The Banksia Pod

It’s the stuff of media advisor nightmares.

You receive a call from the producer of a renowned investigative journalism team requesting an interview with the CEO. Enter the double-edged sword. Perform well, and this is a golden opportunity to provide context and information to your stakeholders. Perform poorly and it’s a PR disaster in waiting.

The recent Four Corners episode exploring Australia’s supermarket duopoly provided us with such a case study.

Coles CEO, Leah Weckert was calm and collected, answering the queries she was aware of, and taking new information on notice. Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci was not – and it culminated in his resignation in the same week. 
 
On this episode of What’s At Stake? The team at Banksia Strategic Partners breakdown the 'xs & os' of media interviews as well as their opportunities, risks, and possible outcomes.

Guests:

James Fitzpatrick, Director

Matilda Finn, Communications Associate

On this episode of Michelson Alexander Explains, we are exploring the potential of renewable gas in Australia’s decarbonisation journey.

What role could renewable gases like biomethane play in the transition? What kind of misconceptions are there around renewable gas and how can we change the narrative?

Acting Associate, Matilda Finn and Senior Associate, James Fitzpatrick are joined by special guest, Mike Davis, the Managing Director of Optimal Renewable Gas.

Mike has over 15 years of experience in the energy sector and has held several senior technical and commercial roles with APA, ATCO Australia and Jemena where he was responsible for developing and commercialising underground gas storage, gas transmission and expansion, gas-fired power generation, green hydrogen production and blending into the gas grid.

▬ On this episode ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

(0:00) - Intro

(1:10) - What is the current renewable gas landscape in Australia?

(2:09) - What is biogas?

(4:29) - How do Australia's biogas developments compare to overseas projects?

(13:43) - What are the situations where biogas is a more appropriate renewable energy source than other methods?

(17:40) - What are Optimal Renewable Gas' current projects?

(19:35) - What policy changes are required to allow renewable gas to develop in Australia?

(25:20) - Does renewable gas currently have a social licence to operate?

(31:26) - What is the imagined role of biogas in the energy mix of 2050?

Today's Guest: Mike Davis, Managing Director @ ⁠Optimal Renewable Gas⁠

Treasurer Jim Chalmers unveiled a federal budget that he says strikes a “considered and methodical balance” between tackling inflation and supporting struggling Australians. 

In so doing, Federal Labor have kicked-off what you might dub “Budget Season” across the nation. And while the federal budget forecasted a modest surplus for the first time in 15 years, the state and territory budgets are likely to be less generous. Across Australia, the decisions that governments make in their budgets clearly signpost each administration’s appetite for different projects.

On this episode of Michelson Alexander Explains... Communications Specialist Gordon Hunter Meredith is joined by Acting Associate Matilda Finn and Founder and Director of Michelson Alexander, Steve Michelson to explore the key takeaways from the federal budget and how organisations should approach budget submissions for the upcoming financial year.

On this episode:

(1:19) - The key takeaways from the 2023/24 Federal Budget

(5:53) - What is the main narrative Labor is trying to tell?

(8:28) - Given the updates on NDIS funding and reforms, what does the future hold for stakeholders in this sector? 

(10:06) - Vaping is one of the “hero” budget investments for this set of forecasts, what are the opportunities for other public health campaigns to align themselves with this measure?  

(15:33) - Energy investments for the home and for industry seem quite separate. Is there an opportunity to align these objectives in the future?

(20:50) - While the Budget signalled a $40 per week increase to JobSeeker, it was significantly less than what the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee recommended. What can organisations learn from this budget submission? 

(25:40)- How should organisations approach the next “pre-election” budget? 

On March 25th, NSW voters faced a choice between reinstating the incumbent coalition government, promising to keep their state moving, for a fourth term, or commencing a fresh start with a new look Labor team eager to end their 12-year stint on opposition benches.

What will Australia's renewable energy transition involve? How will we get there? Who will it affect? How do we ensure industries and workers are not left behind? Who’s leading the charge in Australia? And the billion-dollar question, who’s footing the bill?

On this episode of Michelson Alexander Explains... we are discussing Australia’s transition to renewable energy and to do so, we are joined by Patricia Boyce, the founder of Seed Advisory and board member for the Centre for New Energy Technologies.

This episode was made in partnership with the Energy Leadership Summit and Expo.

Politicians, business owners, media professionals and sporting organisations. According to social scientists Karen Cerulo of Rutgers University and Janet Ruane of Montclair State University , who published the preeminent study of public apologies, “Apologies of the Rich and Famous”, these are the four professions who are most likely to have to offer public apologies. And so, chances are if you’re listening to this podcast at some stage in 2023, you will need to advise on, draft or offer a public apology.  

Since the restart of the international sporting calendar, spectators’ appetites for global sporting events have only been matched by countries' and companies' desires for soft power gains.

While the Beijing Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar headlined 2022’s most controversial sportwashing accusations, back home in Australia, many of our national sporting codes also faced their own crises.

In this episode of Michelson Alexander Explains, we explore the notion of sportswashing and how it affects all of sports' stakeholders.

Guest: Dr Sam Duncan, Adjunct Research Fellow for the Sport Innovation Research Group at Swinburne University of Technology.

Blink, and you might have missed it. After a fortnight-long sprint of personality-focused ads for and against the incumbent Premier, Victoria has voted and Dan Andrews has led his party to a third consecutive election win, equalling former Premier Steve Bracks' record.

In the aftermath of another mini “Dan-slide” victory, the focus has shifted to the hastily rebuilding Liberal party with little to no attention being given to what the continuation of the status-quo might mean for Victoria and Victorians in the next four years.

Today on Michelson Alexander Explains, we're joined by Associate Jeremy Phillips-Yelland and Communication Specialist Matilda Finn to read the post-election tea leaves and explore what this election result and Labor’s “Positive Plan” might mean for the future of Victoria.

It’s become part of our daily online morning routine. We log into our email accounts, to be welcomed by a phishing alert from our workplace’s IT team telling us that the email littered with links and typos, wasn’t from the global CEO. We hit 'block' and then 'delete' and get on with our day. 

But what happens when it isn’t a phishing attempt but a mass-scale database breach or a ransomware attack? What happens when it’s not just emails, but identification documents, payment methods, or even medical histories being hacked, stolen, and redistributed?

This is no longer the theme of late 90s sci-fi movies, but the headline topic of the last month of news, with Optus and Medibank becoming the prime examples of the cybersecurity issues at hand. 

Now that it’s no longer a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ your organisation will experience a cyberattack, how should you respond and communicate in the heat of the moment? What will your customers, shareholders, or partners be expecting from you? 

The challenge can appear daunting but in this episode of MA Explains, we are joined by Michelson Alexander Senior Associate James Fitzpatrick who walks us through the tried and tested crisis communication models that can help guide your response and protect your reputation.

Just seven months after former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg delivered his budget in March, Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered the first of two Federal Budgets that the Labor Government will deliver this financial year.

On this episode of Michelson Alexander Explains, Communications Specialists Matilda Finn and Gordon Hunter Meredith are joined by Michelson Alexander’s Founder and Director Steve Michelson for a comprehensive look at where Labor’s priorities lie, whether they are following through on their election commitments, and how they plan to manage Australia's volatile economic forecasts. Before looking ahead to what we might expect to see in May 2023’s budget.