Afternoon Light

• Hugh Rogers on the life & foreign policy legacy of arch-conscriptionist Billy Hughes: "A seat at the table"

  Who is going to celebrate a prime minister who got kicked out of multiple political parties? On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Hugh Rogers to explore the complex career and legacy of Billy Hughes. The man who ensured that Australia had its own 'seat at the table' in international relations & won the acclaim of foreign media, but who is now most often remembered for the bitter divisions sparked by his conscription plebiscites. Hugh Rogers is a PhD candidate in History at the University of New England. His thesis title is: ‘Billy Hughes and the British press, 1916-1918’. Hugh’s first love was history, and it was one of his majors in his first degree. After completing a M.Sc. and an MBA for work-related reasons, he returned to his first love, completing a Master of History at UNE in 2023. This included a thesis comparing the performance of Hughes at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and Doc Evatt at the San Francisco United Nations Conference in 1945, which led him into his current research. Hugh is using the digital newspaper archives to re-examine the coverage Hughes received in the British newspapers on his two visits to Britain during the First World War. IBNLBGXJFDYZZ0MD

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• Nicholas Ferns on Australia's attempt to guide Papua New Guinea towards economic development & self government: "We've cracked that code"

  On 16 September 1975 Papua New Guinea gained its independence, but how well did Australia prepare its former territory for that day? On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Nicholas Ferns to unpack the ideology and policies known as 'developmentalism' - Australia's concerted attempt to help its neighbours achieve the same level of economic prosperity & political stability enjoyed in 'the lucky country'. Nicholas Ferns is an ARC DECRA Research Fellow in History at Monash University. He is a historian of development, empire, and decolonisation with a particular focus on Australia’s role in the Asia-Pacific region. His first book, Australia in the Age of International Development, 1945-1975, examined Australia’s colonial rule in Papua New Guinea and foreign aid policy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He is now working on his second monograph, which examines Australia’s relationship with the World Bank and its impact on development and decolonisation in Australia and Papua New Guinea. CQEB3DVTYYAJSJLE

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• Salvatore Babones on the Ascent of Democracy in India: "A Sense of Nationhood"

  Should India be considered a democratic success story? On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Salvatore Babones to explore the remarkable rise of democracy in India, and why it has recently become the subject of much international criticism. A story which reveals the importance of culture in maintaining democratic institutions, and how cultural differences therefore shape the differing nature of democracies around the world. Salvatore Babones is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney whose current research focuses on the political sociology of democracy. In the past he has also published on economic development in post-socialist transition economies and quantitative methods for cross-national comparisons. He is the author or editor of fourteen books and several dozen academic research articles. His short book The New Authoritarianism: Trump, Populism, and the Tyranny of Experts was named among the Best on Politics 2018 by the Wall Street Journal. His latest book is Dharma Democracy: How India Built the Third World's First Democracy, published in 2025 by Connor Court. AWOQTUZWTUE2LBCD

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• Charles Richardson & Zachary Gorman on the Future of Australia's Two Party System: "A Tangible Choice"

  If more than a third of voters are opting for Independents and minor parties, does Australia even have a two party system anymore? On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Charles Richardson and Zachary Gorman to discuss a new Robert Menzies Institute policy paper on The Future of Australia's Two Party System: Function, Flaws and Fixes. A wide ranging conversation exploring how and why Australia's party system first emerged, what are the causes of its current maladies, and how a system which once empowered the Australian electorate might yet be revived. Charles Richardson earned his PhD from Rutgers University, specialising in ethical theory and political philosophy. He worked as a ministerial adviser in the Victorian government, and later as editorial manager at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney. He is currently an independent scholar based in Melbourne; his research interests include the history of liberal democratic structures and the comparative study of European party systems. Charles has been a regular contributor to Crikey since 2002. He has been featured as a commentator in newspapers, radio and television. He is not affiliated with any political party. SIAALLKVXKKEWDUX

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• David Lee on Prime Minister & Statesman Stanley Melbourne Bruce: "The Outstanding Australian of Our Time"

  Who led Australia through the roaring 20s & was he responsible when they came to a crashing halt? On this week's Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with David Lee about Australia's 8th Prime Minister Stanley Melbourne Bruce. A decorated Gallipoli veteran, architect of the Federal Coalition, and notable international diplomat, whose complexities have been obscured behind the caricature of a spats-wearing Anglophile who managed to lose his own seat at the 1929 election. David Lee is Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. He is the author inter alia of Stanley Melbourne Bruce: Australian internationalist, the Australian Biographical Monograph on John Curtin, and The Second Rush: Mining and the Transformation of Australia. 26IQRXA40KP7HNMV

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