Saturday Magazine

Zoe and Macca are joined live on-air by Dr. Monique Ryan, Independent Member for Kooyong, Deputy Chair of Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability; as they discuss the cuts and changes to the NDIS, ANZAC Day and politics.

Dr Monique Ryan is an Australian politician and former paediatric neurologist who serves as the independent Member of Parliament (MP) for the Division of Kooyong in Victoria. She was first elected in May 2022, defeating the then-Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and was re-elected in 2025.

Monique, Zoe and Macca discuss the recent announcement of changes and cuts to the NDIS.

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Zoe, Macca and Kenny talk to Kenny and Macca talk to Konrad Benjamin from Punter’s Politics, about his recent invitation to the Senate Select Committee Hearing on Taxation of Gas Resources.

Punter’s Politics is an Australian political commentary podcast and associated political movement with the goal of making Australian politics simpler for everyday people. The podcast was launched in June 2024 by former economics teacher Konrad Benjamin, and has since gained traction for exposing corporate influence in Australian politics.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLg9ANGIggv/

https://www.punterspolitics.com/pages/media

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Our next guest for this week is Peter Khalil, MP for Wills and Assistant Minister for Defence.

Some of the topics discussed today between Macca, Zoe, Kenny and the Minister are:

With so many Australian service people currently serving on US subs, what does that mean for Australia in escalating global conflicts?

Had the Israeli government adequately responded yet over the deliberate bulldozing of ANZAC graves at the Commonwealth Cemetery in Gaza?

The Defence Force Discipline Amendment (RCDVS Implementation) Bill 2026, introduced by Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Matt Keogh, will enable eligible Defence personnel convicted solely on the basis of consensual homosexual activity to apply to have those convictions extinguished—will there be a formal apology from the Government and the Prime Minister?

What is he hoping his mate Dr Chalmers will announce in the Budget. What are his constituents saying to him about the PRRT and taxation of Gas exports?

Peter was first elected to the House of Representatives for Wills, Victoria in 2016.

Previously, Peter was the Special Envoy for Social Cohesion from July 2024 to May 2025, Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security from September 2022 to October 2024, and has held numerous committee positions.

Peter is a second generation Australian. His parents migrated from Egypt to Melbourne for a better life. He grew up in public housing and played AFL and tennis semi-professionally after leaving school. Peter went on to study a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law at the University of Melbourne and a Master of Laws at Australian National University.

Prior to entering Parliament Peter was the Executive Director of Corporate Affairs, Strategy and Communications at SBS and a Victorian Multicultural Commissioner. He also has served as a foreign policy and national security adviser to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. He has also worked as a public servant at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Department of Defence.

Peter is married with 2 children and supports the Collingwood Football Club.

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Macca is joined in the hosting seat this week by former ABC Foreign Correspondent and Independent Federal Member for the seat of Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, from 2022-2025.

Zoe’s platforms were primarily climate action, integrity in politics, action on gambling advertisement on TV and gender equity.

Running as a community-backed independent. Zoe made history in 2022 as the first woman elected to the seat of Goldstein in Bayside Melbourne which had been represented by men from the conservative side of politics since Federation. During her time in Parliament, she championed national reforms to improve women’s safety and economic equality, advocated for fairer student debt policies, and secured critical funding for her electorate—including an MRI licence for Sandringham Hospital, support for expanded mental health and eating disorder services, investment in migrant education and upgraded facilities for women’s sport. She also played a key role in strengthening climate legislation and led efforts to introduce integrity measures, such as gambling ad bans and digital safety laws.

A fierce advocate for transparency and independent politics, Zoe continues to drive reform through public speaking, consulting, advocacy and community engagement. Her approach is grounded in integrity, impact, and people-first policymaking.

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Macca and Paul are joined live on air by Trav Lovett, Executive Director, Centre for Truth Telling & Dialogue. Melbourne Uni. ‘Walk for Truth”.

Trav has spent his life advocating for truth and justice for First Peoples. He is passionate about practicing his Culture, working with Community and preserving Aboriginal languages.

Travis has held senior leadership roles in the Victorian Public Service, including as Executive Director and Acting Deputy Secretary, First Peoples State Relations, at the Department of Premier and Cabinet. He played key role in supporting Victoria to progress and implement Treaty and Truth telling.

He has also worked extensively supporting the rights of Traditional Owners across Victoria and in the protection of cultural heritage.

Prior to working for the Victorian Public Service, Travis also held senior roles with Aboriginal Victoria, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Court Services Victoria, and the Department of Justice.

Travis played a key role in the establishment and reform of the Magistrates’ and Children’s Koori Courts across the State of Victoria as the Manager of the Koori Courts.

In 2017, Travis was awarded the Young Indigenous Leader Scholarship by the Institute of Public Administration of Australia.

The walk invites people to engage in truth-telling about Australia’s shared history and the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Travis Lovett is a proud Kerrupmara/Gunditjmara man and Traditional Owner passionate about practicing Culture, working with Community, and preserving Aboriginal languages. He served as Deputy Chair and Commissioner of the Yoorrook Justice Commission – Australia’s first formal truth-telling inquiry.

Cultural background

The Kerrup Jmara (Kerrupjmara, Kerrup-Jmara) are a clan of the Gunditjmara, whose traditional lands are around Lake Condah.  (Tae Rak (Lake Condah), located in southwestern Victoria, Australia, is a centerpiece of the World Heritage-listed Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. It features ancient, 8,000-year-old stone aquaculture systems developed by the Gunditjmara people to harvest kooyang (eel). The site is a major hub for Indigenous tourism, cultural education, and environmental restoration.)

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Macca and Paul are joined live on air by Dr Emma Shortis, Dir. International & Security Affairs Program, The Australia Institute, as they discuss her panels

Her panels at Sorrento Writers Festival, discussing the future for the US and China

Dr Emma Shortis is Director of the Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs Program. Emma is historian and writer, focused on the history and politics of the United States and its role in the world. She uses her expertise in history to interpret and explain what is happening in the world today, and what it means for Australia, in a compassionate and accessible way. In a conversation often dominated by the same voices, Emma offers a fresh perspective on international relations grounded in moral questions about how we might imagine a post-American future.

Emma’s first book, Our Exceptional Friend: Australia’s Fatal Alliance with the United States, was published by Hardie Grant in 2021. She writes regularly for Australian and international outlets, and appears regularly on Australian radio and television.

Before joining the Australia Institute, Emma was a Lecturer at RMIT University, where her academic work focused on international relations and climate transition. Before that, she spent a year in the United States as Fox-Zucker International Fellow at Yale University, where she finished her PhD in History

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Macca and Paul are joined live in the studio by Dr Jeremie Bracka, RMIT Faculty of Law; Transitional Justice, as they discuss the historical repair for LGBTIQA+ Communities in Victoria

“The report examines Victoria’s history of criminalisation, discriminatory policing, violence, and institutional prejudice directed at LGBTIQA+ communities. It also outlines practical options for truth-telling, redress, memorialisation, and reform.

The report was launched at the former City Watch House at Old Melbourne Gaol alongside Bending the Bars, an immersive exhibition centring the lived experiences of LGBTIQA+ people who were historically criminalised under Victoria’s former laws.

Its release comes at an important time for Victoria. The Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Anti-LGBTIQA+ Hate Crimes is now considering how the state should respond to contemporary anti-LGBTIQA+ violence. This report adds an important historical lens to that work. It argues that current harms cannot be fully addressed without acknowledging the institutional legacies that shaped mistrust, under-reporting, and unequal treatment in the first place”/

https://thorneharbour.org/news-events/news/report-historical-repair-for-lgbtiqa-communities/

Dr Jeremie M. Bracka is an Australian–Israeli human rights lawyer and academic based at RMIT University’s School of Law. His research lies at the intersection of transitional justice, constitutional law, and international human rights. Jeremie’s work explores truth commissions, legal responses to historical injustice with a focus on Israel/Palestine and Indigenous justice in Australia. He is the author of Transitional Justice for Israel/Palestine? Truth-Telling and Empathy in Ongoing Conflict (Springer, 2022), and his scholarship has appeared in leading journals including the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Melbourne Journal of Interhttps://thorneharbour.org/news-events/news/report-historical-repair-for-lgbtiqa-communities/national Law, and Cambridge University Press. Jeremie currently leads a project on the Yoorrook Justice Commission supported by the Malcolm Moore Industry Research Grant..

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Macca and Paul are joined live in the studio by Rachel Westaway, State Liberal MP for Prahran.

Before representing Prahran in State Parliament, Rachel Westaway, had a distinguished career within corporate, industry and public service roles. This included as a senior Commonwealth Tribunal member in migration, child support and social security matters and as Victorian Assistant Commissioner for Freedom of Information. Rachel has run her own business and is also a qualified teacher.

A previous head of marketing at The Age Newspaper, New Idea magazine and SBS, an early career highlight was her creating the giant Caramello Koala working at Cadbury.

Her family has long been engaged in our great community, including with the Prahran Junior Football Club and Toorak Prahran Cricket Club along with the dynamic local arts sector.

Rachel was born in Melbourne and comes from Thai Chinese heritage and is the former President of the Thai Australian Chamber, which encouraged trade and positive relationships between Australia and Thailand

Rachel. Macca and Paul discussed her thoughts on the Ministerial reshuffle; 21-day police blitz in Prahran; budget reform; what can be done about IBAC.

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Macca and Paul are joined live in the studio by Nina Taylor, Labor MP, Albert Park as they discuss the new  Ministerial reshuffle, including a new Minister for Boys & Men; 21-day police  blitz in Sth Mel, St Kilda and Prahran; Allen Gov’s resistance to animal welfare reform

Nina was elected to the Legislative Assembly in November 2022, and is the Parliamentary Secretary for Education. She previously served as a member of the Legislative Council from 2018-22, where she held the role of Government Whip.

Before entering Parliament, Nina was a member of the Glen Eira City Council. She had previously worked for the Community and Public Sector Union, completed articles in law at a corporate law firm, and volunteered at the Women’s Legal Service.

Her first jobs were as a schoolteacher and in long-term disease management portfolios in the pharmaceutical industry. She is also multi-lingual with proficiency in French and German.

Nina’s vision for Victoria’s future is that it is an accessible, compassionate, sustainable, and educated state. She wants us to have advanced multi-modal options, clean and affordable energy, safe and climate-sensitive shelter for all, and equitable access to educational pathways.

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First guest this week is show regular and Joy supporter, Aiv Puglielli, Member, Victorian Legislative Council (Victorian Greens), who was live in the studio with Macca and Paul.

Aiv Puglielli is a member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing North-East Metropolitan Region for the Victorian Greens. With a background in the arts as a composer and producer, Aiv brings a creative lens to politics and is an advocate for climate action, housing justice and community-led solutions. Aiv has worked across grassroots campaigns and in  parliament since 2022, focusing on progressive policies that protect the environment while supporting workers and local communities.

The Victorian parliament is looking for submissions for the inquiry into anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes in Victoria.

https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/antilgbtqiahatecrimes

The post Sat, 18th, April, 2026: Aiv Puglielli, Greens MP Nrth East Metro; Inquiry into anti-LGBTIQA+ Hate Crimes in Victoria.  appeared first on Saturday Magazine.