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
107 episodes
S03-E27: Bringing and seeking cultural change in Australian Senate
With the failure of the 2023 Voice referendum, the onus is well and truly on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Members of Parliament and Senators to help First Nations voices be heard and heeded. In this episode, we speak with Yamatji and N...
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Season 3
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Episode 27
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21:23
S03-E26: All Victorians invited to join in an historic Walk for Truth
With the final Yoorrook Commission report due in June 2025, Commissioner Travis Lovett is about to undertake a 370 kilometre walk from Portland in the Victorian south-west - where European colonisation started - to Parliament House in Melbourne...
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Season 3
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Episode 26
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19:59
S03-E25: Equal footing for Traditional Owners in the Treaty process
There’s always a great deal of attention given to the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and, more recently, the Treaty Authority when it comes to the Victorian Treaty process. In the background, though, and playing an incredibly important par...
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Season 3
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Episode 25
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21:58
S03-E24: Welcome to Country - a cultural and contemporary perspective
VAN’s Charles Pakana speaks with Wurundjeri Elder and lore man Uncle Bill Nicholson, gaining an insight into the important role that a Welcome to Country has in the broader Australian social landscape.
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Season 3
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Episode 24
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20:11
S03-E23: Deep diving into the current Victorian Treaty negotiations
With the Victorian State Government and First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria having agreed to an agenda of items for the first round of Treaty negotiations, VAN’s Charles Pakana catches up with Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg. They take a closer l...
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Season 3
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Episode 23
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18:20
S03-E22: Summing up a catastrophic year for the Victorian dingo population
In this end-of-year episode, VAN's Charles Pakana brings together key points from two months of investigation and interviews focused on the Victorian Government's questionably-motivated decision to extend an Order in Council on the unprotection...
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Season 3
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Episode 22
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24:23
S03-E21: “Sham consultation” claim on government from Victorian Farmers Federation
As we commence our closing off of the Victorian Government’s “dingo death warrant” across much of Australia, VAN’s Charles Pakana catches up with President of the Victorian Farmers Federation, Emma Germano. Even that organisation claims the gov...
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Season 3
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Episode 21
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23:43
S03-E20: Yoorrook Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter reflects on Victoria’s truth-telling process
As submissions and evidence-giving closes for Victoria’s groundbreaking Yoorrook Royal Commission into truth-telling, VAN’s Charles Pakana catches up with Commissioner and Deputy Chair Sue-Anne Hunter. Together, they look back at the process th...
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Season 3
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Episode 20
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19:44
S03-E19: Dja Dja Wurrung barely considered in Victorian Government’s dingo planning
As we continue our investigation into the State Government’s blatant disregard of First Nations’ advice on the matter of dingo protection in Victoria, VAN’s Charles Pakana speaks with the CEO of DJAARA, the Dja Dja Wurrung clans, Uncle Rodney C...
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Season 3
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Episode 19
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21:27
S03-E18: A yarn by the mighty Murray River with Uncle Col Clark
On a recent trip up to Latje Latje Country, specifically Mildura, VAN's Charles Pakana caught up with Barkindji Elder, Uncle Col Clark. Sitting by the southern bank of the mighty Murray River, they yarned about reconciliation in a post-referend...
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Season 3
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Episode 18
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18:46
S03-E17: Victorian Government continues to ignore First Nations on cultural matter
In this episode of the VAN Talks podcast, VAN’s Charles Pakana talks with CEO of the Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations, Paul Paton. They discuss the clear lack of consultation from the Victorian Government with Traditional ...
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Season 3
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Episode 17
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18:21
S03-E16: Reflecting on five years of Treaty work with Assembly co-chair Rueben Berg
Nearly six years ago, I traveled across Victoria shadowing Aunty Jill Gallagher, then the Victorian Treaty Advancement Commissioner, and catching up with numerous traditional owners who had stepped forward as candidates for election to the Firs...
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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23:58
S03-E15: Bringing Aboriginal cultural safety and influences into the education system
In this episode VAN's Charles Pakana sits down for a yarn with Aboriginal reform advocate and activist, Bunurong woman Zoe Upton. Together they discuss topics ranging from engaging with Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups, increasing the n...
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Season 3
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Episode 15
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22:19
S03-E14: Victoria's dingoes barely protected under legislation
As we continue our deep dive into the Victorian Government's decision to extend the unprotection order on dingoes up until 2028, VAN's Charles Pakana travels to Apollo Bay to speak to Yuin man and academic, Dr Jack Pascoe. In this interview, th...
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Season 3
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Episode 14
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20:01
S03-E13: The science and facts supporting the need to protect Victorian dingo populations
As we continue pursuing the facts behind the Victorian Government's strange decision to extend an Order in Council, taking unprotection of dingoes across much of the state through to 2028, VAN's Charles Pakana sits with with Professor Euan Ritc...
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Season 3
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Episode 13
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26:29
S03-E12: Bringing Aboriginal culture into our daily lives
In this episode VAN’s Charles Pakana sits down with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung cultural educator Thane Garvey to discuss ways in which Aboriginal culture - language, caring for country, etc. - can be brought into our day-to-day lives.
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Season 3
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Episode 12
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22:11
S03-E11: The harsh reality of "black-cladding" of businesses
While a growing number of people and businesses seek to support Blak businesses, there is an unfortunate prevalence of businesses following a practice of "black cladding" to rip off the unaware
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Season 3
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Episode 11
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20:44
S03-E10: One year on from the referendum - a yarn with Thomas Mayo
Ever the optimist and activist, exactly one year on from the failed referendum to achieve a First Nations Voice in our Constitution, Thomas Mayo speaks about his book Always Was Always Will Be and his ongoing encouragement for all Australians t...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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22:16
S03-E09: Victorian Government signs dingo death warrant
In a move many describe as primarily politically motivated, the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has extended a dingo UNprotection order across areas of Victoria through to 2028. Traditional Owner groups, e...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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20:16
S03-E08: We visit Budj Bim on Gunditjmara Country and learn more about the story behind this cultural site
Sitting at Tae Rak on Gunditjmara Country in the state's South-West, VAN's Charles Pakana catches up with the Budj Bim General Manager Joseph Saunders, discussing the story behind the place.
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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20:45
S03-E07: Talking Treaty - Reconciliation Victoria turns the table on Charles Pakana from Victorian Aboriginal News
In a bit of a change, it's Charles' turn to be interviewed about Treaty as he is joined by Reconciliation Victoria's Communications lead, Anna Van Vliet. They explore various questions that have come in to Rec Vic from members of its 30+ local ...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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27:25
S03-E06: "Treaty". A fairly generic word that can either be weaponised or seen as an amazing opportunity
A simple interview with Constitutional law expert Professor Cheryl Saunders about the legal meaning of "treaty" evolves to embrace a broad range of important related matters.
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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24:12
S03-E05: Putting Blak into philanthropy through decolonisation of attitudes and practices
OK, so it may seem a bit of a dry subject - philanthropy - but when you start to explore how, through its decolonisation, it can deliver major benefits to the broader community, the lightbulbs start to flicker on in our minds. We speak about th...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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25:45
S03-E04: Sky News' Peta Credlin and Senator Jacinta Price mislead on Treaty event and Victorian Treaty
Once again Sky News commentator Peta Credlin and the Federal Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, Senator Jacinta Price, have been proven wrong in commentary. This time, it's all about Victorian Treaty and a specific community education ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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19:06
S03-E03: When the multicultural communities take the lead in reconciliation across Victoria
Throughout 2023 and 2024, two research leads at the National Centre for Reconciliation, Truth and Justice undertook an innovative project to build reconciliation capabilities, strengths and leadership with the Victorian multicultural communitie...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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32:13