Good Will Hunters

Welcome to Episode 56 of Good Will Hunters, with Stephen Howes.

Stephen is a Professor of Economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. Stephen is also the Director of the Development Policy Centre. The Centre is a leading think tank on aid and development, undertaking independent research and promoting practical initiatives to improve the effectiveness of Australian aid.

A few weeks back Stephen and I were on a panel together at the Pawa Liklik NGO Forum organised by the Kokoda Track Foundation, and following that I asked him to be on the show. More recently, Stephen wrote an article for the Lowy Institute on our recent interview with Minister Alex Hawke - https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/stepping-pacific-expense-pakistani-women-and-girls

In this episode, we discuss the Australian Aid program, including the Pacific Step-Up, InnovationXChange, Biltaeral Aid Investment Plans, and the refresh of the aid policy that’s on the horizon. We also discuss the challenges Pacific Islands face with the Seasonal Workers Program and other labour schemes in Australia. And lastly we discuss the connection between academia and NGOs and the rise of evidence-based programs along with the notion of aid effectiveness. I hope that many of you working in NGOs will reach out to an academic after you listen to this episode and find a way to work together.

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 55 of Good Will Hunters, with Nigel Spence, the outgoing-CEO of ChildFund Australia.

This episode was recorded at the Pawa Liklik NGO Forum hosted by the Kokoda Track Foundation in October 2019. KTF launched the forum as a platform to discuss the challenges facing small and medium NGOs working in international development. Visit https://www.ktf.ngo to learn more about KTF and the forum.

Nigel was one of the keynote speakers at the forum, and reflected on his time as ChildFund CEO, including the drive for innovation, collaboration and strengths-based approaches. I am interviewing Nigel in a few weeks, so I'd love for you to listen to this episode and send me some questions to ask him! He is a wealth of knowledge and insight, as you'll hear.

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 54 of Good Will Hunters, with Watna Mori, Papua New Guinean-Australian human rights lawyer.

Watna and I attended the Australia-PNG Emerging Leader's Dialogue together a few weeks ago. I met Watna at Brisbane Airport and I think about 10 seconds into our conversation we were already laughing - which you’ll certainly hear us do more of in this episode. Watna grew up between Papua New Guinea and Australia.

She studied law, and now works primarily in the area of human rights law. She has also worked in the Manus Island and Nauru Detention Centres representing asylum seekers. Watna also does a whole lot more, which we’ll start to unpack in this episode.

You’ll hear us chat about growing up between Australia and PNG, Australia’s colonial legacy and the impact of offshore detention on that legacy, the need for more locally owned tourism in PNG, the future of Australian aid to PNG, and more.

This episode gets to the heart of a few topics that are very important to me, and so many of us - offshore detention, healing our colonial legacy, cultural and intellectual property and aid dependency.

I suggest listening to this one with a cup of tea in hand - there's a lot to take in!

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 53 of Good Will Hunters, with the Right Honourable Alex Hawke, Minister for International Development and the Pacific and Assistant Minister for Defence.

The Minister was sworn into office on May 28, 2019. He has spent much of the last 6 months travelling throughout the Pacific Islands and PNG, understanding the concerns of our nearest neighbours.

In this episode, we cover a whole range of topics relating to the aid and development agenda in Australia, including the nexus of defence and development, climate change support to the Pacific, debt sustainability, funding for infrastructure versus funding for health and education, the role of China, our agenda in PNG, the future of our aid program, the role of NGOs, and also the advice the Minister would have liked to give himself ten years ago. This interview was a fantastic opportunity to ask the Minister many of the questions that I, and others in the sector, have been wanting to know.

As always, we welcome your feedback. You can get in touch via our website www.goodwillhunterspodcast.com.au and if you love the show, we'd love you to leave a review on iTunes!

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 52 of Good Will Hunters. This is a special episode, summarising the four resolution that were passed at the ACFID Annual General Meeting, held in late October in Sydney.

I chat to Mat Tinkler from Save the Children, Jane Edge from CBM Australia, Simon Bradshaw from Oxfam Australia and Jeremy Hobbs from ActionAid Australia.

To learn more about the resolutions, visit https://acfid.asn.au/about/acfid-council

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 51 of Good Will Hunters, with Sally Hetherington, author of 'It's Not About Me' - a manifesto on the realities of short term volunteering, based on Sally's lived experience in Cambodia.

Sally and I have a brilliant, and deeply important, conversation about why short term, unskilled volunteering often does more harm than good. We chat about the need to change the narrative around volunteering, to be more aligned with principles of local-ownership and sustainable livelihoods.

As always, we welcome your feedback via our socials or our website www.goodwillhunterspodcast.com.au

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 50 of Good Will Hunters! I cannot believe we made it this far - I'm so proud of this show and so proud of us as a community. I had wondered who would be our guest on this momentous episode, and I'm incredible humbled to say it is the Former Prime Minister of Tuvalu, the Right Honourable Enele Sopoaga.

This episode is sponsored by Spark Strategy. Spark Strategy is an agency for strategic thinking, transformation and sustained action. Bringing together ideas, capability and capital, Spark helps the not for profit, government, corporate and philanthropic sectors with strategic planning, sustainable business model design and government engagement... to unleash their potential and to transform themselves and the societies in which they work and live. Go to sparkstrategy.com.au to find out more.

I heard Enele speak at the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) conference earlier this week. If you don't already know ACFID - you should! Enele gave the keynote address in the morning, and there was a reverence in the audience as he spoke. There were laughs, tears and a sense of both urgency and optimism. Later that afternoon, I had the opportunity to interview Enele and his wife Silalo. It was a moment I will treasure forever.

This episode is BIG - it is a chance for us to truly listen and understand the situation of Tuvalu. I encourage you to listen to the episode in full, and support all platforms which amplify the voices of our Pacific brothers and sisters.

Please get in touch if you want to be a part of the Good Will Hunters journey - we welcome feedback, guest suggestions, and opportunities for sponsorship and collaboration!

I extend so much love and gratitude for you all for being a part of this podcast community.

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 49 of Good Will Hunters, with Angus Crowther and Neil Pharaoh from Spark Strategy.

This episode is sponsored by Spark Strategy. Spark Strategy is an agency for strategic thinking, transformation and sustained action. Bringing together ideas, capability and capital, Spark helps the not for profit, government, corporate and philanthropic sectors with strategic planing, sustainable business model design and government engagement... to unleash their potential and to transform themselves and the societies in which they work and live. Go to sparkstrategy.com.au to find out more.

This week, I chat to Angus and Neil from Spark Strategy! We chat all things government engagement - what it means for NGOs and how to do it. This episode is a practical guide to how your organisation can articulate your value proposition to government, and advocate for change.

To learn more, check out Spark's whitepaper on the topic here http://info.sparkstrategy.com.au/whitepaper-beyond-government-relations

If you loved this episode, we'd love your feedback! Leave us a review on iTunes or get in touch via our website www.goodwillhunterspodcast.com.au or email Rachel at [email protected]

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 48 of Good Will Hunters, with Shaun Star.

This episode is sponsored by Spark Strategy. Spark Strategy is an agency for strategic thinking, transformation and sustained action.

Bringing together ideas, capability and capital, Spark helps the not for profit, government, corporate and philanthropic sectors with strategic planning, sustainable business model design and government engagement ... to unleash their potential, and to transform themselves and the societies in which they work and live. Go to sparkstrategy.com.au to find out more.

Shaun Star is an Associate Professor & Assistant Dean (International Collaborations) at Jindal Global Law School and Executive Director, Centre for India-Australia Studies at O.P. Jindal Global University, and has been working in India since 2010.

Shaun is passionate about promoting the Australia-India relationship and is co-founder and Chair of the Australia India Youth Dialogue, a forum which hosts young politicians, entrepreneurs, policy-makers and diplomats and encourages collaboration between young leaders of both of our nations.

Commentating on issues such as the Australia-India relationship and sports law and governance in India, Shaun’s opinion pieces have been featured in Indian and Australian national newspapers and he has participated in panel sessions on Indian prime time television.

In this episode, Shaun and I chat about the origins of the AIYD, the end of Australian aid to India, education sector partnerships, the Varghese Report on India-Australia cooperation and more. This is a must listen for any one working in India, or interested in the Australia-India relationship.

If you loved this episode, we'd love your feedback! Leave us a review on iTunes or Facebook, or get in touch via our website www.goodwillhunterspodcast.com.au

Got an idea for a guest? Or an issue we need to cover? Or want to sponsor the show? Let's chat! You can contact me directly via [email protected]

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team

Welcome to Episode 47 of Good Will Hunters, with Rosemary Addis.

This episode is sponsored by SolarBuddy, the organisation bringing solar lights to children living in energy poverty. The future is brighter with SolarBuddy!

This is the second of our quarterly podcast where get concrete about impact investment – what can grow the market, what you can do and where investment for impact is making a difference.

In today’s episode we’re talking the focus on impact with the rapid acceleration in impact management practice and governance, putting the spotlight on corporates the big shake up in the debate about shareholder vs stakeholder primacy following the US Business Roundtable statement, considering where investment is driving impact for development and inclusive growth including wrap up of G7, G20 and UN General Assembly and we’ll look at what’s shaping up for conference season.

Enjoy,

Rachel and the GWH Team