The Australia Together Podcast

In Episode 27 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 7 Part 3 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this section she explains that a single open space on the internet must be established to enable Australians to develop their national voice. This space must be an inclusive, well organised one where Australians are supported with infor...

In Episode 26 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 7 Parts 1 and 2 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In Part 1 she sets out how the mere process of voting does not give Australians a voice. In reality, the election system subverts and silences them - because they give away power to a tiny few without instructions as to its rightful...

In Episode 25 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Parts 14 and 15 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In Part 14 she reads a starting draft of a National Agreement on Human Rights and Obligations. This draft is offered to assist in community engagement and is therefore fully detailed. This makes it quite a complex amendment to the...

In Episode 24 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Part 13 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this section she discusses how Australia has been served in the Uluru Statement from the Heart with the most plangent and entirely legitimate call for a coexistence of sovereignties. There is a major piece of unfinished business in our...

In Episode 23 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Parts 12 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this section Bronwyn examines the risk of enshrining in the Constitution all the human rights currently available in international law and all the attendant lawful obligations of governments to ensure Australians enjoy the full extent...

In Episode 22 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Parts 10 and 11 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In Part 10 she outlines how Covid-19 has made Australians more aware of their need not just for civil and political rights but for economic, social and cultural rights. They are also aware of how easy it was for governments world-...

In Episode 21 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Part 9 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this section she sets out how Australia’s Constitution almost entirely undermines the possibility of its citizens’ access to political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights. Because there is nothing in the Constitution which stat...

In Episode 20 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Parts 7 and 8 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She expands on how destructive mindsets in Australia’s governance - particularly the perceived need to counter threats of terrorism the desire of Australian governments to build support for war - are entirely perverse. They incline...

In Episode 19 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Parts 3, 4, 5, and 6 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this episode Bronwyn suggests that if Australia is to have a chance of reversing its record as an abuser of human rights we will need to examine what is causing the abuse. She suggests the poor record has largely been caus...

In Episode 18 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Part 2 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this section she sets out how Australia has become a serial abuser of human rights. She lists a large number of abuses that have been evident in the 21st century. These abuses have become endemic due to the fact that Australia’s Constit...

In Episode 17 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 6 Part 1 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She explains how Australia is the only democratic country in the world without a national charter of human rights and how dangerous this is. Australian parliaments have ratified most the the key human rights treaties we have signed in inte...

In Episode 16 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 5 Parts 10, 11 and 12 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She begins by setting out why recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution is necessary in the preambular Statement of Australian Values. It is necessary because the wording of proposed amen...

In Episode 15 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 5 Parts 7, 8 and 9 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . Bronwyn begins by explaining that a Statement of Australian Values is not the only thing we need to add into our Constitution to ensure our wellbeing and security as a nation. We will also need a statement on human rights and obl...

In Episode 14 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 5 Part 6 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She discusses two values which have not been front and centre in our political debates but which are likely to be very important to our ability to live all the other values we have espoused in surveys and community engagement. Those two va...

In Episode 13 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 5 Parts 4 and 5 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In Part 4 Bronwyn begins with a suggestion that if a nation were to succeed in enshrining the values listed in Part 3 of this Chapter (see Episode 12), but also succeeded in creating a governance system conducive to living those val...

In Episode 12 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 5 Part 3 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She begins by asking that if we are to build a new preamble to Australia’s Constitution containing a Statement of Australian Values, what values might be selected that will actually reflect those of a 21st century Australian society? In an...

In Episode 11 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 5 Part 2 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She lays out the history of attempts to define and shape Australian values since 2000. The results paint a picture of Australians as compassionate, fair, socially oriented (as opposed to individually self-centred) and concerned for the wel...

In Episode 10 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 4 and Chapter 5 Part 1 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . Chapter 4 sets out the scope of the task of establishing the Australian people’s constitution. It discusses how difficult or easy this transformation of our power arrangements may be for both the electors and the elected and...

In Episode 9 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 3 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She begins by examining where best to start if we are to create an inclusive democracy – one in which diverse people and cultures can efficiently and meaningfully participate and hold those they elect to account. The discussion suggests that becau...

In Episode 8 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 2 – Parts 4 & 5 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She suggests that Australians need to be able to tell elected leaders what is desirable in their laws, and what is essential for their wellbeing, security, and future. They need two things to do that: an open but well organised publi...

In Episode 7 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 2 – Part 3 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She outlines how Australia’s reliance on an alliance with America has been dragging Australia into dependency on an ally that is itself unstable and suggests that it is therefore important for Australia to design its democracy so that it...

In Episode 6 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 2 – Parts 1 & 2 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . The chapter is about setting a path to power for the people and Bronwyn begins to explain how the power of self-determination can be secured for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians if they can be given a voice in a people’...

In Episode 5 Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 1 – Part 3 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this section, headed "Where power should reside - and soon", she suggests that Australia’s Constitution is useless in its current form if we genuinely wish to retain Australia as a democratic state, not just because it has no capacity...

Episode 4: Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 1 – Part 2 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . In this section, headed "Where power now resides, unrestrained", she examines who holds power now in Australia’s polity and concludes that corporate power and other institutions of international financial power – including transnational new...

Episode 3: Bronwyn Kelly reads Chapter 1 – Part 1 of her book,  The People's Constitution: the path to empowerment of Australians in a 21st century democracy . She examines the limits imposed by the current Constitution on Australia’s democracy and explains the rationale behind the suggestions that will be made in later chapters for changes to Australia’s Constitution. She argues that these change...