VAN Talks Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Principal lawyer and founder of AMK Law, Matthew Karakoulakis, unpacks critical new updates to Australia’s Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP). He looks past the percentages on paper to explore why true First Nations economic self-determination relies on 'effective control' and accountability.

Send us Fan Mail This is an episode not to be missed. Yorta Yorta man and award-winning journalist, Daniel James, gives a one-on-one interview with VAN Talks to discuss the critical role of First Nations media. Discussing current threats to community and culture, and pleading for people to just be nicer to one another.

Send us Fan Mail 12 months after first speaking with Shelley Ware, one of Australia’s foremost First Nations education system reform advocates, we catch up again to talk about the future of Victoria’s education system in a post-Yoorrook era.

Send us Fan Mail In an interview with Victorian Aboriginal News’ Charles Pakana, Settlers Council of Australia CEO Maria Dimopoulos reflects on her first 12 months in the role. She addresses a profound, 25-year oversight: the total absence of dialogue regarding what "settlement" truly means in the context of First Nations dispossession.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of VAN Talks, Rueben Berg is interviewed by our founder and host, Uncle Charles Pakana, for reflections on his time at the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, and, now that he is no longer a co-Chair at the Assembly, how he spends his time (did someone say "disk golf"?). Rueben also gives some thoughts and tips to local councils regarding their invo...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode on VAN Talks, a podcast normally hosted by Uncle Charles Pakana, Karina Wells, Uncle Charles's daughter, takes to the mic to interview the face of VAN. Uncle Charles talks about the impact his mentors and the move to Naarm had on him, as well as what the future of VAN might look like. 

Send us Fan Mail VAN's Charles Pakana sits down the Taungurung woman Kaley Nicholson, CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owners Corporation, to discuss Native Title in the Victorian context

Send us Fan Mail NITV General Manager, Dan Bourchier, discusses his vision for the future of NITV and advises both journalists and consumers of media on how to maintain a truth-focused perspective. 

Send us Fan Mail Meriki Onus and Djaran Murray-Jackson have recently been elected as Co-Chairs of Gellung Warl, the First People's Assembly of Victoria. In this episode of VAN Talks, Meriki and Djaran yarn about the future of Treaty in Victoria, showing that they've been listening to community and are ready to "hit the ground running" to " bring about tangible and immediat...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of VAN Talks, Sheree Lowe explains the difference between a kinship carer and a traditional foster carer in the Western system. She also gives some great examples of how to embed Indigenous culture in children's lives. 

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Uncle Charles yarns with former Victorian Multicultural Commissioner, Shankar Karsynathan. 

Send us Fan Mail Uncle Andrew Gardiner and Dale Wandin from Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung speak to VAN about the Traditional Owner group's entry onto the Treaty Authority's register.

Send us Fan Mail We catch up with historian Peter Bakker and explore the truth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in military service.  Listen in to this discussion on how the Australian military provided  a rare space of racal equality where mateship often superseded discrimination. 

Send us Fan Mail Charles Pakana yarns with Taungurang CEO, Matt Burns, to discuss the historic steps being taken by the Taungurung people toward Treaty negotiations with the state government. Matt talks about the community’s journey toward independence through the Victorian Treaty pathway.

Send us Fan Mail Charles Pakana has a yarn with Travis Lovett, a Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man and former Yoorrook Justice Commissioner, 18 hours before he leaves to leads the 2026 National Walk for Truth. This 800km journey from Naarm to Canberra advocates for a national truth-telling process and collective healing.

Send us Fan Mail In this episode VAN's Charles Pakana sits with Professor Peter Radoll, the man responsible for ensuring that all the evidence and submissions received by the Yoorrook Justice Commission is protected and - importantly - is made available to all Australians. 

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Send us Fan Mail With the passage of the Treaty Act of 2025, many believe the work is finished—but for Victoria’s Traditional Owners, the journey is just beginning. In this episode, host Charles Pakana sits down with Kaley Nicholson, CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations. They dive into the complexities of local treaties, the burden caused by a $76 million funding gap,...

Send us Fan Mail Djaara and the City of Greater Bendigo move beyond transactional MOUs with Yilingga Marna, a groundbreaking agreement embedding self-determination and shared governance into local decision-making. VAN's Charles Pakana talks with DJAARA CEO Cassandra Lewis and Bendigo CEO Andrew Cooney.

Send us Fan Mail James Woods from the Australian Long Weekend Initiative proposes moving Australia Day to the second-last Monday in January. This shift promises a long weekend every year, boosts business productivity, and fosters national unity for all Australians. He speaks with VAN's Charles Pakana.

Send us Fan Mail There's no doubt that a strong Australian First Nations business sector results in a strengthening of the Australian economy. To discuss this, VAN catches up with Dilin Duwa ("Everlasting Flow" [Woi-wurrung]) Centre for Indigenous Business Leadership Executive Director, Paul Paton.

Send us Fan Mail With new survey figures demonstrating a clear shift towards support for Treaty, Truth and reconciliation across Victoria, VAN catches up with the survey's commissioning academics, Professor Andrew Gunstone and Professor Emma-Jay Gavin, Australia's first Aboriginal professor for truth-telling.

Send us Fan Mail With the recent publication of his book Defending the Defenceless, Eddie Cubillo joins VAN's Charles Pakana to discuss the critical importance - and all too often, lack - of self-determination and true community control in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander legal service space across the country.

Send us Fan Mail With legislation before Parliament to cement the powers of the Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, we catch up with country's first Commissioner under that legislation, Sue-Anne Hunter

Send us Fan Mail Arguably one of the most important Assembly elections, the 2026 election for "Assembly 3.0" kicks off on the 21st of March. We catch up with the people responsible for running and overseeing the process