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PODCAST

VAN Talks Podcast

Victorian Aboriginal News

Heading back to our roots and building on the work we undertook in the leadup to the 2023 Referendum, Victorian Aboriginal News (VAN) Talks focuses on the positivity that is Aboriginal Victoria. Covering everything from Voice, Treaty and Truth and Reconciliation through to Aboriginal businesses and Traditional Owner initiatives, the VAN Talks podcast is the only podcast that travels across the State to deliver interviews and stories that are the truth of Aboriginal Victoria.

news news commentary

All Episodes

20:50

S05-E17: Gunditjmara Elder sets challenges to the...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/07/15

Send us Fan Mail Recently, having given a magnificent oration on SBS’s NITV, Uncle Richard Frankland goes even deeper into his five challenges for institutions, governments, and ourselves, as well as social engineering and the need to be free thinkers.

en-au

23:07

S05-E16: VACCHO marks 30 years of community control...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/07/12

Send us Fan Mail As VACCHO marks 30 years, CEO Aunty Jill Gallagher reflects on the early struggles, the power of community-led healthcare, and the non-negotiable right to self-determination.

en-au

21:07

S05-E15: Demand for true accountability in Indigenous...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/29

Send us Fan Mail Principal lawyer and founder of AMK Law, Matthew Karakoulakis, unpacks critical new updates to Australia’s Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP). He looks past the percentages on paper to explore why true First Nations economic self-determination relies on 'effective control' and accountability.

en-au

19:17

S05-E14: The role of Blak media in the "fight for the...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/24

Send us Fan Mail This is an episode not to be missed. Yorta Yorta man and award-winning journalist, Daniel James, gives a one-on-one interview with VAN Talks to discuss the critical role of First Nations media. Discussing current threats to community and culture, and pleading for people to just be nicer to one another.

en-au

20:11

S05-E13: Advancing Victoria’s education model in a...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/22

Send us Fan Mail 12 months after first speaking with Shelley Ware, one of Australia’s foremost First Nations education system reform advocates, we catch up again to talk about the future of Victoria’s education system in a post-Yoorrook era.

en-au

20:29

S05-E12: CEO of Settlement Council of Australia says,...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/18

Send us Fan Mail In an interview with Victorian Aboriginal News’ Charles Pakana, Settlers Council of Australia CEO Maria Dimopoulos reflects on her first 12 months in the role. She addresses a profound, 25-year oversight: the total absence of dialogue regarding what "settlement" truly means in the context of First Nations dispossession.

en-au

18:47

S05-E11: Rueben Berg urges local governments to work...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/15

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of VAN Talks, Rueben Berg is interviewed by our founder and host, Uncle Charles Pakana, for reflections on his time at the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, and, now that he is no longer a co-Chair at the Assembly, how he spends his time (did someone say "disk golf"?). Rueben also gives some thoughts and tips to local councils regarding their involvement with Traditional Owner groups.

en-au

25:00

S05-E10: Behind the face of VAN with Charles Pakana...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/10

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode on VAN Talks, a podcast normally hosted by Uncle Charles Pakana, Karina Wells, Uncle Charles's daughter, takes to the mic to interview the face of VAN. Uncle Charles talks about the impact his mentors and the move to Naarm had on him, as well as what the future of VAN might look like.

en-au

20:34

S05-E09: Native Title in the Victorian context with...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/08

Send us Fan Mail VAN's Charles Pakana sits down the Taungurung woman Kaley Nicholson, CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owners Corporation, to discuss Native Title in the Victorian context

en-au

21:14

S05-E08: NITV General Manager speaks to the future of...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/06/01

Send us Fan Mail NITV General Manager, Dan Bourchier, discusses his vision for the future of NITV and advises both journalists and consumers of media on how to maintain a truth-focused perspective.

en-au

19:17

S05-E07: A new First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/05/25

Send us Fan Mail Meriki Onus and Djaran Murray-Jackson have recently been elected as Co-Chairs of Gellung Warl, the First People's Assembly of Victoria. In this episode of VAN Talks, Meriki and Djaran yarn about the future of Treaty in Victoria, showing that they've been listening to community and are ready to "hit the ground running" to " bring about tangible and immediate change".

en-au

19:04

S05-E06: Kinship care vs. western foster care system:...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/05/20

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of VAN Talks, Sheree Lowe explains the difference between a kinship carer and a traditional foster carer in the Western system. She also gives some great examples of how to embed Indigenous culture in children's lives.

en-au

20:48

S05-E05: Can multicultural Australia lead the way in...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/05/07

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Uncle Charles yarns with former Victorian Multicultural Commissioner, Shankar Karsynathan.

en-au

21:09

S05-E04: Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung join list of TOs...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/05/03

Send us Fan Mail Uncle Andrew Gardiner and Dale Wandin from Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung speak to VAN about the Traditional Owner group's entry onto the Treaty Authority's register.

en-au

18:39

S05-E03: Removal of the whitewash over Australia's...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/04/29

Send us Fan Mail We catch up with historian Peter Bakker and explore the truth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in military service. Listen in to this discussion on how the Australian military provided a rare space of racal equality where mateship often superseded discrimination.

en-au

22:59

S05-E02: Taungurung signifies intent to commence...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/04/27

Send us Fan Mail Charles Pakana yarns with Taungurang CEO, Matt Burns, to discuss the historic steps being taken by the Taungurung people toward Treaty negotiations with the state government. Matt talks about the community’s journey toward independence through the Victorian Treaty pathway.

en-au

21:09

S05 E01: Travis Lovett on the National Walk for Truth

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/04/19

Send us Fan Mail Charles Pakana has a yarn with Travis Lovett, a Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man and former Yoorrook Justice Commissioner, 18 hours before he leaves to leads the 2026 National Walk for Truth. This 800km journey from Naarm to Canberra advocates for a national truth-telling process and collective healing.

en-au

19:48

S04-E40: Ensuring the legacy of the Yoorrook evidence...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/04/16

Send us Fan Mail In this episode VAN's Charles Pakana sits with Professor Peter Radoll, the man responsible for ensuring that all the evidence and submissions received by the Yoorrook Justice Commission is protected and - importantly - is made available to all Australians.

en-au

20:16

S04-E39: Treaty in Ink: Understanding the Victorian...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/04/09

Send us Fan Mail

en-au

19:26

S04-E38: The $1 Billion benefit: Why investing in...

VAN Talks Podcast ·

2026/04/07

Send us Fan Mail With the passage of the Treaty Act of 2025, many believe the work is finished—but for Victoria’s Traditional Owners, the journey is just beginning. In this episode, host Charles Pakana sits down with Kaley Nicholson, CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations. They dive into the complexities of local treaties, the burden caused by a $76 million funding gap, and how a strategic investment in Traditional Owner Corporations could return $1 billion in benef...

en-au

197 results

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