Critical Line Item with Tom Ravlic

Senator Jordon Steele-John represents the Australian Greens in Australia's Senate/. He is a prominent advocate for the rights of disabled people and in this podcast discusses the recent use by the Prime Minister of language that members of the disabled community found offensive, the status of the process accommodating disabled members of the community in the parliamentary precinct, and also some o...

Coalition Senator Jane Hume delivered a recent speech to the Syndey Institute that touched on a range of issues including the need for women to have a greater sense of financial security. It sparked a reaction from The Parenthood CEO, Georgie Dent, and Georgie laid down a challenge to Australia's politicians: fix early childhood education so it is more affordable and accessible people. She argues...

The final report from the Colbeck committee has 12 recommendations that deal predominantly with cleaning up the mechanics of procurement. Senator Barbara Pocock might agree with the 12 recommendations as a starting base but she wants more to happen to deal with boosting the public sector, disciplining consultants, and dealing with some of the evidence the parliamentary committee heard that she fee...

Many conversations are being held about housing and property and Scott O'Neill, the managing director of Rethink Investing, covers a range of issues in this conversation. He touches on the property market, challenges for new entrants and what people need to do to set themselves up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Senator Barbara Pocock represents the Australian Greens in the Senate, and she is heavily involved in kicking the tyres of professional services firms as a member of two parliamentary committees. Pocock shares her perspectives on where the Greens think the public service should head as well as how the inquiries into professional services firms are going. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Consultants and procurement have been at the forefront of parliamentary scrutiny in Australia with and one of the participants in the process of looking at this is Senator David Pocock. He talks in this episode about the various issues the committees are concerned about as well as the issues underlying his concerns about lobbyists and their access to parliament house in Canberra. Hosted on Acast....

Kenneth Katzman is a national security expert from the Soufan Center in the United States who has spent many decades studying the Middle East, its politics, and American foreign policy as it relates to the region. He shares his take in this podcast on the Israel-Gaza conflict and what he believes is necessary in order to bring some kind of return to negotiation in that region. Hosted on Acast. See...

Author John Kerr has a suite of true crime publications to his hame and his most recent book, The Wieambilla Shootings, sets out his take on the death of two police officers and a Wieambilla local when they were gunned down by conspiracy theorists. Kerr talks about the book and some of the implications of the shootings for the broader communmity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more inf...

Australian Greens' upper house representative Abigail Boyd has cooked up a storm in the NSW parliament as the chair of a committee looking at the way in which consultants are used by the government. The committee is due to report in the new year with only a handful of hearings left. Boyd tells Tom Ravlic that there are a few things the committee will recommend, and some ideas she thinks have merit...

Journalist, author and broadcaster Justin Smith speaks about his three books written in recent years including his most recent yarn, called Good as Gold, and he touches on the things that inspire him as a writer. He gives us a unique perspective into his work as well as a broader chat about the troubles of discourse in the community. Can we actually speak freely and have a proper debate? Hosted on...

There are corporations and other entities that will be doing their best to understand and implement new standards for narrative disclosure. Sue Lloyd is the deputy chair of the Interational Sustainability Standards Board, and she provides a helicopter view of what this process for setting standards is - and the various implications of the new things people will see when the leaf through corporate...

The Hallway is a boutique advertising agency that had a great idea and its chief creative office Simon Lee tells Tom Ravlic how this idea - an ad to try to get respectful conversation happening on the Voice - came about. The ad features a kangaroo, an emu, and some noisy galahs. Listen ot the poddie and then watch the short video at https://www.noisygalahs.com/ , Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...

The Commonwealth Parliament has been looking at consultants but it is not the only legislature in the country giving the public service and its outsourced brains a good look. Australian Greens' Abigail Boyd is a member of the NSW Upper House. She is the chair of a committee looking closely at how the NSW government engages and deals with consultants. She reveals the motivations behind the inquiry...

Rehab Management chief executive officer Renee Thronton spends her time looking at workplace issues and she joins Tom Ravlic to explain what the new WorkSafe rules are around the issues of making a workplace psycholofically as well as physically safe for employees. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Consulting and accounting firms have been under fire for much of 2023 thanks to the curiosity about their operations expressed by the individuals such as Senator Barbara Pocock, a member of a committee considering what to do with consulting practices that receive government contracts. She updates listeners on her thinking about the sector and the issues that continue to surprise. Hosted on Acast....

EY sustainability expert Matt Nelson - also a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board - explains what sustainability standards are and what you might be able to expect from companies that report sustainability information. This is an emerging area and anybody with investments in companies will see a change in company reports over time. Matt explains why the changes are important. Hoste...

Four Corners joiurnalist Angus Grigg takes us on a deep dive into the Secret State report and what he and the team found when they went looking at the way in which consultants had embedded themselves in the ecosystem in Australia's national capital. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Nick McKenzie has been responsible for breakking some of the biggest stories but none more so that the one that led to a marathon defamation case involving Victoria Cross winner, Ben Roberts Smith, and allegations of war crimes. Nick outlines some of the challenges that played out reporting this story and touches on a series of challenges faced by journalists taking on high profile case...

Senator Deborah O'Neill represents the State of NSW in the Australian Senate but is also the chair of the powerful corporations and financial services committee in the Commonwealth Parliament. She got interested in audit a few years back and kick started an inquiry but she's now in the middle of an inquiry into consulting firms and how a government ensures that large global practices keep themselv...

Entertainment reporter Peter Ford has seen everything in entertainment over many years, and he has seen technology shape the way in which reporters work as well as how personalities and those that report on them get feedback from their audience. He talks candidly in this episode about the pros and cons of social media and the whereabouts of a very special watch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priv...

Australian Greens Senator Barbara Pocock is up to her eyeballs in consulting firms. She and her committee colleagues are busy looking at how the consulting firms are used by the government, how conflicts of interest might be managed and what value the public sector gets from firms. Pocock gives some insight into her thinking on the current problems plaguing Big Four firm PwC as well as a unique pe...

Journalist, broadcaster and author Tracey Spicer has been looking at the world of IT and the way in which technology has been shaped by men. Technology embeds all sorts of biases within it and Spicer explores what all of this means. She talks about the way smart technology can help people with disabilities, and how she gets cracking when she writes a book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

Peta Lowe is the Principal Consultant with Phronesis Consulting and Training with extensive experience in dealing with juveniles and programs for countering violent extremism. She is concerned about how debate on the various diagnostic tools used in assessing the threat an individual may pose is being had and that it may not be understood that it is tools as well as practitioner skills and ex...

Journalist and broadcaster Kerry O'Brien has a history in reporting on and observing the way in which Australia has treated its Indigenous communities. O'Brien is as supporter of enshrining an indigenous Voice to Parliament into Australia's Constitution and he outlines why in this conversation. A new book. The Voice to Parliament Handbook, has been published by Hardie Grant and both O'Brien and In...

It is that time of the year again. EY partner Doug Nixon takes us through some of the key results from and issues face by the banking sector in Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.