VAN Talks Podcast
Heading back to our roots and building on the work we undertook in the leadup to the 2023 Referendum, Victorian Aboriginal News (VAN) Talks focuses on the positivity that is Aboriginal Victoria. Covering everything from Voice, Treaty and Truth and Reconciliation through to Aboriginal businesses and Traditional Owner initiatives, the VAN Talks podcast is the only podcast that travels across the State to deliver interviews and stories that are the truth of Aboriginal Victoria.
Episodes
Just three days before her resignation from Cabinet comes into effect, the Minister for Treaty and First Nations, Natalie Hutchins MP, speaks with VAN's Charles Pakana about her experiences holding that portfolio during what can arguably be described as Australia's most positive decade in the First Nations space.
Increasingly - and fortunately - a new age of "digital" story-telling professionals are emerging to ensure stories are protected from the ravages of time. VAN catches up with one such story-teller, Yorta Yorta and Woi-wurrung man Mark Thomson.
As the need and demand for critical minerals increases, we catch up with the CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owners Cooperation, Kaley Nicholson, about the state government dragging its heels on reaching agreements with Traditional Owners across the state.
In an apparent age of misinformation and disinformation, particularly evident during the 2023 Referendum on a First Nations Voice to Parliament, VAN's Charles Pakana catches up with NITV's John Paul (JP) Janke, to discuss the realities and implications of this moving forward, with a focus also on its potential impact of the Victorian Treaty Process.
Regarded by many as a fairly "redneck" area, Shepparton is home to one of the longest-serving and effective local reconciliation efforts - the Shepparton Region Reconciliation Group. VAN's Charles Pakana travels to the area and meets up for a yarn with one of the group's co-conveners, Dierdre Robertson.
Treaty Authority member, Biripi woman Duean White talks with Victorian Aboriginal News about local Treaties, and what local governments and organisations can do to better understand and prepare for them
Featuring three great tracks from the band's latest album, Solar Eclipse, this interview has VAN's Charles Pakana yarning with Blackfire co-founder, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Grant Hanson about the album and the history of this iconic Naarm-based Aboriginal rock band.
We catch up with Austrade's first Head of Indigenous Engagement and Export, Yuin woman Melanie Harris, to discuss First Nations businesses making headway in international trade
From being taken from her home and family in 1969 by Victoria Police, Stolen Generations survivor Aunty Evajo Edwards now works as an Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer with that same organisation...and shares positive perspectives.
We conclude our extended interview with Gunditjmara man and co-Chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, Rueben Berg, deep-diving into Treaty legislation and the Treaty itself.
We continue out deep-dive into the Victorian Treaty Legislation and proposed Treaty with Gunditjmara man and co-Chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, Rueben Berg.
We're rapt that Victorian Aboriginal News was chosen by the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria to interview co-Chair Rueben Berg for a deep dive into the Victorian Treaty Legislation and proposed Treaty. This is part one of a three-part extended exclusive interview, recorded just days before the legislation was passed in the Victorian Parliament's lower house.
Gunditjmara woman and co-founder of Clothing the Gaps, Laura Thompson, joins VAN's Charles Pakana to talk about the importance of clothing as a means of sparking change and conversation.
Somewhat off our normal track, in this episode I speak with Tahlia Azaria from the Foundation for Young Australians about that organisation's Young Mayors program.
Ex-Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner, Aunty Jill Gallagher, looks back at the challenges facing the Treaty process during the formation of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria.
Led by Gunditjmara woman Aunty Lisa Briggs, NgaweeyanMaar-oo (voice of and from the people) is working with local governments to help them achieve their Closing the Gaps obligations
In this episode of VAN Talks, I catch up with the leader and founder of Victoria's only Blak- and queer-led first aid service provider, Nic Radoll. He leads an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisation (ACCO) that's another clear demonstration of the value to ALL community of self-determination.
With the Victorian Treaty legislation now tabled in the State's Parliament, grassroots level support is on the rise. A key player in this is First Nations-led Common Threads. We speak with one of the organisation's founders, Larissa Baldwin-Roberts.
Despite being underfunded by the Federal Government, First Nations media across Australia plays a critical role in dispelling myths and misinformation. We speak with First Nations Media Australia CEO, Wally Tallis.
Less than two hours after Australia's first Treaty legislation was tabled in Victorian Parliament, First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria co-Chair, Gunditjmara man Rueben Berg, met up with VAN's Charles Pakana to record the first of an extended series of interviews discussing the legislation and future of the Assembly.
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