New International Book Shop (NIBS) Podcast

In our second episode of the podcast we bring you a talk held on April 2nd at the bookshop by former Australian diplomat, and proud left-winger, Anthony Skews. In the talk Anthony provides an overview of the arguments made in his new book: Politics for the New Dark Age: Staying positive amidst disorder. The book argues that voters, appalled by the direction of current politics, respond to leaders that articulate a cohesive and genuine progressivism. It provides the framework for politicians and activists to deliver that vision, organised around the themes of cooperative solutions to social problem-solving and a social contract centred on rights and the equal dignity of all people. Drawing on contemporary Australian examples, Anthony shows how the partisan divide recurs in policy debates from civil rights, to inequality, to economic growth, to the environment and foreign policy. He argues that we should recommit to fighting for our democracy in order to manage these social differences and channel them into opportunities for social progress.

Clinton Fernandes will discuss the background to the prosecution of Canberra lawyer Bernard Collaery and his client, a former officer of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) known only as Witness K. The charges relate to revelations that the Australian government spied on the government of East Timor during oil and gas treaty negotiations in 2004.