My First Party

Owen Miller and Peter Kargiotis sit down with India Rose, the Animal Justice Party (AJP) candidate for Brunswick in the upcoming Victorian state election. India is a disability support worker with a background in social research, and she’s running to raise the AJP’s profile. Our conversation ended up covering a lot more than just animals:

🎤 The Brunswick candidates’ forum: the Upfield line duplication; the Brunswick Baths contract; and the lack of innovation in Melbourne

🐾 What the AJP stands for: animal welfare, racing, and why India doesn’t want it seen as a single-issue party

🌏 Who votes AJP? Committed vegans, community-minded pet owners, and people who don’t like any of the other parties🥩 Owen’s “part-time vegan” diet goes on trial ⚖️

🚗 “Car brain”: cyclists, pedestrians, footpath manners on Sydney Road, and the pressures that make drivers angry🐕 Pet-friendly cities, and how they help people who don’t own a pet

🏙️ Liveable streets: public transport, Tasmania vs Melbourne, the urban heat island effect, and white roofs

🌱 The Climate Rescue Accords: taking carbon out of the atmosphere with crushed rock

💚 Fusion vs the Greens, and whether to subsidise $50 Harry Styles tickets 🎶

🎓 Universities: Melbourne’s lost Silicon Valley moment, international student fees, and academics buried in busywork

🤖 AI and data centres: the cancelled Maryland project, and sovereign AI for Australia

🐶 Breed-specific laws: pugs, pit bulls, and whether owners or breeds are responsible

⚔️ Is conflict human nature? Austerity, culture, Maslow’s hierarchy… and Real Housewives

📲 Follow India on Instagram at @india.rose.ajp to find her campaign page and ways to help with corflutes and flyers.

Heena Cheung is running as an independent for Box Hill and is supported by her friend, Whitehorse City Councillor Peter Allan.Heena explains how the major parties treat that community as a voting bloc rather than as individuals, and walks us through her policies this time around, after a previous run for the federal senate.🔥 In this episode, we discuss:🏮 A Chinese community and cultural centre🍭 Election promises that vanish after polling day☀️ “Fairer cost of living” and how Heena would revise subsidies for the energy transition🏠 What a London bridge toll teaches us about the real-world economy and the class struggle🛵 The Hungry Panda stabbing, and how to reduce crime in Victoria🎷 Peter’s push for a Box Hill blues and jazz festival👩 Piloting a women’s connection hub♿ The challenges in operating as an NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) provider📄 Why campaign flyers promise so much and explain so little🤝 The Victorian treaty, and the objection that “we voted no”🍺 Box Hill’s prohibition era🔗 Heena's website is https://heena4boxhill.com.auHer Instagram account is @heena4boxhill

🥔 Meet “the potato lady.” Georgie Dragwidge has run Georgie’s Harvest at South Melbourne Market for 15 years. She’s now running as an independent for Albert Park in the 28 November Victorian state election. The seat hasn’t changed hands in 76 years.** Unfortunately the video component stops after 40 minutes, but the audio continues 🥹 ** This is Georgie's second campaign. She got 6% on her first try after deciding to run only that September. In this episode, Owen Miller and Peter Kargiotis ask her about the Grand Prix’s grip on Albert Park Lake, violence in hospitals, supermarket power, data centres, and why she thinks an independent can hold a government to account in ways an opposition party can’t.🔥 In this episode:🏎 The government's inadequate handling of the F1 Grand Prix🏥 Violence against health workers and the unimplemented Mental Health Royal Commission recommendations🛒 Coles, Woolworths and what small greengrocers are up against🏛 Is nationalising David Jones a crazy idea?🖥 Data centres: tax concessions, community consultation and where to build them🏨 The state overriding local planning for the Hotel Cosmopolitan🗳 One Nation, voter disillusionment and whose job it is to inform voters🎓 Her path from the La Trobe Liberal Club to the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions), corporate sales and a potato shop

Andrew Andreou, leader of the Omni Party, is back after weeks out of contact. He explains to Owen Miller and Peter Kargiotis why he had to stay quiet and how it relates to his latest project.Andreou has been working on a "Zion satellite": a gated settlement on the southern half of Cyprus, open to those passing the DNA-based Semitic accreditation.Andreou presents it as a proof of concept for his earlier plan to rebuild Gaza.We also discuss the Omni Party pulling out of the Victorian state election, Jess Wilson’s proposed antisemitism legislation, violence against small parties and independents, and Gina Rinehart’s proposal to give land near Townsville to Israel.#auspol #cyprus #gaza #vicpol #politics

🗳️ In 2022, Melissa Lowe ran as a community independent for the lower house seat of Hawthorn. Now she's back, going for an even bigger battle for Victoria's upper house (the Legislative Council).Owen Miller and Peter Kargiotis sit down with Mel to talk about why she's running again, what she thinks Victorians care most about fixing, and how she can act as a check on whoever forms government.🔎 In this episode:· The High Court challenge Mel and other independents brought against Victoria's political donation rules· Garnering investor confidence in renewable energy· Privatisation of government services· Victoria's treaty with Aboriginal groups, and the Liberals' plan to repeal it· Hiring quotas and tackling long-term disadvantage· Rights to protest and whether they're consistent· Domestic violence: what governments can actually do🌐 Find Melissa: melissalowe.au👍 Like and subscribe — it helps us book more guests.#auspol #protest #vicpol #freedomofspeech #privatisation

Owen and Peter are joined this week by some neighbours who might be next door, but worlds apart.We show that a friendly discussion is still possible, and can lead us to some surprising places.Neighbours Don and Robyn chat about free speech, the Middle East, public banking, nuclear power, national service, education, corruption, and the future of Australian politics.We cover policies from some lesser-known Australian parties, including the Australian Citizens Party and the Great Australia Party, testing whether their uncommon ideas resonate when heard for the first time.Other topics include union influence through superannuation funds, the Reserve Bank's approach to inflation, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), Pauline Hanson's monoculture policy, and five-year predictions for wider world.#filterbubble #wokeism #monoculture #auspol #freedomofspeech

An anonymous Labor Party insider — "Lester" — joins My First Party to pull back the curtain on pre-selection battles, factional dysfunction, and how far the party's original vision has drifted.🗳️ In this episode:- Preselection dramas, including the Theophanous family's scandals- Why Labor MPs are quietly rebranding- How ASIO and lobbyists shape which stories get told- Ed Husic and the implications of speaking out about Palestine- The Victorian construction union inquiry- Universal Basic Income, and why union leadership might not want it🎙️ Hosted by Owen Miller (Fusion Party candidate) and Peter Kargiotis.👍 If you found this useful, then please like, subscribe, and share — it helps us land bigger guests and keep making this show.#auspol #vicpol #labor #corruption #brunswick #northcote

What can Australia actually learn from China? And what can China learn from Australia?We chat with Lev Lafayette, President of the Australia-China Friendship Society, for a wide-ranging conversation that goes well beyond the headlines.In this episode:🏙️ Building friendships that are stronger than an exchange of plaques🌾 How food security has played out in Chinese policy🧠 A whirlwind comparison of Eastern and Western philosophy, including Daoism, Marx and Hegel🗳️ Lev's thoughts on Australia's different parties, including his own🔗 Learn more or get involved: https://acf-vic.org#china #auspol #politics #australia #sistercities

Our guest Andrew Andreou has gone missing. His colleague Doug from the Omni Party joins us to discuss the possible whereabouts of Andrew, and the possible motives for his disappearance.We also discuss the continuing political legacy of Andrew and what his views would have been on some current issues:🗞️ The media distortion of Andrew's comments on minorities.🚧 Union corruption allegations, the CFMEU, and the missing $15 billion at the centre of Victoria's Royal Commission🕯️ Institutional cover-ups, and how we can show solidarity for victims⚠️ Trigger warning: this episode includes discussion of historical child sexual abuse cases.If anyone has information on Andrew Andreou's whereabouts, we are happy to carry out Doug's wish of passing on messages to him (Doug).#auspol #OmniParty #WhereIsAndrew #corruption #silenced

Trump's health is failing, the water is running out, and America's client states are starting to crack. This week on My First Party, Owen and Peter welcome back returning guest Danny Abdeljabbar (host of @BroHistory ) for a wild ride through geopolitics and collapsing infrastructure.🎙️ In this episode:🩺 Trump's Health & Succession Watch — The "cocaine retainer" theory, the diaper rumors, and Peter's confident prediction on the exact date of the inevitable🕴️ The Puppet-Master — Tracing the connections between Peter Thiel, JD Vance and Blake Masters. Kompromat theories, and what happens when the handlers lose their grip.💣 Iran, Israel and Escalation — Palantir's role in selecting targets and influencing the course of the war.🇵🇷 Puerto Rico's Water Crisis — Danny explains the backstory behind the island's water crisis, and how it's explained by the island's lack of political rights.🙏 Religion, AI, and the Future of Belief — Will Islam fade away? Will we end up worshipping an AI god instead? Danny and Peter debate Schopenhauer, Aristotle, and the psychology of certainty🤖 Also featuring a cameo from Chookah, Danny's AI co-host from his new startup https://maneku.ai👍 Like, subscribe, and share — it genuinely helps us land bigger guests (assuming they don't go missing first 👀)#grassrootsmovements #politics #puertorico #watercrisis #jdvance