The Grapevine

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan are joined on the line by Nick Blandford, Gippsland farmer and member of Farmers for Climate Action, who also sits on Victoria’s Young Farmer’s Advisory Council. Blanford discusses climate attitudes in regional areas and the bush.

Then, Executive Director of Digital Rights Watch, Lucie Krahulcova, calls in to talk about their new project Rebalance the Internet Economy to discuss problems with the current media bargaining legislation, especially from a local lens and upcoming Melbourne events in the works from their outfit.

And following the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission’s report into Victorian prisons which found evidence of corruption and violence against inmates, Andreea Lachsz, head of policy, communications and strategy at Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) breaks down how ill-treatment of Indigenous Australians thrives in the private prison system, and their urgent calls for prison reform.

As Australia closes its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Walkley Award winning writer and broadcaster Jeff Sparrow to discuss Australia’s military legacy in Afghanistan and what it says about conduct in future conflicts.

Then, human rights lawyer and Executive Director of Refugee Legal, David Manne, calls in to break down what’s happening with the Murugappan family and discuss Australia's asylum seeker regime.

And Karen Ellis, co-founder of Mend It, Australia, a group advocating the right to repair gadgets and appliances, talks about the Productivity Commission’s plan to recommend that manufacturers should provide consumers and repairers access to spare parts.

On this episode of The Grapvine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) CEO, Emma King, to discuss the current state of Victoria’s social services as the sector struggles to meet demand. King explains VCOSS’s advocacy for a targeted wage subsidy for workers left without hours during the most recent lockdown.

Then, award-winning journalist and author, Trevor Watson, calls in for the 32-year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre to discuss his coverage of the event as an ABC correspondent in 1989, and the current climate of reporting on China. Watson has co-edited The Beijing Bureau, which brings together 25 essays of Australian correspondents reporting on the rise of China.

And Peter Job talks about his new book A Narrative of Denial: Australia and the Indonesian Violation of East Timor, which describes how the Whitlam and Fraser governments “used the guise of national interest to forge a false account of the Indonesian invasion of East Timor”. Peter Job was involved in the East Timor support movement during the Indonesian occupation, including working on the radio link to Fretilin in 1978, and has a PhD in International and Political Studies from the University of New South Wales.

With Samoa in political deadlock since its elections last month, Lefaoali'i Dion Enari, PhD candidate at Bond University exploring Indigenous and diasporic culture, gets on the line with Dylan and Kulja to break down the political situation in Samoa. The incumbent caretaker Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi from the Human Rights Protection Party has been accused of attempting to retain power from the majority FAST party, which was expected to form a new government under Prime Minister-elect Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa, who won the election by one seat.

Then, Chairperson of the Lowitja Institute, advocate for the health of Australia’s First Peoples’ and Alyawarre woman, Aunty Pat Anderson AO, calls in to discuss the Uluru statement from The Heart, which won the Sydney Peace Prize.

And, as “dissident shareholders” capture a third seat on ExxonMobil’s board of directors and courts around the world rule for climate action, Cam Walker from Friends of the Earth breaks down these historic cases and events, and what they mean for addressing climate change.

On this episode of The Grapevine Kulja and Dylan are joined in the studio by Education Policy Fellow at the Mitchell Institute, Peter Hurley, to talk about the recovery of Australian Universities. With the opening of international borders at least a year away, will the tertiary education sector recover to its pre-pandemic levels? Hurley’s piece, ‘As hopes of international students’ return fade’, in The Conversation discusses the economic fallout of keeping the borders closed to international students.

Then, as Australia leads up to Reconciliation week, Muriel Bamblett, CEO of VACCA steps into the station to break down the State budget and its impact on First Nations youth and childcare. Bamblett discusses what real reconciliation would look like in Victoria and the ongoing treaty negotiations between First Nations leaders and government.

And, after 11 days of conflict, a cease fire between Israel and Palestine has been called. Molecular geneticist at the University of Sydney, and Palestinian Rights and Community Advocate Fahad Ali gets on the line to describe his experience watching the conflict over the last few weeks, its impact on the Palestinian community and give an update of the latest information concerning the cease fire. Ali discusses how reporting of the plight of Palestinians has been obscured by a particular “framing” and the notable silence from Canberra regarding the conflict.

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja talks to the ABC’s International Affairs Analyst, Stan Grant, about his experience as a foreign correspondent in Hong Kong and Beijing over the last 10 years. They discuss The Beijing Bureau, a new book Grant contributed to that documents the stories of 25 journalists reporting on China from the 1970s to the present day – including a reflection on the first Aboriginal delegation to China.

Then, Walkley-Award winning writer, editor and broadcaster Jeff Sparrow gets on the line to discuss the ongoing oppression of Palestine by Israel and the resulting humanitarian crisis. Sparrow, alongside almost 600 other journalists and members of the media signed an open letter addressed to editors and publishers saying, “do better on Palestine”. Kulja and Sparrow discuss Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, the war crimes taking place and the human rights violations perpetrated against Palestinians.

And Dean Lombard, policy and research manager at Renew, a non-profit advocating and enabling households to live sustainably, breaks down the disparity between the Federal Government’s “gas-led recovery”, and the Victorian State Government’s initiatives to phase out fossil fuels, including gas, to effectively halving emissions in the state by 2050.

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan are joined in the Triple R performance space by former Greens Senator for WA, Scott Ludlam, to discuss his new book Full Circle: A search for the world that comes next. Ludlam explains how humanity got to the Anthropocene, an era of irreversible climate change and ecological collapse, and the corrupt political, corporate and financial systems that brought 99 percent of the world population to labouring for the wealth of the 1 percent and the extinction of the species.

This is the first time The Grapevine has been on screen, and you can watch back HERE. 

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with Crikey reporter, Charlie Lewis, to talk all about the Tasmanian State election. Lewis gives his on-the-ground updates of the evolving situation of the incumbent Liberal Party’s struggle to gain a majority in the lower house and discusses the potential fall-out if the government fails to do so.

And, in the wake of Richard Flanagan’s reporting into Tasmanian Salmon, what seafood is actually sustainable and ethical that we can consider eating? Adrian Meder, Sustainable Seafood Program Manager for The Australian Marine Conservation Society, discusses the fallout of Flanagan’s revelations, what truly is “sustainable” when it comes to seafood and how consumers can find reliable information on how to shop ethically.

Then, Dr Nicole Kalms, co-director of Monash Uni XYX Lab explains the YourGround project, an interactive map to help make public spaces more inclusive and safe for women and gender-diverse Victorians through crowdsourcing community experiences. 

On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan are joined by Grapevine regular guest Dave Nichols and co-editor Sophie Perillo for a special longform conversation about their new book Urban Australia and Post Punk: Exploring Dogs in Space.

A study of an influential music and the cultural scene that existed in Melbourne during the late 1970s and 80s, the release features contributions from music academics, urban planners, and cultural historians

On this episode of The Grapevine, Dylan flies solo and gets on the line with Walkley-Award winning writer, editor and broadcaster, Jeff Sparrow, to discuss the Biden administration’s decision to pull out of Afghanistan and Australia following suit. Sparrow reflects on the lack of discourse in Australia joining the NATO allies in Afghanistan and on our part in the 20-year-long 'forever war'.

Then, as 36,000 Australians remain stranded overseas a year on from the initial international travel ban, PHD Candidate at Melbourne Uni's Melbourne Law School, Elizabeth Hicks, calls in to talk about her policy brief on repatriation of those stranded Australians and her recommendations to expand and improve on Australia’s quarantine system.

And cultural historian Luke Stegemann chats about his new book Amnesia Road, Landscape, violence and memory, an exploration and contrast of the historic violence in rural areas of Australia and Spain.