Afternoon Light

Why did leading centre-right Queenslanders absent themselves from the Unity Conferences that helped spawn the Liberal Party, and did this slight separation from the Liberal fold presage the later Queensland Liberal merger with the Nationals?

In the ninth episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Lyndon Megarrity to discuss the history of the Queensland People's Party - which became the Queensland Liberal Party in 1949.

Dr Lyndon Megarrity is adjunct lecturer at the College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University. He is an historian and author, and has written several books and articles on a range of subjects, including Queensland political history, overseas student policy, Northern Australia and local government. His latest book is Rex Patterson: A Voice for the North (2024).

How did NSW go from being the home of Liberal icons like Henry Parkes, George Reid & Joseph Carruthers, to being described as a natural Labor state?

In the eighth episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with editor & chapter contributor Zachary Gorman to explore the highs and lows of Liberal politics in New South Wales.

Dr Zachary Gorman is the Historian and Research Manager of the Robert Menzies Institute. An expert on the history of Australian liberalism, he has authored or edited 8 books related to the subject, including Sir Joseph Carruthers: Founder of the New South Wales Liberal Party and most recently Unity in Autonomy: A Federal History of the Founding of the Liberal Party.

Why did the Country Party not join in Menzies’s push for centre-right unity?

In the seventh episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Terry Barnes to explore how and why the federal Coalition came to be.

Terry Barnes worked in Federal and State government and politics for 25 years.  He was senior personal adviser to two federal health ministers, Michael Wooldridge (1993-97) and Tony Abbott (2003-07).  He writes regularly for major newspapers about health, social policy and politics generally, including The Age and The Australian Financial Review. He is a regular contributor to The Spectator (Australia).

How did Victoria become ‘the jewel in the Liberal crown’?

In the sixth episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Stephen Wilks, about how and why Victoria became the quintessential Liberal state, underpinning the long Menzies and Bolte eras.

Stephen Wilks is based in the National Centre of Biography, in the ANU’s School of History. He is a research fellow and editor for the Australian Dictionary of Biography and the Dictionary of the House of Representatives project. He holds a 2018 doctorate in Australian history from the ANU about national economic and social development in the twentieth century, focused on the career of Earle Page. He has contributed over seventy book reviews and articles to Fairfax Media and other publishers, mainly on modern Australian, British and United States history and biography. He has published a book and several articles on Earle Page and his ideas, such as for the Australian Policy and History network. He twice won the ACT Writers Centre Reviewer of the Year Award, for which he subsequently served as judge.

Has Australia’s political system lost the art of compromise?

On Afternoon Light #167 Georgina Downer speaks with Damien Freeman, author of The End of Settlement: Why the 2023 referendum failed, about how Australian politics was once marked by broad agreement on a range of core issues. He unpacks why this is no longer the case, and the negative consequences this poses for the nation.

Damien Freeman is a Fellow of the Robert Menzies Institute. He has authored several books, including Radical Conservatism: Tradition as a Guide for Managing Change and Abbott’s Right: The Conservative Tradition from Menzies to Abbott. He was previously the principal policy adviser at the PM Glynn Institute, Australian Catholic University.

Should the public know the brutalities of war?

On Afternoon Light #166 Georgina Downer speaks with Stephen Dando-Collins, author of a new book covering the remarkable story of how two World War II photographers defied Australian censors to depict the realities of the Pacific conflict. In doing so, they demonstrated that the truth would not lead to demoralisation, but actually help galvanise support for the troops who had to endure it all.

Stephen Dando-Collins is the award-winning author of 45 books, including histories, biographies and even children’s novels. The majority of his works deal with military history ranging from Greek and Roman times to American 19th century history and World War I and World War II. His latest book is The Buna Shots: The Amazing Story Behind Two Photographs that Changed the Course of World War Two.

What goes into creating a successful political party?

In the fifth episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Andrew Kemp on how the Liberal Party’s early organisers laid a platform for eight decades of endurance and achievement.

Andrew Kemp is a Melbourne-based writer and a former economist at the Commonwealth Treasury and the Department of Treasury and Finance in Victoria.

If changing a constitution proves too difficult, what’s the problem with judges taking on the responsibility of evolving with the times?

On Afternoon Light #164 Georgina Downer speaks with Judge Amul Thapar to discuss differing approaches to constitutional interpretation, and why he believes that upholding the original meaning of the words is the only way to keep power where it belongs - in the hands of ‘the people’.

Hon. Amul R. Thapar, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and is the first South Asian Article III judge. Prior to his confirmation to the Sixth Circuit, he served as a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. In 2017, he became President Donald J. Trump’s first appellate court nominee. He is the author of The People's Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories That Define Him.

If a Labor Party is conservative enough to produce Joseph Lyons, what space does that leave for their centre-right opponents?

In the fourth episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Stefan Petrow, about how Tasmania proved itself to be innately conversative, yet took 25 years to elect a Liberal government.

Stefan Petrow is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Tasmania, where he previously worked as a Lecturer in History and Classics in the School of Humanities. In 2022 he was awarded the Clive Lord Memorial Medal by the Royal Society of Tasmania for his outstanding contribution to Tasmanian history.

Why was South Australia the only State with a centre right government as of 1944? And how did the success of its Liberals act as a model for the formation of the nationwide Liberal Party?

In the third episode of a special series of the Afternoon Light Podcast, marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Liberal Party and the release of the new book on the history of that event, Unity in Autonomy, Georgina Downer speaks with chapter contributor Baden Teague, about how South Australia was the first state to understand the importance of Liberal unity.

Dr Baden Teague was born and educated in South Australia, graduating with a BA, BSc (Adelaide) and PhD (Cambridge). He was elected a Liberal Senator for South Australia, serving in seven Australian Parliaments, 1978-1996. He has been a member of the State Council of the Liberal Party for fifty years, 1973-2023, and is currently a writer and farmer at Inman Valley, a Crows supporter, active at St Peter's Cathedral, and is married to Kathy Teague with three sons and nine grandchildren. He is the author of The Liberal Story: A history of the Liberal Party in South Australia, 1910-2022.