The ConFab with Michael G

Send us Fan Mail You may have meet Xavier at a market and saw a number of novels on display and wondered what was the genres and who was the author.  I discovered that Xavier was the author and was based in Canberra, Australia.  Xavier has published 5 novels, and a few more in the pipeline - including new exploits with Agent Max Shaw!   He has a background in communications and a passion for story...

Send us Fan Mail Mike  was a former politician who twice represented the local Division of Eden-Monaro in the Parliament of Australia, Mike was also a member of the Australian Army serving in Somalia, East Timor, Bosnia and Iraq. In April 2020, he resigned from Parliament and is now working in the private sector. We gain a personal perspective of someone who has experienced the dark side of war zo...

Send us Fan Mail Have you recently wandered down to the Haigh Park Village Markets in Canberra and came across a stall holder selling Mother’s Treats (We just gather and blend them together to create magic **** Blessings!), who reminds you of the best of the Nimbin culture.  Tonight, we gain a personal perspective of someone who has experienced in their young life the destruction of the former Yug...

Send us Fan Mail Elizabeth is an Australian politician and is currently the leader of the Liberal party of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly.   Elizabeth migrated from South Korea to Australia when she was seven years old and studied law at the Australian National University.  Prior to becoming a legislator, Ms. Lee had an active law practice and was a lecturer at the Australia...

Send us Fan Mail Peter Strong is a noted public advocate for small business, for community empowerment and for good policy. He has been the CEO of the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia.   He spent some time working in both the former Soviet Union, China and middle eastern countries working with local communities to manage change and ownership of their future.  He is now involved...

Send us Fan Mail Jo (a Greens member of the ACT Assembly) is strongly committed to urgent action on climate change. As a child, Jo was concerned about climate change but assumed that by the time she grew up someone would have fixed the problem. Unfortunately, this is not the case and so Jo has decided to do everything in her power to help find solutions.  Jo started The Carbon Diet , working with...

Send us Fan Mail The jeweller Paris Argentina (Paris’s shop in the Block Melbourne) is more than just a name; it’s a reflection of his rich family history, a mix of Argentinian, French, Danish, and Spanish ancestry, that has inspired him and his partner to create exquisite handcrafted jewellery that blends traditional techniques with contemporary designs. Their name is a nod to the artistic and cu...

Send us Fan Mail Working as part of a university and industry research team, Vincent has learned the value of making the most of what is made available to you. By pressing whole apples, Vincent and the joint research team from the University of Newcastle and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, have found a way to enrich the nutritional and economic value of its juice. Working as part of a hi...

Send us Fan Mail Jesse has been folding origami since he was 6 years old. He finds that it is a great meditative practice. In 2018, Rowan entered Jesse's life.  Seeing Jesse make tiny origami, Rowan challenged him to make 2 small pieces of origami that she would turn into a pair of earrings.  The result were a pair of cubes made out of pink printer paper.  Rowan varnished them and turned them...

Send us Fan Mail Bruno a French artisan has created a wonderful French flavoured experience in a local suburb.  Bruno and his family spent a year and a half living in Vannes, a quaint coastal town in Brittany in 2007-2008. Upon their return, the idea of creating a typical crêperie (like in Brittany) here in Canberra started to develop in Bruno’s and his partners imagination. They wanted a casual,...

Send us Fan Mail Antiques run in Jane blood.  Between father and Jane, they have nearly 90 years of experience selling antiques.  Growing up in Canberra Jane spent every weekend going to country auctions and clearance sales. They used to joke that a trip from Canberra to Batemans Bay, which is a two-hour drive, would take us eight hours because they stopped at every op shop and secondhand shop on...

Send us Fan Mail Kitty is a leading health and wellness icon. She went from being overweight and a diet junky to founding one of the country's leading health and wellness programs. Hundreds of thousands of people now follow her.  Her journey is about -  ·     all the poor foods and information we consume as consumers ·     how we all make poor life choices ·     why and how we can all do so m...

Send us Fan Mail Dr Kudzai Kanhutu is an infectious diseases physician with a background in immunology and French language studies.  Her current clinical roles are in refugee health and general infectious diseases.  Beyond  infectious diseases Kudzai special research interests include digital literacy, public health policy and women’s health.  Her curent research undertakings are in the areas of v...

Send us Fan Mail Michael Kirby is an international jurist, educator and former judge of the High Court of Australia.  He has undertaken many international activities for the United Nations, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the OECD and the Global Fund Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He is also heavily engaged in international arbitrations; domestic mediations; and teaching law.  He is Honorar...

Send us Fan Mail Professor David Hardman David is a vascular surgeons in Canberra and has over 25 years of experience. He is a senior lecturer at the Australian National University Medical School and has published over 100 papers in medical journals. He is also a member of the Australasian Society for Vascular Surgery.  In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Hardman is actively involved in research...

Send us Fan Mail After arriving to Australia in 2003, Ali has completed his Master of Business Administration from Charles Sturt University, Master of Professional Accounting from James Cook University and a Graduate Certificate in International Relations from Griffith University.  Prior to arriving in Australia, Ali obtained Bachelor of Business Administration from Gujarat University in India. Al...

Send us Fan Mail I first meet Sandra in the Block a famous heritage arcade in Melbourne.  Sandra is the owner of the concept “The Alpaca Collection” is a boutique-clothing store for both women and men. The concept was established in 1998, with clothing made exclusively from alpaca yarn from Australia and around the world, the business has continued to diversify. Once considered a gift from the god...

Send us Fan Mail By 30 Gary ran the protection team for the Australian Prime Minister and by 38, the office of the Australian Federal Police Commissioner. Silently struggling, by 40 his 10 year path to self-destruction was complete.  Gary has called on his unique experience and expertise to coach individuals and teams in high pressure fields manage mental barriers for high performance.  In March 2...

Send us Fan Mail Tina is a barrister practicing almost exclusively in the area of native title. She has been a barrister for 17 years and has been briefed to appear as junior counsel for the applicants in a number of fully contested native title proceedings, including on-country hearings. She has appeared before the Full Federal Court and the High Court in native title appeals. Tina is highly resp...

Send us Fan Mail  Irina will take us through her life journey, starting from her early years as a child growing up in the Soviet Union, following her sports accomplishments, academic journey that took her to the U.S. and Ireland, moving onto her international corporate career that had Irina globetrotting across 4 continents.  Returning to her entrepreneurial roots due to a family relocation to Aus...

Send us Fan Mail Frank’s farm story started over 25 years ago.  He purchased a 100-year-old farm that was tired and needed passion and devotion to bring it back to life. In its past life it was a thriving apple, pear and quince orchard with fruit taken by train to Sydney markets and by ship to England, often winning prizes there. He always knew that one day our farm will become our sanctuary. Howe...

Send us Fan Mail Ruth O’Brien is a singer-songwriter from Canberra, ACT/Ngunnawal Country.    Her girlish yet powerful voice combined with her metaphorical, storytelling, songwriting-style effortlessly draws the attention of people of all ages.  Influenced by the sounds of jazz, soul, pop, folk and classical music, Ruth is able to create a sense of vulnerability and intimacy in her performances, l...

Send us Fan Mail Mary is an Australian actress, comedian, television personality and writer. In 1987 Mary became a member of the ground-breaking stage show ‘Wogs out of Work’, where her comic creation Effie was born followed by the creation of TV comic series Acropolis Now.  Mary has a diverse range of TV, film and stage credits are numerous. Mary has also written two books.  Mary has also won the...

Send us Fan Mail  Victoria Pearce (a specialist Textiles Conservator) is the Director of Endangered Heritage in Canberra, its a conservation laboratory serving the public and private collectors.  Victoria has worked in museums and galleries and auction houses around the world mentoring and teaching in best practice for the conservation of movable heritage.  Victoria project managed the Establishme...

Send us Fan Mail Costa is a landscape architect, environmental educator and television presenter who has an all-consuming passion for plants and people. As co-creator and host of Costa’s Garden Odyssey for SBS, he caught the attention of a nation.  Since 2013, Costa has continued his journey as the much-loved host of one of the ABC’s most iconic and Logie award-winning programs, Gardening Australi...