Afternoon Light

The dismantling of the White Australia Policy was a long process, but its tentative beginning may be dated to the initial wave of post-war migration which served to expand the definition of ‘Australian’ beyond descendants of the British Isles. An early and large proportion of these migrants were displaced persons from Eastern Europe who did not want to return to homes that had been absorbed into t...

As a tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II, the Robert Menzies Institute is re-releasing this episode of Afternoon Light discussing the 1954 Royal Tour, originally published in February: In 1954 Queen Elizabeth II became the first reigning monarch to visit Australia. The Royal Tour was a fascinating cultural phenomenon, mesmerising the entire nation for over a month. It is estimated that three-quarters...

Seventy years ago the Menzies Government made the unlikely purchase of an original 1297 copy of Magna Carta. Transported to Australia with the greatest degree of care and attention, it has (barring the occasional restoration) sat in pride of place in Parliament House ever since. The question this podcast seeks to unpack is why? - what does a 13th century document principally designed to meet the i...

John Gorton attained the Prime Ministership in the unlikeliest of ways. Propelled into the media spotlight for lancing the boil of the VIP Aircraft Affair, he was able to use television and personal popularity to leap-frog many senior colleagues into the leadership after Harold Holt’s disappearance. Once he had attained the reins of office, Gorton was determined to do things ‘his way’, centralisin...

It is no secret that Australia currently faces a troubled geopolitical environment, indeed one of the most difficult that we have faced in recent memory. In these novel circumstances it is worthwhile looking back on past periods of disturbance to draw lessons for the present. While people tend to be quick to jump to comparisons to the 1930s and its catastrophic descent towards global conflict, the...

In the ‘Forgotten People’ broadcast Menzies presaged JFK by suggesting that ‘The great question is, "How can I qualify my son to help society?" Not, as we have so frequently thought, "How can I qualify society to help my son?"’. Following this, a close examination of Menzies’s political speeches demonstrates that he talked about the individual’s duties and obligations almost as much as he talked a...

The issue of State Aid for independent schools was once one of the most divisive in Australian politics. When the advent of ‘free, compulsory, and secular’ education in the 19th century spelled the end of government support for denominational schools, Australia’s Catholic community resolved to maintain their own schools as a matter of identity, culture, and pride. Meanwhile, informed in part by se...

The idea of an ‘Australian citizen’ is a concept that is in a perpetual state of development. At the time of federation, Australians considered themselves to be British subjects and the only time ‘citizenship’ is mentioned in our Constitution is to bar citizens of a foreign power from siting in Parliament. Without a clear definition, the concept has gradually evolved through discourse and through...

While Australia’s hosting of British nuclear tests in the 1950s is a well-known and controversial policy of the Menzies Government, the fact that Australia sought its own ‘bomb’ remains relatively obscure. That our nation’s leaders, on both sides of politics, desired nuclear weapons should not surprise us. Australia had stared down the existential threat of invasion during World War Two, and on th...

Often described as one of Australia’s weakest Prime Ministers, Billy McMahon nevertheless makes for a fascinating biographical subject. A notorious leaker who made far more enemies than friends, McMahon’s climb to the top position of Australian political leadership is one of the most surprising and remarkable achievements in Australian politics. For all of his flaws, McMahon was a man of great per...

At the heart of Robert Menzies’s appeal to the ‘Forgotten People’ was the family, the essential basis of a healthy society. Menzies described the instinct to be with one’s family as ‘the great instinct of civilised man’. This was no mere rhetoric, Menzies was at heart a family man and cherished every moment that he got to spend with his close relatives. They in turn remember him fondly, and can pr...

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Tom Frame about Menzies’s Liberal deputy and immediate successor Harold Holt.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Western Sydney University Lecturer Dr Bridget Brooklyn about the intricacies of the pivotal 1954 election.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Peter Drysdale AO , architect of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, about his personal reflections on how the Australia-Japan relationship has developed over the years.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to barrister and public commentator Gray Connolly about the history of Australian conservatism.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer about his personal recollections of Robert Menzies and his views on contemporary politics, with a particular emphasis on the troubled geopolitical landscape.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to best-selling biographer Troy Bramston about the comparisons to be made between Robert Menzies and Bob Hawke, the longest serving prime ministers for each side of Australian politics. When it comes to political longevity, Robert Menzies and Bob Hawke are record-breakers who are frequently he...

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to our Visiting Fellow Dr William Stoltz about the history of the Australia Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), which recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of its foundation under the Menzies Government. You can read Dr Stoltz’s opinion piece on the creation of ASIS here .

In this week's episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Dr Darius von Güttner , a historian of Eastern Central Europe from the University of Melbourne, about the ‘deep history’ that underpins the current conflict in the Ukraine. Vladimir Putin’s flagrant invasion of the Ukraine has famously been justified on the pretext of NATO expansionism, but...

In this week’s episode of Afternoon Light, , Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer discusses the dangers posed by an increasingly assertive China and the outbreak of conflict in Eastern Europe with Australian Senator James Paterson . Australia’s degenerating relationship with China has dominated headlines for several years. As Australia seeks to uphold sovereignty and a rules based internat...

The Robert Menzies Institute recently hosted renowned military and diplomatic historian Peter Edwards for a talk entitled ‘From Korea to Vietnam: Menzies’s Cold War military commitments’. Prior to the event, Peter sat down with the Institute’s CEO Georgina Downer to talk through the complex issues involved in the defence of Australia during the Menzies era. It is natural and just that Australians...

In this week's episode of Afternoon Light, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Peter Kurti about his recent report, ‘Raging against the past: guilt, justice, and the postcolonial reformation’. A response to the recent trend of tearing down or vandalising statues of historical figures, Peter’s report deals with an issue which poses important questions related to historical memory...

On this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Dr Thomas Wilkins about the evolving nature of the Australia-Japan relationship. Thomas is a Senior Lecturer in International Security at the University of Sydney and Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

In this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer talks to Distinguished Professor Ian McAllister about the evolution of Australian elections since the Menzies era. Australian elections have long been characterised by the rather uncommon tradition of compulsory voting, but outside of this and other mainstays like a pencil and paper, much of the way...

On this week’s episode of the Afternoon Light podcast, Robert Menzies Institute CEO Georgina Downer speaks to Paul Morrissey , President of Campion College about a liberal education. Robert Menzies was a firm believer in the value of a broad liberal education. The Menzies Government reinvigorated and greatly expanded Australia’s university system through both the implementation of the Murray Repor...