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
175 episodes
S05-E15: Demand for true accountability in Indigenous Procurement Policy
Principal lawyer and founder of AMK Law, Matthew Karakoulakis, unpacks critical new updates to Australia’s Indigenous Procurement Policy (IPP). He looks past the percentages on paper to explore why true First Nations economic self-determination...
S05-E14: The role of Blak media in the "fight for the soul of this country"
This is an episode not to be missed. Yorta Yorta man and award-winning journalist, Daniel James, gives a one-on-one interview with VAN Talks to discuss the critical role of First Nations media. Discussing current threats to community and cultur...
S05-E13: Advancing Victoria’s education model in a post-Yoorrook era
12 months after first speaking with Shelley Ware, one of Australia’s foremost First Nations education system reform advocates, we catch up again to talk about the future of Victoria’s education system in a post-Yoorrook era.
S05-E12: CEO of Settlement Council of Australia says, “It's time to roll up the sleeves and make it happen.”
In an interview with Victorian Aboriginal News’ Charles Pakana, Settlers Council of Australia CEO Maria Dimopoulos reflects on her first 12 months in the role. She addresses a profound, 25-year oversight: the total absence of dialogue regarding...
S05-E11: Rueben Berg urges local governments to work together in the Treaty era
In this episode of VAN Talks, Rueben Berg is interviewed by our founder and host, Uncle Charles Pakana, for reflections on his time at the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, and, now that he is no longer a co-Chair at the Assembly, how he spe...
S05-E10: Behind the face of VAN with Charles Pakana in the interviewee seat!
In this special episode on VAN Talks, a podcast normally hosted by Uncle Charles Pakana, Karina Wells, Uncle Charles's daughter, takes to the mic to interview the face of VAN. Uncle Charles talks about the impact his mentors and the move to Naa...
S05-E09: Native Title in the Victorian context with Kaley Nicholson
VAN's Charles Pakana sits down the Taungurung woman Kaley Nicholson, CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owners Corporation, to discuss Native Title in the Victorian context
S05-E08: NITV General Manager speaks to the future of First Nations media
NITV General Manager, Dan Bourchier, discusses his vision for the future of NITV and advises both journalists and consumers of media on how to maintain a truth-focused perspective.
S05-E07: A new First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria with a new set of challenges for a new era
Meriki Onus and Djaran Murray-Jackson have recently been elected as Co-Chairs of Gellung Warl, the First People's Assembly of Victoria. In this episode of VAN Talks, Meriki and Djaran yarn about the future of Treaty in Victoria, showing that th...
S05-E06: Kinship care vs. western foster care system: How to embed culture in children's lives
In this episode of VAN Talks, Sheree Lowe explains the difference between a kinship carer and a traditional foster carer in the Western system. She also gives some great examples of how to embed Indigenous culture in children's lives.
S05-E05: Can multicultural Australia lead the way in First Nations reconciliation?: the connection between new arrivals and 65,000 years of First Nations history
In this episode, Uncle Charles yarns with former Victorian Multicultural Commissioner, Shankar Karsynathan.
S05-E04: Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung join list of TOs ready for Treaty
Uncle Andrew Gardiner and Dale Wandin from Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung speak to VAN about the Traditional Owner group's entry onto the Treaty Authority's register.
S05-E03: Removal of the whitewash over Australia's military history
We catch up with historian Peter Bakker and explore the truth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in military service. Listen in to this discussion on how the Australian military provided a rare space of racal equality where m...
S05-E02: Taungurung signifies intent to commence local Treaty negotiations
Charles Pakana yarns with Taungurang CEO, Matt Burns, to discuss the historic steps being taken by the Taungurung people toward Treaty negotiations with the state government. Matt talks about the community’s journey toward independence through ...
S05-E01: Travis Lovett on the National Walk for Truth
Charles Pakana has a yarn with Travis Lovett, a Kerrupmara Gunditjmara man and former Yoorrook Justice Commissioner, 18 hours before he leaves to leads the 2026 National Walk for Truth. This 800km journey from Naarm to Canberra advocates for a ...
S04-E40: Ensuring the legacy of the Yoorrook evidence and submissions
In this episode VAN's Charles Pakana sits with Professor Peter Radoll, the man responsible for ensuring that all the evidence and submissions received by the Yoorrook Justice Commission is protected and - importantly - is made available to all ...
S04-E38: The $1 Billion benefit: Why investing in Traditional Owners pays off
With the passage of the Treaty Act of 2025, many believe the work is finished—but for Victoria’s Traditional Owners, the journey is just beginning. In this episode, host Charles Pakana sits down with Kaley Nicholson, CEO of the Federation of Vi...
S04-E37: A new era of shared governance for Dja Dja Wurrung and Bendigo
Djaara and the City of Greater Bendigo move beyond transactional MOUs with Yilingga Marna, a groundbreaking agreement embedding self-determination and shared governance into local decision-making. VAN's Charles Pakana talks with DJAARA CEO Cass...
S04-E36: Simple executive decision: The fix for Australia Day
James Woods from the Australian Long Weekend Initiative proposes moving Australia Day to the second-last Monday in January. This shift promises a long weekend every year, boosts business productivity, and fosters national unity for all Australi...
S04-E35: Unlocking the potential of the Indigenous business sector with Paul Paton
There's no doubt that a strong Australian First Nations business sector results in a strengthening of the Australian economy. To discuss this, VAN catches up with Dilin Duwa ("Everlasting Flow" [Woi-wurrung]) Centre for Indigenous Business Lead...
S04-E34: The rise of reform - tracking the shift toward Treaty and Truth
With new survey figures demonstrating a clear shift towards support for Treaty, Truth and reconciliation across Victoria, VAN catches up with the survey's commissioning academics, Professor Andrew Gunstone and Professor Emma-Jay Gavin, Australi...
S04-E33: Self-determination in the Aboriginal legal service space
With the recent publication of his book Defending the Defenceless, Eddie Cubillo joins VAN's Charles Pakana to discuss the critical importance - and all too often, lack - of self-determination and true community control in the Aboriginal and To...
S04-E32: Federal advocacy at last for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people
With legislation before Parliament to cement the powers of the Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, we catch up with country's first Commissioner under that legislation, Sue-Anne Hunter