Afternoon Light

Has immigration really made Australia more prosperous?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Mark Cully, former chief economist for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, about his new, revealing and monumental history Waves of Plenty: Immigration and the Making of Australia. One of the only books to ever chart Australia's full immigration story, from the early 19th century to the present, and full of the crucial historical insights that only an economist and a fresh pair of eyes can provide.

Want to learn more about immigration in Australia? Listen to these episodes of Afternoon Light:

Henry Ergas: What has multiculturalism done to Australia?

Peter Kurti on maintaining national unity amidst Australia's growing pluralism: "Multiculturalism works when it's Civic Anchored"

Alistair Thomson on the Ten Pound Poms: "Implicitly assumed they weren't migrants"

Francesco Ricatti on Italian Migration | “Your own identity... is evolving”

Mark Cully was chief economist for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship and the Department of Industry, as well as chair of the OECD’s Working Party on Migration. As head of macroeconomic policy in the Treasury, he led the design of the JobKeeper program during the pandemic. He is an expert panel member of the Fair Work Commission and a visiting fellow at ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy.

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Are the English-speaking-peoples still bound together, as we were during the greatest struggles of the 20th century?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks with Andrew Roberts, fresh off delivering the 2026 Menzies Oration, for a wide-ranging discussion exploring the enduring importance of the Anglosphere family of nations, why Churchill continues to capture our imaginations, and the importance of heroes in inspiring a new generation to realise their capacity to shape history.

Lord Roberts has written 21 books which have been translated into 28 languages and have won thirteen literary prizes. These include Churchill: Walking with Destiny, Napoleon: A Life, and most recently, Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare 1945 to Ukraine, which he co-authored with General David Petraeus. His acclaimed work, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1901, deliberately continues Churchill’s original history, which ended in 1900 – just before the birth of the Australian Commonwealth.

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What did a Japanese spy, straight out of spy-school, make of 1940s Australia?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer and guest Craig Collie tell the fascinating and oft times humorous story of Major Sei Hashida. A haplessly conspicuous figure, whose 'covert' wartime tour of Australia made national headlines, and whose notebook provides a unique insight into the culture clash between two of WW2's Pacific belligerents.

Craig Collie is one of Australia’s leading writers of military history and the author of the critically acclaimed The Path of Infinite Sorrow, Nagasaki, The Reporter and the Warlords, Code Breakers, On Our Doorstep, and Where the Flaming Hell Are We? Craig has a special interest in Japanese–Australian history and formerly worked as a TV producer–director, including as Head of Television Production at SBS. His latest book is Major Hashida’s Notebook: A Japanese spy's mission to Australia in World War II.

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Is Australia really just a 'middle power', or are we underestimating our ability to influence world affairs?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer sits down for a lively discussion with Allan Behm and Emma Shortis, exploring and testing their thesis that Australia can spearhead the establishment of a new international rules-based order. As well as debating whether it is time for Australian foreign policy to chart greater distance from the United States and the geostrategic integration proposed under AUKUS.

Allan Behm and Emma Shortis head the Australia Institute's International & Security Affairs Program. They have just released the book New Game, New Rules: A Foreign Policy for Dystopian Times.

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Is multiculturalism the cornerstone of Australia's modern identity, or a Canadian import reflecting a society that was always more divided than our own?

On this week’s Afternoon Light Georgina Downer speaks to Henry Ergas about the history of multiculturalism and how it may have contributed to the gradual breakdown of Australia's social cohesion. This wide-ranging discussion explores the limits of liberalism, toleration and acculturation, and what we can do to right our present course.

Henry Ergas AO is an Australian economist, public policy expert, and columnist with The Australian. He spent more than a decade at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris, and has held academic appointments at institutions including Harvard Kennedy School, Monash University, National University of Singapore, and the University of Wollongong, where he was Professor of Infrastructure Economics. His columns explore economics, politics, and public policy, and increasingly Australian history and national identity; free speech and universities; religion, philosophy, and Western intellectual traditions; and cultural and political debates surrounding multiculturalism and civic values.

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