November 14, 2024 • 11 mins
John Fabris sits down with Government Minister Nick Duigan to talk about his move from a successful TV career to Tasmanian state politics.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I heeart as he. Welcome, I'm John Fabrous, another in
my series on media personality side stepping into the even
more brutal profession of Tasmanian politics. This week on iHeart Tazzy,
Nick Dagon, nationally recognized for the popular TV fish and
show hook Line and Sinker. Nick Dagon, now a Liberals
(00:22):
government Minister Energy just one of his portfolios.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
In the full podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We discuss his life guard up on Flenders Island, the
plane crash that nearly killed him and his dad, adapting.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
To a new career, and more.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
For the full interview here it as a podcast at
iHeart Tazzy. I caught up with Nick Dagon at the
Parliament complex in Hobart.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I heeart as he Nick Dagon.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Here, I say, you had such a brilliant media career,
started out with news and then went on to Brin
and Sinker. Now slumming it as a politician. Some would say, well,
I'm going to.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Take you back further. That job though about as the
off side, you know, the straight man for Howie the
Yowie in the Saturday Morning Fun Show, which was the
Northern Saturday morning cartoon program. So had a year doing
that and it was subsequently acted after my year of
doing that. But I knew for the moment I wilkeened
the door of the TV station that this was something
(01:19):
that was very interesting to me. I jobbing the mail
room basically, it worked my way up from there and
now some distance from the world of TV, although there
is a bit of interrelation between politics and certainly the
newsrooms of the TV station.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And when you come into the world of politics, you
see how media you would have a greater appreciation of
how they're always trying to get the gotcha moment for you,
try to catch you off guard.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Have you noticed that well, having been on the other
side of the microphone and understanding how valuable interesting stories
are in the ability to get a story that travels
as it was or gets further up the buillet, and
I understand those sort of precious You know, nobody wants
to make boring news stories, so giving a good grab
is good. Avoiding the gotcha moment is also important. I
(02:07):
get it. What I would say is that I haven't
found a lot of malice out there. You know, when
you turn up to a media job, I don't think
that people are necessarily kind of get you. They want
to put a story together, they want an interesting grab.
That's sort of our job to cover the government lines,
but do it in a way that's reasonably engaging for
not only the jedoes, but also the people are watching
(02:28):
it own.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I was just thinking as I'm walking into the building
and all the times that I watch Parliament a streamer
looking for little nuggets of gold for the news. I think,
really it's the rast bastion of a place, that chamber
where you will see bullying in the workplace.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
It's like nothing else where.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
People are calling each other names and speaking in such
a verbally offensive way.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Quite often you come into this job knowing that that
sort of goes with the territory. I think there have
been certainly plenty of efforts over years to improve that
aspect of it. It is, by its very nature a
contested space. People have different views, and obviously they feel
(03:11):
passionate about their views and from time to time say
things that maybe they otherwise wouldn't do. It's not peculiar
to the Tasmanian Parliament or Australian parliaments. It's something you
see everywhere, and in occasions you'll see things on the
news where there's a box on Inmbalot and we don't
have that. But I try and be as respectful as
(03:32):
I can be, certainly as the representative of the government.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You had exposure to Italian culture from neighbors on Flinders Island.
I was reading an idyllic childhood debt.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I would say that is a good way to describe it.
You know. I turned up on Flinders when I was
three or four years old and next to early had the
Bergaman's Italian bagrants and they were just magnificent, you know.
I'd ride my bike down there all occasionally, would drive
the ride on all the killer to their base. And
they had a son that was about my age. But
even when he went off to school and I hadn't yet,
(04:02):
you know, I was two years to go see missus
Bergie and they have some homemade past to for lunchat.
They were incredibly kind and generous people. But Flinda's Island
was a pretty good spot to grow up. I had
my first car when I was ten. I won't say
it was laws, but it was a long way away
from the big smoke.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And Flinders Island also carries the memory of I'm thinking
twenty twelve, when you had the plane crash with your fabi.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
You were both seriously injured.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Did you ever get up in the right plane ever
again and feel as comfortable?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I've certainly done some flying since then, and you know,
I have my license, and no, I don't do as
much as i'd like to. I would like to do more.
But that was a funny day. More man, I think
it was probably the world record holder for plane crashing.
He was in double digits. But he had this plane
that was quite good, and for his eightieth birthday, to
his great credit, he built this plane and he flew
it to Ulararu and back from Flinn's Island. That was,
(04:53):
you know, his eightieth birthday. But he decided it was
too slow, so it took some bits off the wings
to try and make it go faster. And I was
the first person to get in it with him after
he'd made those modifications, which turned out to be not
very good. John. So where the abate or wing modifier
would be my learning out of all of that.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Let's talk briefly, hookline and sink it. Nearly twenty years
on the air, more than more than goodness, gracious, I
remember when I first came on.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, I can't believe. Yes, remarkable. Yeah. We made our
first shows in the year two thousand, just in the
wake of the Sydney Olympics. As I recall still going
to this day. My partner Andrew Hart, who do all
those years, we're still going around and fishing and obviously
I stopped in twenty twenty one when I was elected
to winder Me what a job, mate, My goodness mate.
(05:40):
We were long odds, I think to make a success
out of that because neither of us was particularly proficient
at fishing. But there was something in the show that
you know, it resonated with Yeah, someone called it an
adventure show mixed with Russell Coy. There was the.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Humor behind it that people were attracted to.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, and look, I think that's very true if you
go off on a fishing trip with your friends or
it quickly generally devolves. That seemed to be We discovered
that by the first couple of episodes, we've given all
the things that you know, the tips that we knew
about fishing on the not so that we knew how
to tie. So we done all that, so we had
to find a different vehicle for The feedback from people
(06:18):
was that that was what They liked that sort of
batter between Hardy and I, and it was just a
bit like going fishing with you mates, and you know,
as it turned out to be, it was a great joy.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
And a privilege. A gig in the century. One would
have thought, therefore, why the shift to politics. It's a
very very good question, because it was a great job.
I just felt it was about time time for change.
The opportunity came up very quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I must have been. I was. It wasn't one of
those things that I was necessarily considering at the time.
I'd had some discussions maybe ten years previous to that,
had an approach, and one summer put that little thought
in my head. It never completely went away, but the
timing probably wasn't right. And then in twenty twenty one,
you know, I felt that the timing was a and
that maybe I'll dip my tee in the world and
(07:02):
look at maybe getting a pre selection. They told me,
you probably won't get pre selected because we've already got
a pretty strong candidate, but if you'd like to have
some experience of what that process is like, you know,
maybe down the track with bar Yeah, we'll try that.
Then all of a sudden, I got pre selected. Then
I'm running, and I thought, well, if I'm running, I'm
in this to win, and a campaign hard, and here
we are. Do you think this is it for you? Now?
Speaker 1 (07:24):
This is the rest of your career until I would
say it in that day when we retire.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It's ultimately up to the people who make those decisions,
the voters. I hope to first and foremost be doing
a good job for the people I represent.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
You.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
That's really important today the people win the mere on
the East tamer in Lonnie, so you know, and I'm
pretty active in those communities in Georgetown, Lilydale and the
northern suburbs of one Sesteon. But obviously now having joined
the ministry, you know, there's some other jobs that tend
to also require some substantial attention. You know, Energy is
a big one here. I've got parts portfolio and fifty
(07:59):
percent of TESMA is held in parks and reserve and
obviously environment as well. That's critically important to Tassy. It's
a really important job and I get that very much.
Enjoying the opportunity to play my part.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Tassy fishing shownlight danitby Nick Dagon now a Tasmanian minister
in the Liberal government. A quick break back with more
of Nick in just a Moment, My Heart Dazzy, My
Heart Dazzy, Nick Dagen my guest on iHeart Tazzi, former
TV personality now minister in the Liberals State government.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Nick, when you came.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Into the political space all of a sudden, when you
are given a portfolio and multiple ones at that, you've
instantly got to be an expert. That must be a
massive learning curve.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yep, beating from the fire hose is how it was
described to me, someone said, And it is absolutely like
that for the first couple of months. I reckon you
are just being not only because for me the political
life andandscope is still quite new, so I'm still learning that.
But the volume of information that you need to be
across in your portfolios is really substantial. So you need
(09:10):
to knuckle down and do the work and get your
head around it. You get good support. There are a
lot of people in the department and people in the
office and people in the government who are invested in
saying you do well. So our boys felt really well supported.
But I must admit, you know, walking into government, business,
enterprise scrutiny was maybe a month into the job or something,
feeling that there's a bit of pressure in this.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And that's where you defer to those experts around you.
I mean, more or less. I don't mean to belittle
the role, but a minister is the figure hit with
a lot of deep expertise behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, I look, I think that's pretty true. The minister
is the interface between the department or the business and
the public, managing public expectations and making sure that what
the departments and the businesses are doing messures up with
government policy and the public expectation. And speaking of when
you're out in public.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Previously in your life in media, those would have been
fairly affable sort of situations. Now as a politician when
you are out in public, do you get the occasional
bit of a spray.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Or someone having to go. You get the odd person
you know who wants to challenge you on an idea
or why doing this that or the other. But I
would say almost without exception, people are pretty friendly by
and large. We all have our disagreements and we all
have views on certain things, but I find in person,
almost without exception, people are good. We have a conversation.
(10:39):
We might not always agree, but no one's necessarily looking
for something to pick up to bat you overhead with
not always the case in the online space and John obviously,
but that you know, I think we all know that
that goes with the territory. But to listen to too
much of.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
That, and what's downtime for you, Nick Dagon?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Is it a case of spending as.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Much time as you can with the family in quality
outings together.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
The family time obviously is important because that's where you grounded,
and that's your just dad or whatever. And there's no
great expectation on you, Toby anything that you're not, so
that's good. The little little achrings and I faf around
and do things on that and I really enjoy that.
And obviously fishing is a big one for me, so
you know, whenever I go on holiday, we saw the
boating and I will go for a fish, spending time
(11:22):
with friends or whatever else pretty much like anybody else. Really,
there are aspects of the job which are at times
hard to switch off, so you've got to be a
bit careful in how you manage that and find some
clear space in your head, or at least I find
it's important.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Nick Dagon my guest on Ihatasi now Gunment.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Minister who crossed over from TV. Here.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
This interview in for there's a podcast at
Speaker 2 (11:46):
My Heart, My Heart, Assi
I heeart as he. Welcome, I'm John Fabrous, another in
my series on media personality side stepping into the even
more brutal profession of Tasmanian politics. This week on iHeart Tazzy,
Nick Dagon, nationally recognized for the popular TV fish and
show hook Line and Sinker. Nick Dagon, now a Liberals
(00:22):
government Minister Energy just one of his portfolios.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
In the full podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
We discuss his life guard up on Flenders Island, the
plane crash that nearly killed him and his dad, adapting.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
To a new career, and more.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
For the full interview here it as a podcast at
iHeart Tazzy. I caught up with Nick Dagon at the
Parliament complex in Hobart.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
I heeart as he Nick Dagon.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Here, I say, you had such a brilliant media career,
started out with news and then went on to Brin
and Sinker. Now slumming it as a politician. Some would say, well,
I'm going to.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Take you back further. That job though about as the
off side, you know, the straight man for Howie the
Yowie in the Saturday Morning Fun Show, which was the
Northern Saturday morning cartoon program. So had a year doing
that and it was subsequently acted after my year of
doing that. But I knew for the moment I wilkeened
the door of the TV station that this was something
(01:19):
that was very interesting to me. I jobbing the mail
room basically, it worked my way up from there and
now some distance from the world of TV, although there
is a bit of interrelation between politics and certainly the
newsrooms of the TV station.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And when you come into the world of politics, you
see how media you would have a greater appreciation of
how they're always trying to get the gotcha moment for you,
try to catch you off guard.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Have you noticed that well, having been on the other
side of the microphone and understanding how valuable interesting stories
are in the ability to get a story that travels
as it was or gets further up the buillet, and
I understand those sort of precious You know, nobody wants
to make boring news stories, so giving a good grab
is good. Avoiding the gotcha moment is also important. I
(02:07):
get it. What I would say is that I haven't
found a lot of malice out there. You know, when
you turn up to a media job, I don't think
that people are necessarily kind of get you. They want
to put a story together, they want an interesting grab.
That's sort of our job to cover the government lines,
but do it in a way that's reasonably engaging for
not only the jedoes, but also the people are watching
(02:28):
it own.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
I was just thinking as I'm walking into the building
and all the times that I watch Parliament a streamer
looking for little nuggets of gold for the news. I think,
really it's the rast bastion of a place, that chamber
where you will see bullying in the workplace.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
It's like nothing else where.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
People are calling each other names and speaking in such
a verbally offensive way.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Quite often you come into this job knowing that that
sort of goes with the territory. I think there have
been certainly plenty of efforts over years to improve that
aspect of it. It is, by its very nature a
contested space. People have different views, and obviously they feel
(03:11):
passionate about their views and from time to time say
things that maybe they otherwise wouldn't do. It's not peculiar
to the Tasmanian Parliament or Australian parliaments. It's something you
see everywhere, and in occasions you'll see things on the
news where there's a box on Inmbalot and we don't
have that. But I try and be as respectful as
(03:32):
I can be, certainly as the representative of the government.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
You had exposure to Italian culture from neighbors on Flinders Island.
I was reading an idyllic childhood debt.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
I would say that is a good way to describe it.
You know. I turned up on Flinders when I was
three or four years old and next to early had the
Bergaman's Italian bagrants and they were just magnificent, you know.
I'd ride my bike down there all occasionally, would drive
the ride on all the killer to their base. And
they had a son that was about my age. But
even when he went off to school and I hadn't yet,
(04:02):
you know, I was two years to go see missus
Bergie and they have some homemade past to for lunchat.
They were incredibly kind and generous people. But Flinda's Island
was a pretty good spot to grow up. I had
my first car when I was ten. I won't say
it was laws, but it was a long way away
from the big smoke.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
And Flinders Island also carries the memory of I'm thinking
twenty twelve, when you had the plane crash with your fabi.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
You were both seriously injured.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Did you ever get up in the right plane ever
again and feel as comfortable?
Speaker 2 (04:31):
I've certainly done some flying since then, and you know,
I have my license, and no, I don't do as
much as i'd like to. I would like to do more.
But that was a funny day. More man, I think
it was probably the world record holder for plane crashing.
He was in double digits. But he had this plane
that was quite good, and for his eightieth birthday, to
his great credit, he built this plane and he flew
it to Ulararu and back from Flinn's Island. That was,
(04:53):
you know, his eightieth birthday. But he decided it was
too slow, so it took some bits off the wings
to try and make it go faster. And I was
the first person to get in it with him after
he'd made those modifications, which turned out to be not
very good. John. So where the abate or wing modifier
would be my learning out of all of that.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Let's talk briefly, hookline and sink it. Nearly twenty years
on the air, more than more than goodness, gracious, I
remember when I first came on.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Yeah, I can't believe. Yes, remarkable. Yeah. We made our
first shows in the year two thousand, just in the
wake of the Sydney Olympics. As I recall still going
to this day. My partner Andrew Hart, who do all
those years, we're still going around and fishing and obviously
I stopped in twenty twenty one when I was elected
to winder Me what a job, mate, My goodness mate.
(05:40):
We were long odds, I think to make a success
out of that because neither of us was particularly proficient
at fishing. But there was something in the show that
you know, it resonated with Yeah, someone called it an
adventure show mixed with Russell Coy. There was the.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Humor behind it that people were attracted to.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Yeah, and look, I think that's very true if you
go off on a fishing trip with your friends or
it quickly generally devolves. That seemed to be We discovered
that by the first couple of episodes, we've given all
the things that you know, the tips that we knew
about fishing on the not so that we knew how
to tie. So we done all that, so we had
to find a different vehicle for The feedback from people
(06:18):
was that that was what They liked that sort of
batter between Hardy and I, and it was just a
bit like going fishing with you mates, and you know,
as it turned out to be, it was a great joy.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
And a privilege. A gig in the century. One would
have thought, therefore, why the shift to politics. It's a
very very good question, because it was a great job.
I just felt it was about time time for change.
The opportunity came up very quickly.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I must have been. I was. It wasn't one of
those things that I was necessarily considering at the time.
I'd had some discussions maybe ten years previous to that,
had an approach, and one summer put that little thought
in my head. It never completely went away, but the
timing probably wasn't right. And then in twenty twenty one,
you know, I felt that the timing was a and
that maybe I'll dip my tee in the world and
(07:02):
look at maybe getting a pre selection. They told me,
you probably won't get pre selected because we've already got
a pretty strong candidate, but if you'd like to have
some experience of what that process is like, you know,
maybe down the track with bar Yeah, we'll try that.
Then all of a sudden, I got pre selected. Then
I'm running, and I thought, well, if I'm running, I'm
in this to win, and a campaign hard, and here
we are. Do you think this is it for you? Now?
Speaker 1 (07:24):
This is the rest of your career until I would
say it in that day when we retire.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It's ultimately up to the people who make those decisions,
the voters. I hope to first and foremost be doing
a good job for the people I represent.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
You.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
That's really important today the people win the mere on
the East tamer in Lonnie, so you know, and I'm
pretty active in those communities in Georgetown, Lilydale and the
northern suburbs of one Sesteon. But obviously now having joined
the ministry, you know, there's some other jobs that tend
to also require some substantial attention. You know, Energy is
a big one here. I've got parts portfolio and fifty
(07:59):
percent of TESMA is held in parks and reserve and
obviously environment as well. That's critically important to Tassy. It's
a really important job and I get that very much.
Enjoying the opportunity to play my part.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Tassy fishing shownlight danitby Nick Dagon now a Tasmanian minister
in the Liberal government. A quick break back with more
of Nick in just a Moment, My Heart Dazzy, My
Heart Dazzy, Nick Dagen my guest on iHeart Tazzi, former
TV personality now minister in the Liberals State government.
Speaker 2 (08:34):
Nick, when you came.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Into the political space all of a sudden, when you
are given a portfolio and multiple ones at that, you've
instantly got to be an expert. That must be a
massive learning curve.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Yep, beating from the fire hose is how it was
described to me, someone said, And it is absolutely like
that for the first couple of months. I reckon you
are just being not only because for me the political
life andandscope is still quite new, so I'm still learning that.
But the volume of information that you need to be
across in your portfolios is really substantial. So you need
(09:10):
to knuckle down and do the work and get your
head around it. You get good support. There are a
lot of people in the department and people in the
office and people in the government who are invested in
saying you do well. So our boys felt really well supported.
But I must admit, you know, walking into government, business,
enterprise scrutiny was maybe a month into the job or something,
feeling that there's a bit of pressure in this.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And that's where you defer to those experts around you.
I mean, more or less. I don't mean to belittle
the role, but a minister is the figure hit with
a lot of deep expertise behind the scenes.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Yeah, I look, I think that's pretty true. The minister
is the interface between the department or the business and
the public, managing public expectations and making sure that what
the departments and the businesses are doing messures up with
government policy and the public expectation. And speaking of when
you're out in public.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Previously in your life in media, those would have been
fairly affable sort of situations. Now as a politician when
you are out in public, do you get the occasional
bit of a spray.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Or someone having to go. You get the odd person
you know who wants to challenge you on an idea
or why doing this that or the other. But I
would say almost without exception, people are pretty friendly by
and large. We all have our disagreements and we all
have views on certain things, but I find in person,
almost without exception, people are good. We have a conversation.
(10:39):
We might not always agree, but no one's necessarily looking
for something to pick up to bat you overhead with
not always the case in the online space and John obviously,
but that you know, I think we all know that
that goes with the territory. But to listen to too
much of.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
That, and what's downtime for you, Nick Dagon?
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Is it a case of spending as.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Much time as you can with the family in quality
outings together.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
The family time obviously is important because that's where you grounded,
and that's your just dad or whatever. And there's no
great expectation on you, Toby anything that you're not, so
that's good. The little little achrings and I faf around
and do things on that and I really enjoy that.
And obviously fishing is a big one for me, so
you know, whenever I go on holiday, we saw the
boating and I will go for a fish, spending time
(11:22):
with friends or whatever else pretty much like anybody else. Really,
there are aspects of the job which are at times
hard to switch off, so you've got to be a
bit careful in how you manage that and find some
clear space in your head, or at least I find
it's important.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
Nick Dagon my guest on Ihatasi now Gunment.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Minister who crossed over from TV. Here.
Speaker 1 (11:43):
This interview in for there's a podcast at
Speaker 2 (11:46):
My Heart, My Heart, Assi
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.