The National Conservatism Institute of Australia Podcast

My guest today is Mark Leach who is the co-founder of "Never Again Is Now" an organization seeking to combat the increase in antisemitism in Australia. Mark has an interesting history: he grew up in Southern Africa, trained as a medical doctor, before becoming an Anglican Pastor and moving to Australia. He is a very well read and thoughtful guy who has had direct experience dealing with a wide range of ethnic and religious differences over the years. Today we discuss: 1. What he think is causing the increase in antisemitism in Australia? 2. Whether hate speech laws are a good idea? 3. Whether antisemitism is different to other types of ethnic hatred? 4. Whether there is a way to differentiate between the struggles for national self-determination of different ethnic groups? 5. What the impact of mass immigration has been in fostering ethnic conflict in Australia? And much more. https://www.neveragainisnow.com.au/ https://www.markleach.com.au

Dr. Frank Salter is a well-known Australian academic and political scientist known for his work in biosocial science, particularly the integration of biology with social and political studies.Frank has authored several notable books and numerous articles which examine topics such as organisational power, ethnic kinship, and the evolutionary basis of social cohesion.Today we discuss: - What he means by terms such as “multiculturalism”, “civic nationalism”, and “ethno-nationalism”.- Whether a nation can be bound together simply by “values”- Whether there are any ways to effectively manage multi-ethnic societies- Why Western nations in modern times adopted different policies compared to many other traditional nation states- What should be done in future to avoid Australia and other Western nations experiencing the same fate as South Africa.And much more. I hope you enjoy our discussion.https://www.amazon.com/Books-Frank-Salter/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3AFrank%2BSalterhttps://britishaustraliancommunity.com.au/

My guest today is Dr Jamie Q Roberts who is the author of soon to be published book called “The Intellectual Dark Web (A History and Possible Future)” Jamie Roberts is a Lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/jamie-roberts.htmlToday we discuss:- What he means by the Intellectual Dark Web, whether that term is still useful, and what should and should not be included in that definition- What unites and what differences there are on the online right- Whether there is any hope that the new media and online right and will reinvigorate our universities and traditional media- What the future might hold for IDW types and intellectual life in the West more broadlyAnd much more. https://www.amazon.com/Intellectual-Dark-Web-History-Possible/dp/1634312708https://x.com/jamieqroberts

My guest today is Dr Bob Birrell who is a well-known demographer and critic of mass immigration.Bob was formerly a professor at Monash University and has acted as an advisor to successive Australian governments on immigration policy.He is currently a president of the Australian Population Research Institute think tank which has just released a survey on the attitudes of Australian to immigration. www.tapri.org.auAmong other things we discuss:- His recent report on Australians attitudes to immigration- The impact of mass immigration on Australia in terms of productivity, social cohesion, housing, and fertility rates.- Why Treasury has got the forecasts on immigration numbers so wrong- What Australia will look like if we continue with our current policies- Whether there is anything realistically that can be done And much more.Recent poll and research report conducted by APRI mentioned in the episode:https://tapri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Elites-vs-the-electorate-report1-2025-finalV2.pdf

Dr Tanveer Ahmed is a Sydney-based psychiatrist, author, and newspaper columnist. His books include The Exotic Rissole, Fragile Nation and In Defence of Shame. He has written regularly for the Australian Financial Review, The Australian and for the Sydney Morning Herald amongst other publications. He has served on local government and on multiple Boards and advisory committees. Today we discuss: - The recent controversy regarding the Bankstown Hospital nurses and antisemitism more generally in Australia - How seriously we should take those remarks and how they are similar and different to other forms of sectarianism that have existed in Australia - Whether identity politics is really a bad thing and why individuals need identity - To what extent the problem is ideology rather than simply long-standing intractable ethnic conflict - Other questions regarding national identity, Islam, liberalism and the west And much more. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?i=books-single-index&rh=p_27%3ATanveer%2BAhmed&s=relevancerank&text=Tanveer+Ahmed&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1

My guest today is Bob Carr - the longest serving premier of NSW who also served as Australian Foreign Minister in the Gillard Government. Bob is a former journalist who has published several books touching on literature, Australian history, and his time in politics. We had covered a variety of subjects in our chat - some of those like immigration and foreign policy - where I thought there is a surprising overlap with those who have a national conservative perspective. On others, like trade policy, as you will see, he was less interested in discussing. We also covered China, JD Vance’s recent speech, his views on Make America Healthy Again, who he thinks are the best writers and most well-read politicians in Australia today, and much more. https://www.amazon.com.au/s?i=books-single-index&rh=p_27%3ABob%2BCarr x.com/bobjcarr

My guest to today is Dr Philippa Martyr who is an academic at the university of Western Australia, an author, a regular columnist of the Catholic Weekly, and one of the more knowledgeable people about the state of the Catholic Church in Australia today.She has just released a new book “Witness: The Future Catholic Church in Australia” which contains probably the most comprehensive and UpToDate data about the true state of the Church and Catholic-branded organizations in Australia. It does not paint a pretty picture. However, she is a friend of the Church and the book also contains some thoughtful analysis about what should its future should look like.In our chat we discuss1. Why non-Catholics should care about the state of the Catholic Church in Australia today2. How dire things really are3. What the cause of this situation?4. Whether we need a Catholic DOGE to get Catholic organizations focused on their true mission.And much more.https://www.connorcourtpublishing.com.au/Witness-The-future-Catholic-Church-in-Australia-by-Philippa-Martyr_p_636.htmlhttps://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/philippa-martyrhttps://catholicweekly.com.au/author/dr-philippa-martyr/

My guest today is Australia-Canadian academic and writer Dr James Allan. Jim currently is the Garrick Professor of Law at the University of Queensland and has taught at universities across the English-speaking world. He writes a regular column for the Spectator Australia and has been prominent in many public debates in Australia such as the recent Voice referendum, free speech restrictions, the government heavy handed response to Covid, and the debate about a bill of rights.In this episode we discuss:Whether Canada Should Remain An Independent Country or Be Part of the USA like Trump seems to be suggestingHow Canadian elections differ from other English-speaking western democraciesWhether there is any real difference between the Canadian Conservative Party and the Australia Liberal Party and whether any are really conservativeWhat should be done if anything about the Australia SenateHow matters like immigration, trade, free speech are playing out across the Anglosphere today And much more.https://law.uq.edu.au/profile/1302/james-allanhttps://www.spectator.com.au/author/james-allan/

George Christensen is a former Member of Parliament and journalist, who currently serves as the Campaign Director for CitizenGO Australia https://nationfirst.com.au/ We discuss among other things:What the new hate speech laws mean for Australian and why people are concernedWhat is likely to happen regarding the enforcement of these lawsWhether Elon Musk and Donald Trump would be persecuted under Australia's current speech regimeWhether there is anything special about Nazi symbols and whether they should be bannedWhat is means for religious libertyWhat concerned citizens should doAnd much more. Details of the new Australian hate speech laws are found here: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7240

My guest today is Moira Deeming a well-known Australian politician who has been member of the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria, for the Western Metropolitan Region since 2022. Moira has risen to national prominence in Australia and internationally as a result of her battle resisting various aspects of gender ideology. She was also involved for most of last year in high profile defamation trial against then Victorian Liberal leader who falsely accused her of being an associate of neo-Nazi sympathisers and extremists. Moira has an interesting and unconventional background for a Liberal Party representative and has long standing traditional ties to the Labor Party. The district she represents an area which has long been seen as being "dead red" i.e. an area where the centre-right has no chance of success. Today we discuss: How she is holding up after her long trial What she thinks is ultimately driving proponents of the gender ideology Why it is that even politicians that agree with her do not have the courage to speak up Why there is an intergenerational divide among women on gender ideology What impact Trump's recent executive orders might have in Australia What she thinks of the realignment in politics in the UK and US and what is means for Australia Why Victoria is no longer the "jewel in the crown" of the Liberal Party and what can be done about that. And much much more.

Dan Ryan, Executive Director of NatCon Australia and Jordan Knight, Founder of Migration Watch get together on the day of Donald Trump formally takes office.We discuss among other things:The aesthetic of the new right and how Trump's use of YMCA as his campaign theme song fits in to it - or does it?How serious is Trump about annexing Canada and whether there is some deeper logic behind it as a way of getting other Anglophone countries to man up The reaction from the mainstream left and right in Australia to the Trump victory and whether there is any evidence they understand the national conservative agenda Marco Rubio confirmation hearing speech to be new US Secretary of State, how he is political astute, and talks in a way no Australian politician yet does on trade, immigration and foreign policyThe in-fights on the new right - HIB visas, Vivek Ramaswamy and how the tech bros misunderstood the immigration debate, Elon's involvement in the UK grooming gangs debateWhether the black-pills have it right or whether young men and and should pick themselves off the ground YMCA styleAnd much much more

My guest today is Ian Fletcher who is one of the leading academic critics of free trade in the United States today. Ian is on the advisory board of the Coalition for a Prosperous America and is the author or co-author of many books including Free Trade Doesn’t Work, The Conservative Case against Free Trade, and most recently Industrial Policy for the United States. https://prosperousamerica.org/advisory-board/ian-fletcher/ https://www.amazon.com.au/stores/author/B003BDMOEI We discuss among other things: - Who is going to be in charge of trade and industrial policy in Trump 2.0 - What the impact of Trump trade policy on Australia is likely to be - What trade and industrial policy means for the USD and for currencies - How industrial policy can be done poorly and how to avoid some of the downsides - What Australia's trade policy should be like going forward - How to determine what goods you need to produce locally and which (if any) you can be comfortable importing And much more

My guest today is Aimee Terese a well-known online political and social commentator x.com/aimeeterese .Aimee is Australian although she is not particularly well known in her homeland. However, she does have a prolific following on X and is influential in online right circles in the United States and elsewhere.Today we discuss:How she sees herself and how her political views evolvedIf X didn't exist what she would doThe interaction between the online right and the mainstream media and the general publicSex differences and how they play out in politicsCensorship, cancellation and the free pressWhether many humans actually want truth Her views on religionAnd much more.

Today I speak with Avik Roy who is a US conservative commentator, activist and founder of the foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity https://freopp.org/team/the-freopp-founders-avik-roy/ He has particular expertise in health care reform and has advised Mitt Romney and other Republican Presidential candidates in this area. He has also been a prominent critic of the national conservative movement in the United States and was instrumental in pulling together something call "The Freedom Conservative Statement of Principles" found here: https://www.freedomconservatism.org/p/freedom-conservatism-a-statement We talk briefly about health care in the United States, how concerns about Obamacare did not feature as much in the most recent Presidential election as they have in the past, and his view about what the appointments of RFK Jr and Jay Battachaya mean. We then get in to national conservative v freedom conservative debate. His views on JD Vance, Trump and some of the key areas such as trade, foreign policy and immigration, where NatCons and his freedom cons have different approaches, and whether this is all just a rehash of what Disraeli and Gladstone were debating in the 19th Century. Hope you enjoy.

Andrew is a Senior Policy Analyst in Trade Policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC. Used to work for the British and American governments dealing with foreign policy and trade issues for many years.We discuss:Who is actually going to be in charge of trade policy under Trump 2.0?What trade policies are likely to be actually implemented?What will be the likely trading relationship between China and the US in future?Will Australia receive or need an exemption from any new trade policies?What should Australia's trade policy be going forward? Should we implement tariffs on China?And much more.

Interview with Simon Hankinson - Senior Research Fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation How much of a focus immigration now is among think tanks in the US Capital and how much this has changed since the pre-Trump era What Trump's policy is likely to be with respect to legal immigration Why Tucker Carlson seems to like The Heritage Foundation rather than other DC think tanksHow diversity, equity and inclusion programmes undermine US foreign policy And much more

Jordan and Dan catch up Among other things we discuss:- Reactions to immigration restriction speech by tech entrepreneur Matt Barrie- Why the major parties in Australia aren't doing anything about mass immigration even though Kier Starmer and Justin Trudeau are making statements, at least in theory, saying numbers must be cut dramatically- Why ABC Chairman Kim Williams and the mainstream media in Australia remain clueless about the new media environment- Why are single women not voting for Trump unlike other demographic groups and what to do about it- Why the reaction to the synagogue attack in Melbourne largely avoids the real issue of immigrationAnd much more

Gregory R. Copley is a strategic analyst who for over half century worked at the highest levels with various governments around the world.He currently serves as President of the Washington-based International Strategic Studies Association and is editor-in-chief of the online journal Defence & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy. Born in Western Australia, he Member of the Order of Australia and is the author or co-author of over 35 books. Further information found here: https://www.strategicstudies.org/issa/GRCbio.htmWe discuss:How he ended up in Washington DCWhy has detailed in-country knowledge been degraded and what it meansHow does one strike the balance between covert operations that a state needs to conduct to secure its interests and what its nations citizens should be entitled to knowWhat should Australia's trade policy be with the United States and China going forwardWhat lessons the Normans can teach us todayWhat should Australia aspire to be as a nation in 50 yearsAnd much more

My guest today is Dr Gordon Menzies. Gordon is an Associate Professor in Economics at the UTS Business School in Sydney.He has had an illustrious academic career. Amongst other things he received his PhD from Oxford University and is a former economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia.In 2021 he published a book “Western Fundamentalism – Democracy, Sex and the Liberation of Man”. We discuss:Whether “liberalism” should be compared to a fundamentalist ideologyHow he now feels about the economic liberalisation of the 1980s in Australia in which he was deeply involved at a policy making levelHow economic liberal thinking has influenced modern relationship and has changed their natureWhat is wrong with the view that ever-increasing social, economic and sexual freedom will lead to greater happinessThe problem of viewing traditional social institutions and customary restraints as simply individual choice within an overall liberal frameworkWhether there is cure for liberal fundamentalismAnd much more.

Gray Connolly is a Barrister-at-Law in Coram Chambers in Sydney, Australia. His practice is mainly in constitutional law, public law, as well as corporations and resources law. Gray has advised the Australian Government on national security and public law matters. Gray served previously as a naval intelligence officer in the Royal Australian Navy in the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, East Timor, and the Middle East, including service in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gray also periodically writes on national security and governance matters from a conservative perspective. He keeps a blog at “Strategy Counsel” and his Twitter is @GrayConnollyWide-ranging discussion befitting a man with such deep and broad knowledge about so many things. We cover his political development, Ukraine, Middle East, China, Big Australia, and how close we are to our modern day Caesar crossing the Rubicon.

Virginia is a former ABC journalist and now freelance writer based on a farm in southern NSW where she lives there with her husband and four kids. She is a regular contributor to The Australian, author of soon to be published book “All Mothers Work”, and founder of www.parentsworkcollective.org.au She recently spoke at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in Sydney where we met. In this interview we discuss: How we can improve the image of motherhood in the media, why this is necessary, and how this might be achievedWhat a sensible pro-natalist / family policy looks like and how we need to make parenting less of a heroic undertaking than it currently isWhat she makes of the "tradwife" phenomenonWhat single professional career-minded women do and don't understand about motherhood - pros and consWhether she considers herself a feminist and her views on Simone De Beauvoir, Betty Friedan and others And much more

I speak with UK academic Dr Daniel Pitt about his recent book on Post-liberalism and the Future of Conservatism. We discuss among other things: The situation in the UK today and why, despite having many erudite and interesting intellectuals, journalists, podcasters on the right, British politics is such a basket case at the momentHow British conservatism differs from conservatism in the new worldWhether and how liberals and conservatism should cooperate?Why Australia does not have the same intellectual tradition when it comes to "conservatism"What "national conservatism" actually means and how it differs (if at all) from past versions of conservatismWhere "red toryism" and "blue labour" are now What a post-liberal and future conservative future looks like. And much more.

My guest today is Tim Andrews is Director of Consumer Issues for Americans for Tax Reform based in Washington DC. He was previously Executive Director of the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance is or has been on the boards of a host of free market think tanks globally including the HR Nicholls Society, and the Australian Libertarian Society. He previously ran the very successful Friedman Conferences in Sydney for many years. We discussed:The current mood in Washington DC and how people are reactingHis interpretation of Trump policy framework and whether it really differs from the previous Reagan centre-right Washington ConsensusHis views on Ukraine war His views on immigration and his personal experience with the Cronulla Riots in SydneyOur long standing argument on trade policy and why he still is in favour of free tradeWhether if any of his policy positions have changed since Trump rise in 2015. How the Trump presidency could go wrong and whether the current national conservative moment could in turn followed by a more libertarian moment in due courseAnd much more.

Jordan and Dan catch up to discuss the US Election (with joy)!Among other things we discuss: Why Gen X and Gen X swung strongly behind TrumpHow Trump 2024 differs from 2016What the new coalition of Tech Bros (Elon, Theil, etc), Media Bros (Rogan, Tucket, etc) , Health Bros (RFK Jr, etc), and Thinking Bros (JD Vance, Vivek, etc) make the MAGA agenda stronger and more durableHow the Australian mainstream media and the political class still don't get itHow the UK political class are especially cluelessHow it could all go wrong and right over the next 4 years

Interview with Hon John Ruddick MLC has been a Libertarian member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 20 April 2023. He is the first member of that party to be elected to the NSW Parliament. Before entering parliament Ruddick was a long-standing member of the Liberal Party and prominent proponent of reform. He is the author of a 2018 book "Make the Liberal Party Great Again". In this episode we discuss:How The Libertarian Party plans to influence the Liberal Party of Australia in a similar way that the Greens influence the Labor PartyWhether open primaries for selection of leaders and representatives can work in AustraliaWhere the libertarians differ and agree with the Trump programme on trade, immigration and foreign policyWhether libertarianism is in conflict with the nation-state

We interview noted Australian liberal economist Dr Alan Moran about his recent piece in The Spectator regarding the unprecedented demographic decline Australia and other nations are experiencing. We discuss amongst other things: Causes of this decline and possible carrot and stick solutionsWhat the true economic costs of raising kids is and how this should be compensatedWhy treasury forecasts with population have been so wrong and whether economics has treated demographics seriously enoughThe problems of baby bust happening at the same time as mass immigrationWhether neoliberalism is in part responsible for the decline and whether current policy setting need to be readjustedWhat a Trump victory means for trade and liberalism generally The Spectator piece here: https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/10/can-subsidies-help-australians-make-more-babies/

Dan Ryan, Executive Director of NatCon Australia and Jordan Knight, Founder of Migration Watch get together for regular catch-up:We discuss among other things:Thoughts on recent Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) event in Sydney which we both attended - pros and cons, best and worst speakers, etc.The high end arts and culture style of ARC - pros and consThe extent to which national conservative themes were touched on by speakers on stage (not much) but which were discussed at length by many attendees on sidelinesHow real threat to US and West is descent in to South American politics rather than Cold War or WWIIHow battles of the future less about ideology and more about demographyThoughts on upcoming US election and what it means for Australia

We speak with Isaac Stone Fish the founder and CEO of Strategy Risks - a business intelligence firm focusing on geopolitical risk.He is the former Beijing correspondent for Newsweek and worked in China for many years. Amongst his many other current roles he serves as a contributor to CBS News, is an adjunct at NYU's Center for Global Affairs and has positions on the Atlantic Council and the Council on Foreign RelationsHe is the author of America Second: How America’s Elites are Making China Stronger (Knopf) and lives in New York City.https://www.isaacstonefish.com/https://www.amazon.com.au/America-Second-Americas-Elites-Stronger/dp/0525657703Among other things we discuss:What US-China relations would look like under President Trump or President HarrisHis book "America Second" and the history of influence peddling by former senior American officials in ChinaKey issues such as Xinjiang, Taiwan, TikTok, Telsa, China and US Tech entrepreneursWhat a more ethical and sophisticated approach for companies "engaging" with China should look like

We speak with UK academic Dr Kit Kowol about his newly released book, "Blue Jerusalem: British Conservatism, Winston Churchill, and the Second World War"We discuss among other things:Why did British public vote out in a landslide Winston Churchill and the Conservative Party in 1945?How might the United Kingdom and the British Empire have been different if the Conservatives had won in 1945?Lord Beaverbrook and how his realist views were reflective of a significant part of the Conservative PartyOther myths about WWII and the early post war period that should be discardedBook available here:https://www.amazon.com.au/Blue-Jerusalem-British-Conservatism-Churchill/dp/0198868499

We chat with Jillian Spencer a child and adolescent psychiatrist based in Brisbane.In April 2023, she was stood down from her job as the senior staff specialist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital for raising concerns about gender interventions for children. Since that time, she has spoken out in the media about her concerns which led to further allegations of breaching the Code of Conduct. She remains suspended from her job. We discuss:How she became increasingly concerned about "gender affirming" treatment in AustraliaWhy the Australian gender clients have ignored the Cass Review in the UK which recommended against puberty blockers and gender affirming care What explains the increase in the number of kids presenting with gender dysphoriaWhat she has learnt about her colleagues and her profession, people generally, and about herself during this processHer recently released paper criticising the Queensland Gender Service evaluation (which essentially dismissed the Cass Review) can be found here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/10398562241280351

Regular catch up between Dan Ryan and Jordan Knight Among other things we discuss:CPAC and Quillette functions we respectively attended, their pros and cons, and to what extent they these existing organizations get NatCon and the new rightThe recent admission by the Assistant Immigration Minister that migrants to have provided only "marginal economic benefit" to AustraliaA discussion of some of our respective media appearances, NatCon podcasts guests, and articlesWhether Australian governments are really implementing any serious change on immigration and whether they get the new reality at all on tradeThe various ways the immigration system is being rorted and how bad things are with illegal immigration in the United States

I speak with social commentator Bettina Arndt - who famously started off as Australia's first public sex therapist and "the person most strongly identified with Australia's sexual revolution", but who has now become a controversial critic of modern feminism. Among the topics we cover:Bettina's family history, why that shaped her view of the world, and how she and her father were very much at the heard of modern Australian liberalismWhy she first got interested in sex, academically speakingWhether he attitude towards the sexual revolution has changedWhether there is a concerned campaign to delegitimise her and her work Why has the relationship between the sexes has become so politicised and whether it should necessarily be soWhether there ways the relationship between the sexes can be improvedWhat her top issues are now

We speak with well respected Australian liberal academic, Dr William Coleman about Australian Federation in 1901 and Australian nationalism more generally. Our discussion centres around Dr Coleman's book, "Their Fiery Cross of Union - A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914", which is critical of federation project and many of those involved. Topics we cover include:Whether there were really any practical alternatives possible?Whether the Australian constitution is really as flawed as claimed and how it could have been better?Whether Dr Coleman is too hard on the Australian Founders (compared to the American Founders and other nationalist leaders)?Whether our national immigration and foreign trade policies implemented at Federation, which liberals bemoan, were necessary at the time and important for the development of Australia?The relevance of Australia's founding to today's discussions about nationalism and importance of nation-state, trade, and immigration policies, being conducted as part of the "national conservative" movement in US, Europe and elsewhere.

We interview former NSW Police Minister Carl Scully who together with Assistant Commissioner Mark Goodwin are the authors of an important new book "The Cronulla Riots - The Inside Story".We discuss:- What actually went on in December 2005 and how the true significance of these events has been misunderstood- How the aftermath and revenge attacks were far more serious that what took place on Cronulla Beach and how the police responded- How both the media and academics misunderstood and mischaracterised these events- Some very positive elements that came out of the events in 2005 and how this reflects well on the Australian community- What in his view it takes to make immigration a success

We interview Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) www.cis.org and a nationally recognised and influential expert on immigration issues in the United StatesAmong other things we discuss:What exactly is going on in Springfield, Ohio and why it matters more than whether cats and dogs are being eatenWhat problems the US has with illegal immigration that Australia has been able to avoidWhy US centre-right has until recently talked very differently about immigration than in AustraliaWhy legal immigration is the problem as well as illegal immigrationWhere we go from here.

Interview with academic Dr John Lee, senior consultant for the US Dept of Defense and former national security adviser to Australian Government.Among other things we cover:1. Australian treasurer Jim Chalmers upcoming trip to Beijing2. What Australia's trade and investment relationship should be like with China3. How Xi Jinping doesn't really differ that much from his predecessors4. Ideology v culture in foreign policy

Regular catch up on contemporary issues between Jordan Knight, founder of Migration Watch Australia and Dan Ryan, Executive Director of The National Conservative Institute of Australia.

My guest today is John Roskam who is the the former long-time executive director and now senior fellow of the Institute for Public Affairs (IPA), a well-known centre-right think tank based in Melbourne, Australia. He writes a regular column for the Australian Financial Review, which he has done for over 20 years.In this episode we discuss:How the philosophy of the Institute of Public Affairs has changed over the years and why it originally supported tariffs among other thingsHis views on Australia's Federation and the "Australian Settlement" and whether the criticism from liberal free market types is justifiedWhy he thinks the "Washington Consensus" has changed and what this means for the Canberra bipartisan consensus and how it might need to change going forward.His current views on foreign policy, immigration, trade and much, much more.

Interview with Gerard Rennick, Senator for the State of Queensland, Australia. Always interesting chatting to Gerard who is, whatever you may think about particular policy positions, a very authentic guy and has given a great deal of thought to where Australia is going. We cover issues such as (a) how government decisions actually made both in Australia and internationally (b) what explains why governments across the world increasingly seem to move in lockstep (c) his criticism of the bipartisan consensus on trade, foreign policy, and immigration.

Dr. Samuel Gregg is the Friedrich Hayek Chair in Economics and Economic History at the American Institute for Economic Research. He is a moral philosopher who has written and spoken extensively on questions of ethics in public policy, jurisprudence, and bioethics. He has an MA in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy from the University of Oxford. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, monetary theory and policy, and natural law theory. He is the author of seventeen books, including On Ordered Liberty (2003), The Commercial Society (2007), Wilhelm Röpke’s Political Economy (2010); Becoming Europe (2013); Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization (2019); The Essential Natural Law (2021); and The Next American Economy: Nation, State and Markets in an Uncertain World (2022).In this episode we discuss a variety of topics including:What should trade policy be towards China (both for America and Australia)?How the "Washington Consensus" on trade and other matters has changed since 2016 American trade policy over the years and whether periods of high tariffs have been justified in the past

Dr Gary Johns is a former minister in the Keating government. In his post political career he has been deeply involved in a variety of public policy matters impacting on Australia. Among other things he has been a regular columnist for The Australian, Commissioner of the national charities regulator, and the author of many books including "The Burden of Culture" and "The Charity Ball". He is the founder of the think tank, https://closethegapresearch.org.au/ focusing on aboriginal disadvantage.In this episode we discuss among other things:His early political career and how his views changes since the Hawke/Keating eraHis views on trade generally and the new challenges since the Hawke/Keating/Howard era and the rise of ChinaHis views on foreign policy and whether there is a need for a reassessment after the last 30 yearsHis views on immigration what possible solutions there might be to the challenges that have arisen

Matt Canavan, is a senator for the state of Queensland. In this episode we discuss, among other things:What exactly should our trade and investment be like with China and more generally?How his thinking of foreign policy has changed since Iraq War?Why the "Washington Consensus" has changed but how the "Canberra Consensus" has notHis views on mass immigration and what should be done including building new cities

Campbell Newman is the former LNP premier of Queensland and also served as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, the only person to have held those two roles. He is also son of Kevin and Jocelyn Newman who both respectively served as Ministers in the Federal Government. In this episode we discuss, among other things;Why his parent originally voted for Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and how politics changed since that timeHow the bi-partisan consensus in Australia has changed on trade and immigrationHis views on JD Vance and Donald Trump and why there has not been the same change in the centre-right in Australia as there has been in the United StatesHis thoughts on the recent protests in the UK and what this means for Australia

Stewart Paterson is an economist and banker and spent 25 years in capital markets as an equity researcher, strategist and fund manager. He has worked in London, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Singapore in senior roles with Credit Suisse, Credit Suisse First Boston, CLSA, among others. He is a senior research fellow at the Hinrich Foundation and author of "China, Trade & Power". It was this book which calls for a more realist assessment of trade arrangements with China that caught my attention when I read it several years ago. In this episode we discuss:How his views on China trade and investment changes over the yearsWhat the view is like from London and how UK is in many ways behind Australia and the United States in its understanding of China and a reassessment of trade more generallyWhat appropriate trading arrangements should be like with China going forward.

Interesting discussion/debate with Dr Zachary Gorman in-house professional historian at the Robert Menzies Institute in Melbourne. www.robertmenziesinstitute.org.auWe cover issues such as (a) how Australian Liberal Party different from British version (b) how Australian Liberal Party differs at all from other centre-right parties in other Anglo nations (c) whether many academic liberals have a spiteful view of the Australian Settlement and Australia history more generally and whether that is fair (d) whether liberalism can be seen as a destructive political philosophy and what restrictions can or should be placed on it.

Discussion with Prof Timothy Lynch, head of political science at the University of Melbourne. He writes on contemporary America and its intersections with Australian life.Among other things we discuss:His recent article in The Australian and areas which touches on various "natcon" themes:We discuss where we agree American conservatism has changed (trade, foreign policy), important areas his article did not touch on e.g. immigration, and also whether there is much of a difference on social issues/culture war between JD Vance and Ronald Reagan https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/win-or-lose-vance-has-sparked-a-revolution-across-conservatism/news-story/813282f509ac255fa39562d5fa8cab95We also discuss his general views on foreign policy, the realism of Prof John Mersheimer, and how Prof Lynch's own views have changedWe finish with some questions about Australian universities and liberalism generally and whether what and how we are teaching students today advances the interests of students and the West more generally