7am

Australia has a new Sex Discrimination Commissioner.

Anna Cody will be tasked with tackling discrimination on the grounds of sex, sexual orientation and gender, as she continues implementing the remainder of her predecessor Kate Jenkins’ Respect at Work project.

Today, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody discusses how her work establishing a domestic violence legal service that helps First Nations women and her recent role as the law school dean at Western Sydney University have shaped her approach to the role. And why it’s time for the country to take a wider view when it comes to building a fairer society.

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Guest: Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody.

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One of Australia’s top-paid public servants has been accused of trying to pull the strings of senior federal politicians.

 Texts from Mike Pezzullo, the secretary of Home Affairs, to a Liberal Party powerbroker appear to show a bureaucrat who wasn’t adhering to his duty of impartiality. The messages show a senior public servant bad-mouthing ministers, attacking political decisions and attempting to influence portfolio appointments. 

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno, on how Pezzullo’s secret correspondence reveals a bigger problem in the public service, which could undermine our democracy. 

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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Dan Andrews was a premier like no other. As Labor’s longest-serving Victorian leader he provoked outrage, conspiracies and adoration beyond his state’s borders.

Andrews became a symbol for lockdowns across Australia, but within Victoria he had an unusual ability to write his own narrative and win elections. 

Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper Martin Mckenzie-Murray on the duality of Dan and what made him into a controversial, but extremely popular leader. 

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Guest: Associate editor of The Saturday Paper Martin Mckenzie Murray

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Rupert Murdoch changed the face of global media – and now he’s stepping down from his empire and giving it to his son, Lachlan. 

Only a few years ago, it would have been an unthinkable succession, as father and son were estranged. But those deep wounds healed, and at 92, Rupert is ready to let his son’s vision take shape.

So, what is that vision? And how will Lachlan’s views influence the media in Australia? 

Today, Lachlan Murdoch biographer, Paddy Manning, on why Rupert chose Lachlan, and what the empire will look like under the family’s eldest son. 

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Guest: Author of Lachlan Murdoch biography The Successor, Paddy Manning.

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When US President Joe Biden was looking at how to make the largest economy in the world switch to electricity, he turned to an Australian…

Dr Saul Griffith had a seat at the table as the future of American industry was sketched out.

So how will America’s plan affect Australia? Are we adapting fast enough? And what’s the cost if we don’t? 

Today, former advisor to the Biden administration on climate policy, and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Saul Griffith, on the potential for a green economic boom in Australia.  

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Guest: Former advisor to the Biden administration on climate policy, and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Saul Griffith

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Today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joins us for a special conversation about the Voice to Parliament. 

In this episode, the prime minister shares what makes him so personally invested in the Voice, whether he got the timing of the referendum wrong and what he thinks Australia will look like if we vote “Yes”. 

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Guest: The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese

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Today’s episode is a very special edition of Weekend Read. 

Patrick Dodson is a respected Aboriginal elder, a federal Senator, and widely known as the Father of Reconciliation.

He is a fierce advocate for the Voice to Parliament, but Patrick Dodson has spent most of the campaign out of the spotlight, while he undertakes cancer treatment for his recent diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Recently, Senator Dodson was able to record this episode in his country, the lands of the Yawuru people, in Broome, Western Australia.

In this episode, Patrick Dodson reads his moving piece from a recent edition of The Monthly about his lifelong fight for a better Australia.

We would like to thank the staff in Patrick’s office for making this possible.

Patrick will now read his piece, ‘A firelight stick on the hill’.

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Guest: Senator Patrick Dodson

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The campaigning around the Voice to Parliament has been heated, but this week figures in the “No” camp threatened to turn that negativity on each other.

Leading “No” campaigner Warren Mundine claimed that defeating the referendum would make treaties between governments and First Nations people more likely. Fellow campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price declared “you can’t have a treaty with your own citizens”.

And there’s division over Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s proposal to hold a second referendum.

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the tensions in the “No” camp and whether they will make a difference on polling day.

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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Earlier this year, climate activist Joana Partyka illegally spray-painted Woodside Energy’s logo on a painting in the Art Gallery of Western Australia, to call for an end to the company’s controversial Burrup Hub project. 

Behind plexiglass, the artwork wasn’t harmed, but the action drew plenty of criticism. Joana was charged and found guilty of criminal damage.

But her interaction with the police didn’t end there – Western Australia’s counter-terrorism unit soon came knocking.

Today, protestor and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Joana Partyka on radical protesting and why climate activists in WA are being punished. 

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Guest: Protestor and contributor to The Saturday Paper, Joana Partyka

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Transgender people in Australia are facing rising levels of hate and discrimination – and according to advocates, irresponsible media reporting is partly to blame. 

Some outlets have focused on stories of transgender people transitioning back to the sex they were assigned at birth, despite this being an extremely rare and complex experience among the trans community. 

Today, chief executive of Transcend Australia, Jeremy Wiggins, on the attacks on transgender people in Australia, and the role of the media in telling their stories. 

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Guest: Chief executive of Transcend Australia Jeremy Wiggins

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