Macca and Paul talk to Steve MinOn; First Name, Second Name: Best selling debut novel

The journey will be long and difficult, one thousand miles. Try not to be too obvious. Stick to the backroads. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you get there.

Stephen Bolin leaves a bizarre note by his deathbed, asking his sisters to take his body back to his birthplace in Far North Queensland. When they ignore his request, Stephen’s corpse makes the nocturnal pilgrimage alone. But what is compelling him and what will he find there?

His journey, as a kind of jiangshi, takes him back through his turbulent family history: from his Chinese great-grandfather’s life on the goldfields in 1860s Queensland, to his Scottish grandparents’ migration to Australia as ten-pound Poms, and to his own coming of age and coming out in Brisbane and London.

Original and satirical, First Name Second Name follows four generations of one family through a reckoning with racial, familial and sexual identity.

Steve MinOn was an internationally awarded advertising copywriter and a restaurateur before becoming a writer of fiction and children’s picture books. He grew up in North Queensland, and he now lives on Turrbal land in Magandjin/Brisbane. Steve’s debut novel First Name Second Name (UQP 2025) won the Glendower Award for an Emerging Queensland Writer and was shortlisted for People’s Choice at the Queensland Literary Awards.

In 2026, it was shortlisted for the MUD Literary Award and nominated for the Dublin Literary Award. He has written often about outsiders and his family’s mixed-race ancestral history, and his articles and short stories have been published in SBS Voices and various newspapers and anthologies.

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Macca and Paul talk to MR B-Host of new show on Joy, Methodology about addiction and the everyday struggles of addiction and trauma.

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Macca and Paul talk to Kate Fitzpatrick, Senior Programmer at MIFF; about this years Melbourne international Film Festival.

Kate has worked in the Arts for over 15 years for organisations such as Australian Centre for the Moving Image. She has served on the jury for Melbourne Fringe, Melbourne Queer Film Festival, WA Screen Awards, Dome Under Film Festival, appeared on panels at SXSW Austin and Sydney, St Kilda Film Festival, Good Movie Mondays podcast, ABC radio and Triple R and was one of Screen International’s Future Leaders in 2024.

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Macca and Paul did a pre-recorded an interview Emily Walter, National Spokesperson for the 2026 Census.

Emily Walter is a senior leader at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and serves as the official Census National Spokesperson for the upcoming 2026 Australian Census, scheduled for Tuesday, 11 August 2026. Specialising in digital services and public-facing data programs, she is the primary public voice leading community outreach, media briefings, and public education campaigns for the national count.

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Macca, Kenny and Paul are joined live on air by Alan Joyce, Former CEO QANTAS.

Alan Joyce: Riding the Jet Stream is a compelling, factual and gripping memoir from one of Australia’s most consequential chief executives. With a network spanning seven prime ministers and countless captains of industry, Alan Joyce provides a no-holds-barred account of some of the most important decisions taken during his career leading one aviation’s most respected brands.

Few chief executives have been tested as relentlessly: the Global Financial Crisis, bitter industrial battles, unrelenting public scrutiny, and the near collapse of aviation during COVID. In a role where every decision is hugely consequential, Alan sets the record straight and tells his story as it happens – in real time, under pressure – in this candid memoir, tells the story of Joyce growing up in Dublin to becoming CEO of QANTAS and the one of the most influential openly Gay personalities in Australia.

From grounding the Qantas fleet, to steering through a pandemic that brought global travel to a standstill, Alan’s tenure is woven into some of the nation’s most significant moments.

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Macca, Paul and Kenny are joined live on air by Tom McIlroy, Political Editor, Guardian Australia; as they discuss the week that was in  Victoria and Federal Politics and Pauline Hanson.

Tom McIlroy,  is the political editor for Guardian Australia. Based at Parliament House in Canberra, he spearheads the publication’s coverage of national politics, public policy, and federal elections.

McIlroy was previously a political correspondent with the Australian Financial Review, reporting from the press gallery at Parliament House. Born and raised in Melbourne, he has reported for a range of newspapers in Australia and overseas, including The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Ballarat Courier, Canberra Times and Houston Chronicle.

A graduate of Melbourne University and RMIT University, McIlroy has been featured in a range of publications including Meanjin and Art Monthly Australasia. Based in Canberra, he writes on national politics, the arts, tax and the economy. Blue Poles is his first book.

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Macca, Kenny and Paul are in the Driver’s Seat as they dissect and discuss a momentous week in state politics, the news, reviews and views of the last seven days plus so much more.

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Our next guest has become something of a political celebrity in her own right. She’s appeared on television, stolen scenes from interviews and probably has stronger name recognition than some backbench MPs. Stella,

Barnaby Joyce unwittingly made headlines this week when during a live interview with the 7:30 Report, he yelled at his dog Stella to “Sit Down” while being asked if he was comfortable with some of Pauline Hanson’s latest decisions – including her recent interview with controversial right-wing figure Tommy Robinson, comments referencing the White Australia policy and the funding of her trip to a fashion show in Sicily.

The interruption has gone viral, with many discussing the way in which one ought to address a dog and how it ought to be treated.

Barnaby Joyce apologised for yelling: “After getting to a point where I couldn’t really think straight, I had to tell her, in farm language, to be quieter…” “People in the regions laugh about it. People in the inner city think it’s a war crime,” he said. He was on Today on Nine the next morning lovingly patting the dog.

Stella is a two-year-old Border Collie-cross-Staffordshire Terrier.

Pauline Hanson has laughed off the exchange, while One Nation has opened pre-ordering for dog leads emblazoned with “Sit Down” on its website as a piece of merchandise.

Barnaby Joyce’s wife, Vikki Campion, has written in her Substack that she will be banning the 7:30 Report from conducting interviews at their farm in the wake of the incident. “If you don’t do the interview you are accused of ‘hiding’ from transparency and if you do the interview, you are smashed for yelling at a dog… to sit down.”

Meanwhile, Sydney Morning Herald columnist Michelle Cazzulino writes that Barnaby Joyce has delivered a political “masterstroke” in catering to his rural base and making critics seem like disconnected inner-city types.

Meanwhile, Pauline Hanson drew criticism again this week for saying that Domestic Violence is “wrong, but it’s also a two-way street.” “I think today everyone’s sitting on a time bomb because the pressures on cost of living and people having to be able to pay the bills, tension that’s going on or if you lose your job or the kids, what’s happening with the children these days. Everyone is under so much pressure.”

Alex Ward:

Acting in the role of Stella is comedian Alex Ward, a queer comedian from Melbourne who has appeared on Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Project, Tonightly and many other shows. Alex is originally from Queensland and will be touring in August, as well as doing a show at Comedy Republic on July 31. Alex’s wife is also expecting a baby (Alex has mentioned this on HYBPA). Alex is a very dry comedian and a great improviser.

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Macca and Kenny talk to Cr Alex Makin Mayor, City of Port Phillip Port Phillip’s 2026–27 Budget: investing in neighbourhoods while balancing rising costs

The City of Port Phillip has adopted its 2026–27 Budget, promising continued investment in parks, streets, libraries, community facilities and services while navigating the financial pressures facing councils across Victoria. Mayor Alex Makin joins us to discuss the budget and the priorities shaping the year ahead.

The City of Port Phillip includes St Kilda, South Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Balaclava and Elwood. It is also home to the Victorian Pride Centre, JOY Media and many LGBTQIA+ organisations, making inclusion and community wellbeing important considerations in council planning.

The 2026/27 Budget is the second of Council’s 4-year plan for Port Phillip, which includes a “significant capital works program to maintain, grow and improve services and facilities – despite rising costs and continuing high inflation, on-going rate capping challenges and government cost-shifting.”

Council says “Due to financial pressures such as rising costs significantly outstripping rates growth and the continuing uncertain economic climate, additional revenue is needed to supplement rates income. This includes a general 3 per cent increase in fees and charges, unless it makes sense to vary.”

Makin claims the budget will embed $2.4 million in efficiency savings.

Budget 2026/27 includes an average rate rise of 2.75 per cent in line with the Victorian Government’s rate cap, which Council says is lower than forecast inflation of 4.9 per cent. The budget is debt-free apart from existing leases which are part of the financing strategy.

The default waste charge will rise $47.70 to $278, with $25.20 of this reflecting the inclusion of dumped rubbish and public litter bins (which have been removed from general rates). The other $22.50 has been driven by the renewal of the waste collection contract, a six per cent increase in the Victorian Government’s landfill levy and inflation driving up waste expenditure.

A planned $123.1 million in capital works and initiatives include:

These items were included after the draft Budget was released:

Council will also continue funding for:

Targeted support includes:

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Macca and Kenny are joined live in the studio by Aiv Puglielli Legislative Council Member for Nth East Metro; Aust Greens; as they discuss if Victoria should abolish street auctions? The Greens’ proposal to change how homes are sold

Standing on a suburban footpath while an auctioneer calls for bids has become part of Melbourne’s identity. But should that tradition come to an end? The Victorian Greens say outdoor auctions create unnecessary pressure on buyers and are proposing legislation to move property sales indoors or online instead. Joining us is Greens MP Aiv Puglielli.

The Victorian Greens have announced the housing policy they will take to the state election, which among other things would ban outdoor residential property auctions.

Auctions could still occur indoors or online or in another private format, but not publicly, which the Greens argue create a performative atmosphere where buyers feel pressure to exceed their budgets because of competition, social expectation and fear of missing out.

The Greens also propose:

Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government introduced laws in June that require agents to publish a reserve price at least seven days before any auction or sale, as well as to disclose the final sold price to the public. These laws come into effect on October 1.

Labor has also promised to force sellers to pay for building and pest inspections if re-elected.

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