasurer David Davis to talk about the federal budget that was delivered yesterday.
In this episode we run through a lot of the basics, like what the budget does, what it pays for, how federal budgets affects states and go into some Q+A on longstanding rumours, like can the federal government threaten to 'withhold' money to states?
Please forgive some of the inconsistent audio quality, there were some technical difficulties.
Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/voiceforvictoria)
We get to the end of the January holiday period with elective surgery being the topic of the week as we head into Victorian Parliament kicking off again next week and the election campaigns will no doubt start to heat up at both a federal and state level.
Elective surgery to partially resume in Victoria - https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-victoria-updates-new-case-numbers-deaths-surgery-hoped-to-return/632f94ce-8c23-4465-9c94-a33ca348481f
Medical professionals call to be able to manage their own elective surgery capacity - https://www.9news.com.au/national/elective-surgery-victoria-push-for-hospitals-to-manage-own-operations-amid-ban/89c66325-7fc8-40e0-81c0-c4c8cca54816
Link to the Pandemic Declaration Accountability and Oversight Committee - https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/pdaoc?showyear=0§ion_id=1025&cat_id=1025
Pandemic Order Register (all Pandemic Order documents are published here) - https://www.health.vic.gov.au/covid-19/pandemic-order-register
The government promotes a possible third mandate while the Opposition come out against it - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-02/mandatory-third-dose-victoria-political-divide/100796462
Sex Work Decriminalisation Bill - https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/bills/sex-work-decriminalisation-bill-2021
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In the latest episode of our Special Guest series I am joined by Kos Samaras, currently the Director of polling and strategy agency Red Bridge Group and was previously Labor’s Victorian Deputy Campaign Director from 2005 to 2019.
Kos was one of the longest serving and most experienced campaign strategists in Australian Labor Party history and in this episode we discuss everything from the basics of political polling - what it is, how it can be used, how accurate is it really? To his time with the Labor Party - why did he get involved, what does he think their biggest challenges are now at both a federal and state level?
In amongst this we discuss the covid response, the rise of minor parties, the impact of social media and the decline of the two party system.
You can find Kos on social media at https://twitter.com/KosSamaras
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This week feels like the eye of the storm as things quieten down a little after the Novak saga, although this still hasn't disappeared completely and start to ramp up again with Parliament resuming next month in what will be a huge election year for those living in Victoria.
Correction in this: in this podcast it references that Australia does not recognise the Sputnik vaccine, however as of 17th Jan 2022 we now recognise it, but hadn't previously.
Andrew Bogut vs the VEC - https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/mornings/vic-electoral-commission-andrew-bogut-letter/13722122
Victoria launching campaign to recover from mild symptoms at home - https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/helping-victorians-manage-covid-19-home
Victoria's stats on how many cases needed hospital care - https://thewest.com.au/news/coronavirus/vic-records-14836-covid-cases-29-deaths-c-5433889
Stats on Australian's admitted to hospital 2018-2019 - https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/hospitals/australias-hospitals-at-a-glance-2018-19/summary
Dan Andrews pushes ATAGI to change vaccinated definition to three doses - https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/daniel-andrews-pushes-to-change-full-vaccinated-definition/video/3235703e9880adedac3f461b41cbc6f6
What vaccines Australia does recognise - https://www.tga.gov.au/international-covid-19-vaccines-recognised-australia
Serbia cancels Rio Tinto contract worth billions - https://greatgameindia.com/serbia-rio-tinto-djokovic/
Victorian Parliament sitting calendar 2022 - https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/about/daily-calendar/yearly-sitting-dates/yearly-sitting-dates-2022?showyear=2022§ion_id=453&cat_id=453
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This week looked similar to last in terms of what people were talking about: namely Djokovic and shortages. We watched Djokovic go from being allocated in the AO on Friday to spending the weekend in/out of court and detention (again) before finally getting booted out of the country on the same day he was meant to start playing. Staffing shortages in hospitals in Victoria also escalated into a code brown being called, a name which brings to mind the quality of the communication that's coming out of our Department of Health at the moment.
Recap of Novak's court case over the weekend - https://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/novak-djokovic-visa-saga-live-tennis-star-back-before-court-ahead-of-2022-australian-open-20220116-p59oje.html
Novak deported for perceived anti-vaccination views - https://www.theage.com.au/national/rappers-deplorables-and-anti-vaxxers-the-people-australia-has-banned-20220116-p59old.html
Victoria declares 'code brown' - https://www.sbs.com.au/news/victoria-has-declared-a-code-brown-covid-emergency-here-s-what-that-means/94c78e38-daf0-46f7-b13f-475ca14d1641
Victorian government backflips on IVF ban - https://www.sbs.com.au/news/victorian-government-backflips-on-heartless-ivf-ban-after-public-outcry/2527455c-de41-4a7a-8e7d-ba62e41cc726
Article shared by Sutton that mentions waiting for boosters - https://theconversation.com/if-my-child-or-i-have-covid-when-can-we-get-our-vaccine-or-booster-shot-174690
Victorian back to school update - https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-victoria-updates-back-to-school-plan-set-for-release-melbourne-grand-prix-vaccinations/1d14b465-0b8d-4aae-a6fd-4e310bbcfd6d
WA delays border reopening - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-21/wa-border-opening-delayed-what-happens-now-explainer/100772052
England to drop all Covid restrictions - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/19/boris-johnson-announces-end-to-all-omicron-covid-restrictions-in-england
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For the first Guest Episode I was joined by David Limbrick MP (Victorian Liberal Democrat leader and sitting Member of the Victorian Upper House of Parliament) where we discussed how and why he got into politics, his background, many of the LibDem policies, the upcoming elections and more. A special thank you to the VFV Ambassadors on Patreon who submitted some great policy questions for David.
Warning: the discussion at 30.00-39:00 mark involves sensitive topics of violence/crime & is not recommended to be played around kids.
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This week's recap heavily features Novak and shortages as a result of supply chain chaos, with Victoria subsequently copping more restrictions for businesses (again) but less for isolation requirements, which sees us heading into yet another few weeks of instability on what the rules will be on any given day.
Novak winning court case - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59939507
Supply chain shortages driven by worker isolation - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-10/how-to-deal-covid19-supermarket-supply-shortages/100744160
Viral video of CH7 news presenters leaked calling Novak an 'asshole' - https://www.theroar.com.au/2022/01/12/lying-sneaky-a-hole-tv-news-hosts-caught-ripping-into-djokovic-in-leaked-viral-video/
Victoria shuts dancefloors - https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/hospitalisations-dramatically-increase-across-victoria-as-covid-cases-top-30000-c-5245305
Government saying this wave will peak at the end of January - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/coronavirus/omicron-peak-expected-in-victoria-by-end-of-month-experts-say/news-story/71f6b567140c51a8bb2f7e07a1592c5d
Government making booster mandates that won't start until after the peak has passed - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/coronavirus/victoria-health-system-under-considerable-strain/news-story/2e274b95ddf3767d0b8652a67d6b3913
Isolation rule change for workers in Victoria - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/close-contact-rules-reviewed-amid-supply-crisis/news-story/5f211fe2b11cce2b24d7271746a6eee0
WA includes bottle shops in vaccine passport rules - https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/no-pubs-no-bottle-shops-no-gym-wa-premier-mark-mcgowan-widens-restrictions-on-the-unvaxxed-says-rules-will-be-in-place-for-years-to-come/news-story/cbe7638131ccd3b6db61357e2c929d83
Changes to QLD border requirements - https://www.qld.gov.au/border-pass#:~:text=Notice!,Entry%20Pass%20to%20enter%20Queensland.
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It's the first week of the new year and what a week it's been. In this episode we recap the year beginning with a fizzle with the worst New Years Eve fireworks display Melbourne has ever seen, only to shortly head into a testing crisis and more restrictions for businesses. This dominated headlines for only a short period of time until the uncertainty of the paperwork behind Novak Djokovic's vaccine exemption and subsequent detainment by Australian authorities became front and centre news not only here but around the world.
Sally Capp defends 'embarrassing' New Years Eve fireworks display - https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/rolling-coverage-how-victoria-is-celebrating-new-years-eve/news-story/9c7f8abeb64f19fd5f6b00661b67650c
National Cabinet changes - https://www.pm.gov.au/media/national-cabinet-statement-62
Changes to the definition of a close contact and isolation rules - https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-update-australia-covid19-close-contacts-definition-isolation-period-national-cabinet-changes-explained/963283a3-06e8-4298-995a-115a49e80d2c
NSW covid hospital numbers include unrelated illnesses - https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/nsw-covid-patients-in-hospital-with-unrelated-illnesses-or-injury-c-5166010
Hospitals request non-urgent patients not visit ED's - https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/melbourne-hospitals-urge-non-critical-patients-with-covid-to-stay-away/ar-AASndZk
Victorian's asked to self-report rapid test results - https://www.sbs.com.au/news/victorians-asked-to-report-covid-19-rapid-antigen-test-results-to-state-government/2a16b7dc-75d6-44ea-b026-0361a4dbda8a
Where you can report your test result - https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/report
Changes to Victorian density limits in businesses - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-06/covid-restrictions-tighten-in-victoria-to-slow-spread-of-omicron/100741342
NSW reinstates additional covid restrictions - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-07/nsw-premier-dominic-perrottet-reinstates-covid-restrictions/100743852
Collapse of the PCR testing system - https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/victoria-s-covid-test-meltdown-to-continue-into-next-week-state-says-20220105-p59m1o.html
Rapid testing shortage - https://www.smh.com.au/national/this-is-deplorable-australians-furious-as-rapid-tests-run-out-stalling-work-family-plans-20220104-p59lso.html
Victorian government originally rejecting rapid testing - https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/victorian-chief-health-officer-brett-sutton-shuts-down-rapid-virus-testing-strategy/news-story/b8209d17814f6743e6d6eee653a7e9a8
The Djokovic drama and the Home Affairs Minister claiming it was not about a VISA - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jan/07/australian-open-players-given-exemptions-similar-to-novak-djokovic-under-investigation
Djokovic case to be heard on Monday - https://www.9news.com.au/national/novak-djokovic-visa-cancelled-by-australia-border-force-after-tennis-star-held-for-hours-at-melbourne-airport-australian-open-exemption/fd14c4c8-ba1c-45cf-b02c-259319de9863
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Welcome to another episode of the Pollie Bites Podcast.
In this episode we recap the days before and after Christmas as masks came back on in Victoria and New South Wales, there was testing chaos among record cases, we finally got to see the 'science' behind the mandates and the reports that this is a milder strain are getting some traction. We are once again ending the year after a dumpsterfire 12 months in this state with very little certainty or stability for what happens next, but we can take some reassurance in the fact that with citizen tolerance at an all time low and an election on the horizon, they're less likely to lock up the people they want to vote for them.
For further information on some of the stories and documents mentioned, see the links below:
Mask mandate returns in Victoria - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-23/victoria-covid-cases-masks-mandate-indoors/100721334
Victorian's spending Christmas in isolation - https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/a-home-alone-christmas-30-000-victorians-spend-day-in-isolation-20211221-p59j8z.html
Free rapid tests in Victoria - https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/free-but-not-a-free-for-all-plan-to-get-34-million-rapid-tests-to-victorians-20211229-p59kn0.html
International articles that Omicron is milder - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/22/covid-south-african-study-suggests-omicron-milder-than-deltahttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/omicron-severity-uk/2021/12/22/303d4d26-6337-11ec-9b51-7131fa190c5e_story.html
South Africa's changed Covid protocols - https://www.nicd.ac.za/revision-to-contact-tracing-quarantine-and-isolation-protocols/
The Pandemic Order documents - https://www.health.vic.gov.au/covid-19/pandemic-order-register
The original vaccine mandate announcement - https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/vaccination-required-protect-workers-and-victoria
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Welcome to the first episode of the Pollie Bites Podcast.
In this episode we recap from the day a pandemic was called as Premier Dan Andrews walked out of the door on leave, to the day we saw the very first 'advice' document publicly tabled, with other bits in between; such as the Labor preselection wars, budget blowouts and some of the 'Adem bombs' dropped on Twitter.
For further information on some of the stories and documents mentioned, see the links below:
Full copy of the new Pandemic Management Bill - https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/bills/public-health-and-wellbeing-amendment-pandemic-management-bill-2021
Labor Pre-selection battle - https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/mps-told-their-time-is-up-as-factions-battle-over-labor-preselections-20211209-p59g7p.html
First Pandemic Declaration Report to Parliament - https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/assembly/tabled-documents/search-tabled-documents-database/details/3/11117
West Gate Tunnel budget blowouts - https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-17/victorian-government-strikes-deal-on-melbourne-west-gate-tunnel/100707864
Somyurek calling for IBAC investigation - https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/adem-somyurek-to-call-for-widening-of-ibac-investigation-amid-factional-bloodbath/news-story/a6bc8d0e007cea5455195598c78aab86
Not Above The Law/ Work Safe court case - https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/group-to-mount-legal-challenge-to-force-prosecution-of-premier-over-hotel-quarantine-disaster-20211209-p59gcl.html
Article on the 'practical yet limited government' comments - https://thewest.com.au/news/coronavirus/scott-morrison-pm-wants-government-to-butt-out-of-peoples-lives-as-australia-opens-up-c-4930727
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