The National Conservatism Institute of Australia Podcast

My guest today is Drew Hutton, who was one of the founders of the Australian Greens political party.Today we discuss:The origins of the Green political party in Australia and how it has changed over the yearsHis current dispute with the Greens regarding gender ideology and what explains the differences between baby boomers and younger generations on this issueWhether there are potential commonalities between a particular type of traditional "crunchy con" conservatism and the anti-corporate leftWhere he sees the Greens going in the years ahead both in Australia and elsewhere in the WestAnd much morehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Hutton

Philip Pilkington is a Senior Research Fellow at the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA), where his focus is on macroeconomic and geo-economic issues, and he is also a visiting fellow at the Danube Institute in Hungary.Today we discuss:What Viktor Orban's defeat means for Hungary, The Danube Institute, and post-liberalism in that countryHis book "The Collapse of Global Liberalism"What is wrong with liberalism and what the best way of getting liberals to question their ideologyWhether liberalism is a Christian heresyAnd much morehttps://x.com/philippilk?lang=enhttps://danubeinstitute.hu/en/authors/pilkington-philip

My guest today is Alex McDermott who is a Melbourne-based historian, writer, and curator at the Robert Menzies Institute. He recently collaborated with Tony Abbott on his book "Australia: A History". Today we discuss:His recent article entitled "Forgetting Federation" about why the formal establishment of the Australian nation state is ignored Whether centre-right appear to have a negative view of federation and whether modern neo-liberalism might help explain thisMenzies' view of Federation and whether one can detect in his politics a one nation Disraelian conservatism as well as a Gladstonian classical liberalismThe parallels between the Federation era and our own.And much morehttps://quadrant.org.au/magazine/history/forgetting-federation/https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-mcdermott-000128309/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/alex-mcdermotthttps://substack.com/@alexmcdermott1?utm_source=top-search

My guest today is Dr Simon Kennedy an Australian academic specialising in the history of legal, political and religious ideas.He was a Visiting Fellow at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest in early 2023, and is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Danube Institute, also in Budapest. His first book was published with Edinburgh University Press in 2022, and is entitled Reforming the Law of Nature: The secularisation of political thought, 1532-1689. His second book is on education, entitled Against Worldview, and published with Lexham Press.Today we discuss:- His recent paper entitled "Young Men in Crisis: What Can Australia Do?"- The nature of this crisis, what its underlying causes are, and the extend to which the challenges facing young men are new and unprecedented- The related issue of the feminisation of our institutions including the churches and the impact this is having on our politics and society, and- What can be done about it.And much much more.https://www.ac.edu.au/faculty-and-staff/simon-kennedy/main/https://about.uq.edu.au/experts/24133https://www.page.org.au/2026/03/young-men-in-crisis/

My guest today is William Clouston, leader of the Social Democratic Party in the UK. Today we discuss: - What the SDP believes, its history, and why it has not yet achieved the same prominence as parties like Reform UK and Restore Britain - Why the current liberal consensus is failing - Why it is unsustainable position to be a social conservative and an economic liberal - What changes the UK needs to see on housing, immigration, the nationalisation of utilities, trade, and a range of other policy measures - What the SDP realistically hopes to achieve in the years ahead And much much more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_(UK)

My guest today is Misha Saul, who is a technology investor and co-founder of Dragonfly AI, an investment and advisory firm. Today we discuss:Misha's recent article in the Manhattan Institute's City Journal on "How AI Will Reshape Society"What is likely to mean in selected industries and how likely change is going to occurWhich demographics will be hit the hardest, what it means for our politics, and how it is likely to fundamentally change our understanding of what "work" is and our workdaysThe geopolitical implications and also what it means at a personal levelAnd much much more. https://www.linkedin.com/in/misha-saul-6bb5b569/https://www.kvetch.au/https://www.city-journal.org/article/artificial-intelligence-society-future

My guest today is Harrison Pitt, Senior Policy Fellow at Restore Britain.Today we discuss:What is Restore Britain? What does it hope to achieve? What’s wrong with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK? And whether the goal of Restore is to keep Reform honest or genuinely replace them?How he is approaching key new right issues like changes to trade and foreign policy which are not talked about as much as immigration in the UK?How practically and reasonably he thinks the demographic transformation of the UK can be reversedHow new right / national conservative movements can help each other in Australia and the UKAnd much much more. https://x.com/Harry_pitthttps://x.com/RestoreBritain_

My guest today is Mary Winkels an independent regulatory and policy advisor and mother of 4. Today we discuss: Her recent opinion piece in The Australian Financial Review and what the new advocacy group "Childcare Choice" is hoping to achieveWhy childcare policy is likely to be a key issue at the next federal electionWhat explains the ideological divide on this issueWhy raising children is so difficult today and what really can be done about failing birth ratesAnd much much more I hope you enjoy our discussion.https://www.afr.com/by/mary-winkels-p538jjhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-winkels-02893580/

My guest today is Keith Wolahan former MP for the Victorian Federal Seat of Menzies. Today we discuss: - His recent essay on the future of the centre-right in metropolitan Australia and how our situation, in his view, differs from that of the UK and USA - The challenge that immigration, housing and the changing nature of the workforce pose to the liberal party and how we need to move on from the Howard era - Some of his key data findings and in particular the Chinese vote - His plans for the future And much more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Wolahan https://inflectionpoints.work/articles/liberal-foundations

My guest today is former Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott. Today we discuss:His new book "Australia: A History - How An Ancient Land Became A Great Democracy"What he means when he says "Australia has been fundamentally a 'liberal' project"Whether Australia would have been different if we had not adopted the restrictive rules on immigration and high tariffs policies at FederationWhether he agrees with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the foolishness of "free trade"How countries like Australia decide, given the mixed results of the last 30+ years, what conflicts they should get involved or continue with in futureWhether "liberal values" are sufficient to define or keep nations togetherWhat he thinks of myAnd much, much more.https://www.tonyabbott.au/

My guest today is George Owers, author of the widely acclaimed new history book “The Rage of Party” about Britain in the late 17th and early 18th Century.Today we discuss:How the first political parties – the Whigs and the Tories - developed during this periodWhy this period has been relatively ignored compared to other times such as the Tudor, Elizabethan and Victorian erasThe wild media environment and political characters during this time andWhat political conservatives can learn from studying this periodAnd much much more.I hope you enjoy our discussion.https://www.amazon.com.au/Rage-Party-George-Owers-ebook/dp/B0F98H6Q14https://x.com/CapelLofft?lang=en

My guest today is Cheng Lei, a well-known Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for many years in China as journalist for both Western and Chinese news networks. She was infamously imprisoned in Beijing for many years on allegations that her reporting "endangered China's national security" before eventually being released after pressure from the Australian government.Today we discuss:- Her career and professional background, how she originally got a job in the media and what the main differences are between Chinese and Western media organizations.- How her views on China have changed over the years and whether too much blame is given to Xi Jinping- How central should human rights concerns be in our relationship with China and what can be done to assist other imprisoned dissidents.- What her plans are for the future.And much much more.https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460766576/cheng-lei-the-extraordinary-memoir-of-surviving-chinas-secret-prisons-for-readers-of-kylie-moore-gilbert-peter-greste-and-sean-turnell/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Lei_(journalist)