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PODCAST

Afternoon Light

Robert Menzies Institute

Welcome to the Afternoon Light Podcast, a captivating journey into the heart of Australia’s political history and enduring values. Presented by the Robert Menzies Institute, a prime ministerial library and museum, this podcast illuminates the remarkable legacy of Sir Robert Menzies, Australia’s longest-serving prime minister. Dive into the rich tapestry of Menzies’s contemporary impact as we explore his profound contributions on the Afternoon Light Podcast. Join us as we delve into his unyielding

history politics

All Episodes

45:25

Gideon Haigh: ‘The Brilliant Boy’ Remembering the...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/12/15

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to author and journalist Gideon Haigh about Doc Evatt and Robert Menzies. Herbert Vere Evatt and Robert Gordon Menzies led parallel and overlapping lives. Both were: born in 1894, from modest backgrounds, had brilliant minds, able to receive educational opportunities thanks to winning academic prizes, presidents of university student councils, passionate about art and cricket, remarkably

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01:04:48

Barry Jones: ‘A Strong Acquaintance’ Personal...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/12/08

In this week’s episode of Afternoon Light, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to former Hawke Government Minister The Hon Barry Jones AC about his friend, Robert Gordon Menzies. Barry visited Menzies many time in his retirement after having sparked the interest of Dame Pattie for his appearances on the ‘Pick A Box’ gameshow. A strong supporter of the Labor Party who served that party in both State and Federal Parliaments, Jones disagrees with many of the decisions that Menzies made

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48:54

James Waghorne: ‘A Light on the Hill & A Place of...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/12/01

This week on the Afternoon Light podcast Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer is joined by Dr James Waghorne to discuss the intricacies and eccentricities of the University of Melbourne at the turn of the century. James is a Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne Centre for Higher Education and the University of Melbourne’s de facto historian. When Robert Menzies came to the University of Melbourne to study Law in 1913, it had only around 1000 students. Even that was a great increase from

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42:15

Anne Henderson: ‘Given the Opportunity, She Took It’,...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/11/24

This week on the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer speaks to Anne Henderson about Liberal trailblazer, Dame Margaret Guilfoyle. Anne is Deputy Director of the Sydney Institute and the author of many books including on Margaret Guilfoyle, Enid Lyons, Joseph Lyons, Mary Mackillop, Patrick Glynn and more. In 2014 she published Menzies at War, a detailed account of Menzies’s years in the political wilderness between his two stints as prime minister, which was

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35:24

Ben Wilkie: ‘A Scottish Chauvinist’ The Scots...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/11/17

This week on Afternoon Light Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer is joined by Dr Ben Wilkie to discuss Sir Robert Menzies’s Scottish influences. While Menzies is often derided for being ‘British to the bootstraps’, there was a distinctively Scottish identity that was vitally important within his broader ‘Britishness’. Menzies was an admirer of Robert Burns, and celebrated Burns Night with a quasi-religious devotion. He was heavily involved in Scottish associations, including the Melbourne

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37:44

Warren Mundine: ‘An Enormous Foundation for Things to...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/11/10

This week on Afternoon Light Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer is joined by Nyunggai Warren Mundine AO to discuss Indigenous policy under the Menzies Government. From the forming of the Australian Institute for Aboriginal Studies, the 1962 legislative change to give Indigenous people the right to vote in Federal elections and the 1967 referendum, the Menzies legacy is significant. Warren is a highly respected and influential businessman, political strategist and advocate for empowering

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48:09

Scott Prasser: ‘The Institution of Last Resort’ Royal...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/11/03

In this week’s episode of Afternoon Light, academic and government adviser Dr Scott Prasser joins us to discuss his book ‘Royal Commissions and Public Inquiries in Australia’. Scott elaborates on some of the most important public inquiries from the Menzies era, how they directly shaped Menzies’s policymaking, and why Menzies was more selective in his use of them than many modern prime ministers. Key inquiries from the era include the Murray Report on Universities which was pivotal in informing

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42:55

Bob Bowker: ‘The Decline of an Empire to which...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/10/27

29 October marks the 65th anniversary of the start of the Suez Conflict, during which Israeli, French and British troops attacked Egypt in an attempt to regain control of the Suez Canal which had been nationalised by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was in this complex and tense situation that Robert Menzies took on a central role on the global stage, acting as the leader of an international committee which sought to convince Nasser to allow an international body to operate the

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38:16

Tim Costello: ‘You are Blessed to be a Blessing’...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/10/20

During the Menzies era Australian foreign aid spending achieved its highest ever average as a percentage of our GDP, while in 1959 Prime Minister Robert Menzies was able to boast that Australia had taken in more refugees per head of population than any other country in the world, a fact of which he was tremendously proud. Joining us to discuss these issues is the Reverend Tim Costello AO. Tim is one of Australia’s most respected community leaders and a sought after voice on social justice issues,

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42:26

Stephen Chavura: ‘Britishness Meant… a Love of...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/10/13

Joining us this week on Afternoon Light to discuss Menzies’s political beliefs is Dr Stephen Chavura, lecturer in history at Campion College. Steve has written a new book, with Professor Greg Melleuish from the University of Wollongong, The Forgotten Menzies. Steve and Greg unpack Menzies’s political philosophy in its own context and on its own terms, not as a liberal nor a conservative.

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44:11

David Furse-Roberts: ‘Divine Order in a Distracted...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/10/06

Joining us this week on Afternoon Light to discuss his new book God and Menzies: The Faith that Shaped a Prime Minister and His Nation is Dr David-Furse Roberts. David is a Research Fellow at the Menzies Research Centre.

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40:59

Margaret Fitzherbert: ‘So Many Firsts’, The History...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/09/29

Margaret Fitzherbert, the CEO of the McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership, joins Afternoon Light this week to discuss the history of Australia’s Liberal women. The majority of the first women to sit in Australia’s various Parliaments were from the liberal or conservative movement. Sir Robert Menzies built the modern Liberal Party with the support of women and his electoral success was partly down to his appeal to the female vote.

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31:42

George Williams: ‘More Important Than A Half Dozen...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/09/22

Seventy years ago Australians were asked to give the Federal Government sweeping powers to ban communists and legislate on them, and by the narrowest of margins they voted ‘no’. Leading Australian constitutional lawyer, Professor George Williams, joins Afternoon Light to discuss the 70th anniversary of the Communist Party Referendum on 22 September 2021.

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50:52

Henry Ergas: ‘The Wealth of the Nation’, Menzies’s...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/09/15

Prominent Australian economist, Henry Ergas AO, joins Afternoon Light to discuss the economic legacy of the Menzies era, a period of sustained economic growth where unemployment was virtually zero, home ownership expanded rapidly, and the middle class, the backbone of Menzies’s forgotten people, made up an ever-increasing proportion of Australian society.

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35:21

Sean Jacobs: ‘Compromise over Confrontation’, the...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/09/08

Sean Jacobs is the author of a new biographical monograph on Neville Bonner, the first Indigenous member of Australia’s Federal Parliament. Neville Bonner was a truly remarkable Australian. Not only did he blaze a trail as the first Indigenous member of our Federal Parliament, but his life serves as a shining example of an individual overcoming tremendous disadvantage in order to make a real impact. Sean is a Papua New Guinean-born Australian writer and public policy specialist who brings a unique

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46:08

Stephen Loosley AM on ANZUS: its past, present and...

Afternoon Light ·

2021/09/01

Stephen Loosley AM speaks about Australia in the leadup to the signing of ANZUS, particularly the contribution of Labor Prime Ministers John Curtin and Ben Chifley, how ANZUS operates in the present day and what the future holds for the Alliance. Stephen Loosley AM is Deputy Chairman of Thales Australia, and Non-Resident Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and the US Studies Centre. He served as a Senator for NSW in the Australian Parliament during the Hawke and Keating Governments

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37:40

Professor Timothy Lynch: the Geopolitics of ANZUS

Afternoon Light ·

2021/08/31

As we continue our ANZUS podcast series on Afternoon Light, US foreign policy expert Professor Timothy Lynch talks about the changing geopolitics of ANZUS, from World War II, the Cold War, and the rise of China.

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45:33

Dr Brendan Nelson AO: ANZUS at 70

Afternoon Light ·

2021/08/30

On 1 September 1951, Australia signed the ANZUS security pact with the United States and New Zealand. 70 years on, former Australian Defence Minister Dr Brendan Nelson shares his reflections on ANZUS, its legacy and its future.

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01:47

Introducing Afternoon Light

Afternoon Light ·

2021/08/18

Afternoon Light is the podcast of the Robert Menzies Institute at the University of Melbourne. Each week your host, Georgina Downer, will discuss Sir Robert Menzies’s contemporary legacy with guests from Australia and around the world.

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239 results

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