Saturday Magazine

On the 18th of February 2026, the Victorian Greens will today move to establish a powerful parliamentary inquiry into the scale and scope of anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crimes across the state, following a disturbing string of attacks on gay and bi+ men.

This comes following a troubling string of attacks on gay and bi+ men which have seen them lured to public places through fake online dating profiles and violently attacked.

The inquiry, to be conducted by the Legal and Social Issues Committee, would examine how anti-LGBTQIA+ influencers and hate groups operate online, including far-right, misogynistic, and homophobic ‘alpha-male’ content, and explore strategies to protect young people from this influence.

It would also look at the adequacy of existing responses to preventing these crimes, and the support available to victim survivors.

The Greens are urging all political parties to support the inquiry, which is due to report by 1 September 2026.

Quotes attributable to the Victorian Greens equality spokesperson, Aiv Puglielli:

“No one should have to fear for their safety because of who they love.

“We are seeing gay and bi+ men being lured to public places through fake online dating profiles and violently attacked just for being who they are. As a queer person, it is genuinely terrifying to see this terrifying escalation of violence towards my community happening before our eyes.

“This doesn’t come out of nowhere. We know there’s a “manosphere” of anti-queer influences and far-right “alpha-male” networks that are grooming and radicalising young men online, building these hate networks and fuelling this very real hatred and people are being seriously harmed.

“We can’t look the other way while LGBTQIA+ people are being harassed, threatened, and terrorised. Enough is enough. We need to get to the root of this.”

https://greens.org.au/vic/news/media-release/victorian-greens-move-establish-inquiry-lgbtqia-hate-crimes

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Aiv Puglielli MP, Greens rep for Nth Eastern Metro, Hate Crimes Enquiry; Victorian Greens move to establish an inquiry into LGBTQIA+ hate crimes appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and John Safran are in the hosting seats this week as they discuss the news, views, reviews of the week and what’s coming up in this week’s programme.

The post Sat, 28th Feb, 2026: Weekly Wrap Up with Nevena and John Safran appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Last segment of the week, Fiona and Macca are joined live in the studio by Josh Cox. Dir. Reptile Encounters, and his special friend Alba The Dingo.

is a specialized wildlife education company and private zoo based in Burwood East, Melbourne, dedicated to connecting people with native Australian animals. They offer a variety of interactive experiences ranging from mobile “incursions” to behind-the-scenes tours at their headquarters/

The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Josh Cox, Reptile Encounters: Why he took Alba the Dingo to Parliament House this week appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Fiona and Macca were joined live in the studio by Richard Keane is the Chief Executive Officer of Living Positive Victoria (LPV), a prominent community-based organisation in Australia representing people living with HIV. He has held this leadership position since June 2018, bringing decades of experience in health promotion and community development to the role.

Richard Keane, CEO of Living Positive Victoria (LPV), launched a new edition of the HIV disclosure guide, “Disclosing your HIV Status: Your Rights and Responsibilities in Victoria,” on Wednesday, 11 February 2026.

Richard Keane emphasized that the guide aims to provide a sense of personal agency and self-empowerment. He noted that being fully informed of one’s legal rights and responsibilities is crucial for making decisions about when, where, and why to disclose, especially in a landscape where stigma and discrimination remain challenges

The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Richard Keane, CEO – Living Positive, The launch of the new disclosure guide in partnership with the HIV/AIDS legal centre appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Macca and Fiona are joined live on air by Tim Reardon, Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Assoc (HIA), Is the government pulling on the right levers to when it comes to building more homes?

Tim Reardon is the Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Association (HIA), where he leads the association’s economic research and policy advocacy for Australia’s residential building industry.

Releasing HIA’s new report, Taxation of Housing and its Impact on Supply, Tim Reardon, Chief Economist of Housing Industry Association, said governments cannot make homes cheaper by taking more from them.

“You don’t fix a housing shortage by taxing housing harder,” Mr Reardon said.

“And you certainly don’t make homes more affordable by destabilising the tax settings that support new home construction.”

The report finds that housing is already one of the most heavily taxed sectors in the Australian economy, with taxes applied at every stage of the housing lifecycle. Many of these taxes fall most heavily on new housing, directly increasing costs and reducing the feasibility of new projects.

“The political reflex has been the same for decades,” Mr Reardon said.

“First it was to blame investors. Then foreigners. Then foreign investors. Meanwhile governments quietly add more taxes, more charges and more costs to housing, and wonder why supply keeps falling short.”

HIA’s analysis shows that investors play a critical role in housing supply, commencing more than 40 per cent of new homes built in Australia, and an even higher share of apartments and rental housing.

“When you discourage investors, you don’t free up housing, you stop it being built,” Mr Reardon said.

“Investors don’t neatly switch from established homes into new construction when taxes rise. They leave the housing market altogether.”

https://hia.com.au/our-industry/newsroom/economic-research-and-forecasting/2026/01/stop-taxing-housing-harder-if-you-want-more-homes-built-hia-warns?srsltid=AfmBOooQfowpfnhUyCDTwqExK1c2CmARBq5m-gcKQHUKra2ACDjQvc1g

The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Tim Reardon, Chief Economist at the Housing Industry Assoc (HIA), Is the government pulling on the right levers to when it comes to building more homes? appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Fiona and Macca are joined live on air by the controversial academic and writer,  Marian Tupy, Centre for Independent Studies & visiting scholar in residence from Cato in the US: Super Abundance

Is Australia getting more or less affordable? Are we heading toward resource scarcity — or an era of unprecedented abundance? Marian Tupy has spent 15 years crunching the data.

Returning to Australia following his 2023 tour, Tupy brings the ideas behind his acclaimed book Superabundance — a rigorous, evidence-based challenge to the doom-and-gloom narrative dominating Western culture. Using “time prices” — a measure of how many minutes of work it takes to buy everyday goods — resources on average became 72% more affordable between 1980 and 2018, even as global population surged. Australia tracked slightly above that average.

But not everything is getting cheaper. In Australia, housing, health, and education have become genuinely less affordable — and this is no coincidence. These are precisely the sectors where government regulation has suppressed competition and distorted prices. The solution lies not in more intervention, but in more freedom: up-zoning, deregulation, and trusting markets to do what they do best.

Marian L. Tupy is the editor of Human​Progress​.org, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, and co-author of The Simon Abundance Index. He specialises in globalisation and global well‐​being and politics and economics of Europe and Southern Africa.

Tupy is the co-author of Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet (2022) and Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know: And Many Others You Will Find Interesting (2020).

His articles have been published in the Financial Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Newsweek, the U.K. Spectator, Foreign Policy, and various other outlets both in the United States and overseas. He has appeared on BBC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, Fox Business, and other channels.

Tupy received his BA in international relations and classics from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and his PhD in international relations from the University of St. Andrews in Great Britain.

The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Marian Tupy, Centre for Independent Studies & visiting scholar in residence from Cato in the US: Super Abundance appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Fiona and Macca are joined live in the studio by Rachel Westaway, as they discuss Victoria’s economy, CFEMU scandal and how the new Federal Liberal Leadership team is handling things so far.

Rachel Westaway is the Liberal Member for Prahran in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, having won the seat in a historic February 2025 by-election. She is the first person of Thai heritage elected to the Victorian Parliament.

The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Rachel Westaway, Lib Prahran, Shadow Asst Min Small Business + Hospitality: her take on the CFMEU scandal; how will Angus and Jane do in Canberra? appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Georgie Purcell- Senator, N Vic. Animal Justice Party, Why Minor Parties and Independents matter in our Political System! appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Fiona and Macca are joined live in the studio by Katherine Copsey, Greens, MLC for Southern Metro,

Katherine Copsey, is an Australian politician and lawyer currently serving as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for the Australian Greens Victoria, representing the Southern Metropolitan Region. Elected in the 2022 Victorian state election, she assumed office on 26 November 2022.

Since February 2023, Copsey has held several leadership roles for the Victorian Greens, including Deputy Party Room Chair and spokesperson for Justice, Gambling Harm Reduction, Animal Protection, and Major Events. As of February 2025, she serves as the spokesperson for Public Transport and Roads.

Copsey’s legislative priorities centre on environmental and social justice, advocating for renewable energy, increased affordable housing, improved public transport, and community-focused urban planning.

The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Katherine Copsey, Greens, MLC for Southern Metro, Passing of the Vicarious Liability Bill appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Macca is back in the hosting seat and Jack’s back behind the panel and our very special guest host is Fiona Patten. Our first guest for this week is Cameron Doig, from the Law Firm, Arnold, Thomas and Becker, dissecting the news on the vicarious liability laws in Victoria.

Cameron is a skilled and tested solicitor who has secured over 60 settlements for survivors of child sexual abuse and recovered over $40 million in total damages for his clients.

Cameron’s experience includes:

• Settling 12 claims against the Victorian Government’s Department of Education for victims of abuse by teacher Peter Sutton, including one claim for over $1.4 million;

• Securing a $550,000 settlement against two Catholic religious orders for abuse of a former school student; and

• Securing a $500,000 settlement for a man abused in Bayswater Boys Home and Turana.

He has appeared in print and TV media discussing his clients’ cases and issues confronting abuse survivors.

He has volunteered at the Refugee Legal Night Service since August 2023.

“Vicarious liability is a legal doctrine holding a party (often an employer) responsible for the wrongful acts or omissions of another (usually an employee) committed during the course of employment, even if the superior is not directly at fault. It is a form of strict liability, commonly applied in workplace discrimination, harassment, or negligence cases”

https://humanrights.gov.au/resource-hub/by-resource-type/publications/sex-and-gender-rights/vicarious-liability

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The post Sat, 21st, Feb, 2026: Cameron Doig, Arnold, Thomas and Becker: Explaining the changes to legislation for Vicarious Liability in Victoria appeared first on Saturday Magazine.