Rampart Talks

This is Brad Banducci’s first major interview since that infamous "walkout" (a term he disputes) on Four Corners.Subscribe to ⁠Rampart⁠ to unlock the full hour-long interview.When Banducci took the helm of Woolies in 2016, the company was a market pariah following its disastrous foray into hardware via Masters. On his watch, Woolworths regained, and for many years maintained, its ascendancy over arch-rival Coles. He was certainly, in Joe Aston’s view, one of the outstanding major company CEOs of the last decade. Yet his final year was marred by controversy, as Woolworths (and Coles) became a convenient villain for politicians over so-called "price-gouging" in an inflation outbreak and a legitimate target of the competition regulator over tricky advertising tactics; and as Woolworths was caught in the political crossfire over its advocacy for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and its refusal to sell Australian flag paraphernalia on Australia Day.The full interview with Brad Banducci is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.Rampart Talks is brought to you by ⁠RESOLVE Forensic⁠, ⁠BHP⁠ and ⁠Ray White Commercial⁠.About Joe Aston:Joe Aston is one of Australia’s most influential commentators on business, finance and politics.For 12 years, he struck fear into the hearts of the nation’s political and corporate leaders, transforming The Australian Financial Review’s Rear Window into the nation’s premier daily column.In 2024, he became a best-selling author with the publication of his first book, The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out.And in 2025, he launched ⁠Rampart⁠, a premium subscription news publication specialising in Australian business and finance. Follow Joe Aston on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠X⁠.Follow Rampart on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠X⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠.Rampart TalksProducer: Eliza HarveyProduction/Editing: Mentored Studios Technical and commercial support: Squiz Media

The full interview with Gil McLachlan is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.In this second episode of Rampart Talks, Joe Aston sits down with Gil McLachlan, former CEO of the AFL and now chief executive at Tabcorp. The conversation is wide-ranging, covering his footy legacy, from his regrets over the handling of the Adam Goodes racism scandal to the blockbuster commercial growth of Aussie rules (now comfortably the richest sport in the country) to the messy succession to Gil’s lieutenant Andrew Dillon led by the AFL Commission in 2022 and 2023.Joe also presses Gil on the normalisation, on his watch, of gambling advertising in sport, a natural segue to his new job at Tabcorp, where he was very frank about his belief in the renaissance of racing and the resonance of the Tabcorp brand with young consumers, and his plans to catch up with digital market leader Sportsbet.Rampart Talks is brought to you by ⁠RESOLVE Forensic⁠, ⁠BHP⁠ and ⁠Ray White Commercial⁠.About Joe Aston:Joe Aston is one of Australia’s most influential commentators on business, finance and politics.For 12 years, he struck fear into the hearts of the nation’s political and corporate leaders, transforming The Australian Financial Review’s Rear Window into the nation’s premier daily column.In 2024, he became a best-selling author with the publication of his first book, The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out.And in 2025, he launched ⁠Rampart⁠, a premium subscription news publication specialising in Australian business and finance. Follow Joe Aston on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠X⁠.Follow Rampart on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠X⁠, ⁠YouTube⁠.Rampart TalksProducer: Eliza HarveyProduction/Editing: Mentored Studios Technical and commercial support: Squiz Media 

An interview series brought to you by Joe Aston. The full interview with James Packer is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.  In this first episode of the Rampart Talks series, Joe Aston sat down with James for a conversation that spans Crown, the Murdochs, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, mental health and his profound dislike of the former Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.  Rampart Talks is brought to you by RESOLVE Forensic, BHP and Ray White Commercial. About Joe Aston: Joe Aston is one of Australia’s most influential commentators on business, finance and politics. For 12 years, he struck fear into the hearts of the nation’s political and corporate leaders, transforming The Australian Financial Review’s Rear Window into the nation’s premier daily column. In 2024, he became a best-selling author with the publication of his first book, The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out. And in 2025, he launched Rampart, a premium subscription news publication specialising in Australian business and finance.  Follow Joe Aston on LinkedIn and X. Follow Rampart on LinkedIn, Instagram, X, YouTube. Rampart Talks Producer: Eliza Harvey Production/Editing: Mentored Studios  Technical and commercial support: Squiz Media

Joe Aston sits down with some of Australia's most accomplished and fascinating business leaders, like billionaire James Packer, former AFL CEO turned Tabcorp boss Gil McLachlan, ex-Woolworths chief Brad Banducci, Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar and more to be announced. If you want to know how money and power works in Australia - and what makes these leaders tick - you won't want to miss this. Rampart Talks. Go to rampart.news to find out more.Rampart Talks is brought to you by RESOLVE Forensic, BHP and Ray White Commercial.