Weekend Wrap 15 October 2023: Voice referendum lost, misinformation campaigning and workplace reforms
"The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben DavisonShow Notes
Van Badham joins Ben Davison for this post referendum special edition of the Weekend Wrap. Our co-hosts look at what the results of the referendum tell us so far, why there is such sadness, how we can respond and what it might mean for the future. The rise of misinformation in the referendum is examined, how electoral politics and referendums are different, why we need to be kind and how we can reengage with solidarity. Send your message of solidarity to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders at https://solidarityalways.ausunions.io/ Van and Ben discuss why this result means we can expect to see a rise in misinformation campaigning against workplace reforms as multi-national corporations will be trying to stop $9Billion going from their profit lines to workers wages. Join you union at australianunions.org.au/wow to make sure you are prepared to win the next struggle for jobs, fair wages and decent working conditions.
More from "The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben Davison
This week on The Week on Wednesday, Van Badham engages a lively and timely discussion about modern British politics and its resonance for Australia with recently elected councillor and UK Labour activist, Peter Marshall. Together, they pick through the wreckage of a smashed and unpopular local conservative movement and examine how billionaire money, chutzpah and social media manipulation have been weaponised to drag a right-wing, fringe-dwelling opportunist into the centre of national political life. SOUNDS A BIT FAMILIAR, DOESN’T IT? Van and Peter examine how economic powerlessness is converted into culture-war rage, why Keir Starmer’s substantial achievements could not protect him from algorithmically cultivated hatred… and what ordinary people can still do when the plutocrats get to play politics on easy. In a wide-ranging conversation that visits Billy Bragg, Barnaby Joyce, a man arguing with a bin and the democratic necessity of talking to your neighbours, they include some very important advice about helping thirsty bees. Enjoy!
Van Badham is joined this week by Australian Writers’ Guild CEO Claire Pullen for a SPECIAL EPISODE on the artificial intelligence invasion. Who owns AI? Who profits from it? Who gets to write the rules? From the challenge of copyright theft to the transformative impact of new technology on your job, my job and everyone’s job, Van and Claire go deep into sovereign capability, workplace automation and the political power of The Worst People in the World. They explore why the fight over AI is really a fight over democracy, grappling with the implications for future of work and the basic viability of human creativity. Along the way, they celebrate Australia’s scepticism, argue that the robots should be doing the laundry instead of writing TV… and finish with some super good news about puffins off the Isle of Man. Happy Week on Wednesday!
Van Badham reunites with Emma Dawson of the Chifley Research Centre to discuss the sudden poll dive of the not-so-inevitable One Nation Party, and they speculate on its causes. Are Australians just fickle? Are we fiercely proud of our multiculturalism? Just bigger fans of Paul Hogan than Karl Stefanovic? Or does the Australian citizen expect more from a political party than an "economic policy" that consists of a nine-minute YouTube clip of That Time the Leader Went on Sky? (I swear, I am not making this up).Emma and Van rightly take the organised movement of orange-flavoured pretenders to task, extending their analysis beyond the immediate fantasies of "monoculture" and launching at the destructive neoliberal economic beliefs they're designed to shield and carry. They also swing at the NEFARIOUS INTERNET SHENANIGANS in service to the "right wing populist" project, because Van just cannot help herself. Then they have a lovely talk about trees. If you enjoy this episode of The Week on Wednesday, please do share it with someone who likes their politics, economics and DEEP CULTURAL ANALYSIS with evidence, context, history... because those are cool and useful things, we really should have more of them.xx
Van Badham and Ben Davison rip into Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club appearance, stripping the grievance from the reality that no, actually, one-in-five Australians DO NOT eat from bins. In this emotionally-charged episode, they unravel the politics of migration, housing, wages, economic anxiety and national identity woven into One Nation's well-funded magic carpet, while exploring why Hanson’s brand of populism remains politically potent despite repeatedly colliding with the facts. There's a wade through the puddle of trickle-down economics in Australian celebrity culture, a discussion of who really benefits from Australia’s economic settings and a reminder that being loudly confident is not the same thing as being right. Bonus content includes an unexpected history lesson on language wars in Francoist Spain, and unusually subdued dog... and if you’ve ever wanted a practical guide to answering Hanson-style talking points at the family barbecue, HERE IT IS. Enjoy!
Van Badham is reunited with Ben Davison for an episode tackling the politics of inflation, the failures of Australia’s regime of "mutual obligations" and the economic challenges posed by an Australian economy organised around extraction rather than participation. Pluckily, our pair unpick the ideological legacy of trickle-down economics, lambast housing speculation, explore labour market distortions and decry the punitive culture surrounding unemployment... before closing with an unexpectedly hopeful environmental story from the Yangtze River in China. Bonus content includes Germanicus the dachshund licking the microphone, accidental lessons in audio engineering and at least one attempt to explain why “a sudden outbreak of laziness” is not a thing. The Week on Wednesday is BACK, baby! Enjoy it!