Saturday Magazine

Nevena and Macca are joined live on the phone by Peter Kurti, Director of the Culture, Prosperity & Civil Society program and is also Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Law and Business at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

He has written extensively about issues of religion, liberty, culture and civil society in Australia, and appears frequently as a commentator on television and radio.

In addition to having written many newspaper articles, he is also the author or editor of a number of books, including The Tyranny of Tolerance: Threats to Religious Liberty in Australia; Euthanasia: Seven Questions about Voluntary Assisted Dying; Sacred & Profane: Faith and Belief in a Secular Society; and Beyond Belief: Rethinking the Voice to Parliament. Peter is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and an ordained minister in the Anglican Church of Australia.

In his most recent paper, Kurti, argues that, “that Australia’s democratic institutions must learn to manage, rather than resolve, deep moral disagreement. Building on the pluralist tradition of Isaiah Berlin, John Gray and Bernard Williams, this report contends that conflict between legitimate but incompatible values is a permanent feature of free societies. It warns against the illusion that political consensus can be achieved through neutrality, proceduralism or abstract ideals alone”.

“Liberal democracies must instead draw defensible lines — imperfect, contested, but necessary — that allow diverse groups to live together under common rules”.

https://www.cis.org.au/publication/drawing-the-line-moral-conflict-and-the-fragility-of-liberal-tolerance/

The post Sat, 13th, Dec, 2025: Peter Kurti, Centre for Ind. Studies; Drawing The Line; Australia’s Democratic Institutions Must Manage, Not Resolve, Moral Disagreement appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Macca are Nevena are joined live in the studio by  Ruchit Kulkarni, University of Melb; Climate Expert, as they discuss; what exactly is driving the heatwave across Australia ?Are these kinds of heatwaves becoming more common, and why? Is Australia heading toward a bad bushfire season this summer? How does La Niña this year is going to play the role in shaping Australia summer and bushfire season?

Ruchit Kulkarni graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Master’s degree in Atmospheric Science. His expertise lies in analysing the causes of extreme rainfall on a daily timescale across western New South Wales. Using historical records and modern datasets, he works to understand how our climate is changing and what that means for future risks. Ruchit is passionate about science communication and regularly engages with students and community audiences to discuss weather, climate, and natural hazards

The post Sat, 13th, Dec, 2025: Ruchit Kulkarni, University of Melb, Climate Expert, What’s Driving Australia’s Heatwave? appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and Macca spoke to Dr. Joel Scanlan, Snr Lecturer Uni of Tas. Cyber Security Expert; Will the Social Media Ban Actually Protect Aussie Kids?

Dr Scanlan is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Tasmania. He specialises in cybersecurity and privacy, having undertaken a PhD in the area, and has been teaching and consulting with the industry for over 15 years. He is also an adjunct Associate Professor in Maritime Cybersecurity at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences. Joel is an active researcher on projects relating to child exploitation prevention, maritime cyber security, and machine learning.

Joel Scanlan is the academic co-lead of the CSAM Deterrence Centre, which is a partnership between the University of Tasmania and Jesuit Social Services, who operate Stop It Now (Australia), a therapeutic service providing support to people who are concerned with their own, or someone else’s, feelings towards children. Dr Scanlan has received funding from the Australian Research Council, Australian Institute of Criminology, the eSafety Commissioner, Lucy Faithfull Foundation and the Internet Watch Foundation.

“With the federal government’s ban on social media accounts for under-16s taking effect this week, as well as age assurance for logged-in search engine users on December 27 and adult content on March 9 2026, we have reached a landmark moment – but we must be clear about what this regulation achieves and what it ignores”, writes Dr Scanlan, in his latest article for the conversation.

“The ban may keep some children out (if they don’t circumvent it), but it does nothing to fix the harmful architecture awaiting them upon return. Nor does it take steps to modify the harmful behaviour of some adult users. We need meaningful change toward a digital duty of care, where platforms are legally required to anticipate and mitigate harm”

https://theconversation.com/banning-kids-from-social-media-doesnt-make-online-platforms-safer-heres-what-will-do-that-271103

The post Sat, 13th, Dec, 2025: Dr Joel Scanlan, Snr Lecturer Uni of Tas. Cyber Security Expert; Will the Social Media Ban Actually Protect Aussie Kids? appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and Macca are joined live in the studio by Rachel Westaway, State Member for Prahran, and Glyn Lewis, Local Author Spotlight.

At the 2025 Prahran state by-election, Rachel Westaway was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly with a 13.4% two-party swing in her favour.

The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Greens MP Sam Hibbins following revelations of an extramarital affair with a staffer] and allegations of inappropriate behaviour toward an intern.

Westaway’s campaign was based on addressing “law-and-order” issues, including around the Chapel Street precinct.

At the time of her election, Westaway became the first Liberal candidate for a lower house seat across Australia to recover a seat from the Greens, after Prahran became the first lower house seat the Liberal Party had lost to the Greens, in 2014.

In October 2025, Westaway was appointed Shadow Assistant Minister for Small Business and Shadow Assistant Minister for Hospitality.

Following the change of leadership of the Victorian Liberal Party in November 2025 and subsequent Shadow Cabinet Shadow reshuffle, Westaway was appointed Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition (Metropolitan), Shadow Assistant Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, and Shadow Assistant Minister for Melbourne.

Glyn Lewis, Melbourne based author, was born in the UK, he immigrated to Australia, with his family in 1966, when he was 9. After a long rewarding career in Hospitality Management he tired at the age of 60, when he was inspired to write his fist children’s book after watching a mother read to her child in a local library.

He started his literary journey at 62 years of age. Now 67 years old, he is passionate about early learning in young children and thought he could contribute and create early learning in a fun and positive way. He now has twenty-nine children’s books published of which he is very proud of.

His literary journey has taken a different direction as he is now writing Suspense Psychological Thrillers. One is successfully published titled The Bride of Fire- The Armageddon Awakens. Another novel that he is working on is currently in production.

https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/author/B0CWGKWS6T/allbooks?ingress=0&visitId=09f29923-e45f-4d0d-8b58-a290155fef1f

The post Sat, 13th, Dec, 2025: Rachel Westaway, State Member for Prahran, and Glyn Lewis, Local Author Spotlight. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Nevena and Macca talk to Leo Puglisi, from Youth News Site, 6 News, as they discuss the year that was.

6 News is a streaming news channel run by a team of young journalists, bringing you independent and impartial reporting every single day.

They  have news bulletins every hour keeping you informed with the latest headlines here at home and around the world.

https://www.6newsau.com/?wix-vod-video-id=1t2NPkiVgK4&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-m2ubn10o

The post Sat, 13th, Dec, 2025: Leo Puglisi, 6 News, The Year That Was In Politics and News appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Macca and Nevena are back in the hosting seats this week as they discuss what’s coming up on this week’s show and the week in news, views, revies and comments.

The post Sat, 13th, Dec, 2025: Weekly Wrap Up with Nevena and Macca appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Kenny and Sally talk to Myles Russell-Cook, Artistic Director and CEO, ACCA; Highlights of his First Year.

Myles discusses his first year in the hot seat at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Arts and what’s coming up

Myles commenced in the role of Artistic Director & CEO of ACCA in 2024 and was formerly Senior Curator of Australian and First Nations Art at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Myles has a long-standing interest in cultural, gender and sexual diversity within both Australian and International contemporary practice and has worked across a broad range of exhibitions and projects. For over eight years Myles was one of a team of curators who oversaw major contemporary art exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria, including NGV Triennial, and Melbourne Now.

Myles is the curator of the upcoming touring show, The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art, presented in partnership with the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. This exhibition is the largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art ever presented internationally.

The post Saturday, 6th, Dec, 2025: Myles Russell-Cook, Artistic Director and CEO, ACCA; Highlights of his First Year appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Sally and Kenny are joined live in the studio by Dr Varun Kommidi, GP, Prahran Market Clinic. The TGA has just issued a concerning warning for Ozempic style drugs, after links to suicidal thoughts.

Varun completed his medical degree from the University of Melbourne in 2014 and worked as a junior doctor at Monash Health in internal medicine before transitioning to General Practice.

Since completing General Practice training in 2020 he has also commenced further training in HIV medicine, and Sexual Health for all individuals.

Clinical interests include: General preventive medicine, Chronic disease management, Sexual Health, and Mental health.

For listeners triggered by this segment please visit Joy’s support page:

https://joy.org.au/support/

KODAK Digital Still Camera

The post Saturday, 6th, Dec, 2025: Dr Varun Kommidi GP, Prahran Market Clinic, TGA Announces Some Concerns over Ozempic. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Sally and Kenny were joined live in the studio by Switchboard CEO, Jenna Tuke, as they discuss her highs & lows for 2025, what’s been achieved and

Jenna Tuke is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Switchboard Victoria, taking on the role in early 2025 after extensive experience in health, human services, and LGBTIQA+ advocacy, particularly in sexual assault, family violence, and mental health, bringing expertise in crisis management, clinical leadership, and community support to guide the organisation’s growth in supporting Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ communities.

If you need support please visit the below links:

https://www.switchboard.org.au/qlife

https://www.switchboard.org.au/rainbow-door

https://www.switchboard.org.au/app-violence-support

https://www.switchboard.org.au/rainbow-families

https://www.switchboard.org.au/family-violence

https://www.switchboard.org.au/qtibpoc-program

https://www.switchboard.org.au/people-of-faith

The post Saturday, 6th, Dec, 2025: Jenna Tuke, CEO Switchboard Victoria, 2025 Retrospective. appeared first on Saturday Magazine.

Sally and Kenny are joined live on air by Wayne Gatt, secretary of The Police Association Victoria @PoliceAssocVic, as they discuss tackling crime in Melbourne, protests and and his focus for helping the LGBTIQA+ community, Wayne also discusses the new Designated Area policy.

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The post Saturday, 6th, Dec, 2025: Wayne Gatt, CEO – Police Association Victoria, Tackling Crime in the City and What is a Designated Area? appeared first on Saturday Magazine.