Rampart Talks

This is just an excerpt. The full interview with MICHAEL LEE is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.

Justice Michael Lee has presided over some of the most important trials in recent Australian history:  Bruce Lehrmann v Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson; Qantas' illegal sacking of 1,820 ground workers and the corporate regulator ASIC's case against Star Entertainment's former board directors and company executives. 

He's also the judge who ruled against journalist Joe Aston and Nine Entertainment in a defamation trial taken by the former head of venture capital at Blue Sky Alternative Investments. 

In this entertaining and candid conversation, Justice Lee explains why he thinks it's important that judges speak out on matters that are relevant to the administration of justice, the erosion of trust in courts and institutions and how artificial intelligence should be managed by corporations and board directors. 

Justice Lee also discusses matters beyond the law, including his love of red ball cricket and disappointment about the state of the modern game. He's also writing a screenplay about Sydney in the Great Depression era and the former NSW Premier, Jack Lang. 

Don't miss it. 

Rampart Talks is brought to you by ⁠⁠BHP⁠, ⁠Generation Life 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
Commercial support: Squiz Media

This is just an excerpt. The full interview with JOHN MULLEN is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.
John Mullen is the chair of Qantas and one of Australia’s most respected business leaders.
He took over as chair in February 2024 when the company was at a low ebb. Long time CEO Alan Joyce had resigned in disgrace the previous year and the company was broadly loathed by the Australian public.
Two years later, Mullen says Qantas is in a much stronger position, both because of improved performance metrics like on-time performance but also a better corporate culture and “low ego” environment.
As well as his duties at Qantas, Mullen chairs global logistics company Brambles, Treasury Wine Estates, professional services advisory Scyne and is a non-executive director of Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation.
In this podcast interview, he speaks about his decades of leadership in the corporate sector, running the port and rail operator Asciano, negotiating with the union movement and working at TNT/Ansett under Rupert Murdoch and Australian corporate legend Sir Peter Abeles, who he calls a mentor.
Mullen also discusses his deep passion for maritime history. He helped fund the search for the wreck of the Montevideo Maru, the Japanese warship that was sunk in World War Two carrying Australian prisoners of war, making it the greatest loss of life in the country’s history in one single incident. 

Rampart Talks is brought to you by ⁠⁠BHP⁠, ⁠Evidentia Group 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
Commercial support: Squiz Media

This is just an excerpt. The full interview with TODD GREENBERG is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.

Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg joins Rampart’s Joe Aston for a conversation about the future of the sport and his attempt to privatise the domestic T20 Big Bash League.  

Greenberg has been in sports administration for three decades, starting at the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs rugby league club. His leadership weathered many crises and scandals before his abrupt departure in the early days of the COVID crisis. 

Now at the helm of Cricket Australia, he faces a new challenge: convincing state-based cricket associations to sell off a minority stake of their T20 Big Bash League clubs to private capital. 

Greenberg maintains that privatisation in one form or another is inevitable, not only delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue but bringing new leadership into cricket. 

Greenberg says the proceeds of privatisation would go towards creating a “future fund” that would underwrite the game and player salaries before the next broadcast rights deal is struck in 2031.  

He also addresses a scandal that rocked CA in May, when an executive was sacked after a governance breach. Also, the looming retirement of Australia's current crop of star players who drive bumper crowds and big sponsorship deals. 

Finally, Greenberg opens up about the personal challenges of leadership, his wife Lisa’s sobriety after a battle with alcohol, and his shock at seeing the rise of antisemitism in Australia.

Rampart Talks is brought to you by ⁠⁠BHP⁠, ⁠Ray White Commercial⁠ and Generation Life.

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
Commercial support: Squiz Media

This is just an excerpt. The full interview with RUTHIE ROGERS is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.
American-British restaurant legend Ruthie Rogers is Joe Aston’s guest on this month’s Rampart Talks. She’s the owner of the River Cafe, a Michelin starred Italian restaurant on the banks of the River Thames in London, about halfway between Harrods and Heathrow.
This podcast explores the humble beginnings of the restaurant which has become a global phenomenon. In 1987, Rogers and her co-founder Rose Gray had a basic goal: to serve the kind of simple, delicious food they enjoyed eating in Italy.
Four decades later, the restaurant is an important stop on the global food trail. Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was discovered as a young trainee in the restaurant’s kitchen, while over a million copies of The River Cafe Cookbook series have sold internationally. 
More recently, after the death of her famous architect husband Lord Richard Rogers, Ruthie embarked on a new professional endeavour. Her podcast, Ruthie’s Table 4, has gained a cult following off the back of interviews with celebrities like Paul McCartney and David Beckham, who discuss their memories and life experiences through the lens of food. 
In this interview with Joe Aston, Ruthie talks about balancing her desire to be in the kitchen with the realities of running a business, how technology has diminished the dining experience and what she reaches for when she needs some comfort food. 
Rampart Talks is brought to you by ⁠⁠BHP⁠, Evidentia Group 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 HarveyProduction/Editing: Mentored Studios Technical and commercial support: Squiz Media

This is just an excerpt. The full interview with HAMISH DOUGLASS is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.

The co-founder of Magellan Financial Group Hamish Douglass is Joe Aston's guest on this month's Rampart Talks interview series. In his first major interview since disappearing abruptly from public life in February 2022, Douglass speaks candidly about the extraordinary events that brought him to his knees. 

We explore the huge changes in his personal life and identity; the disturbing rumours about him that survive to this day; the mental breakdown that left him a shadow of his former self; and his message of hope, having made a full recovery.

Joe and Hamish discuss all things Magellan, including packing out ballrooms of financial advisers; his much-analysed relationship with co-founder Chris Mackay; the company's near-fatal key man risk exposure; and the seeding of the new investment bank Barrenjoey which he claims as his idea.

They also discuss Magellan's controversial loan-funded employee share scheme and his decision to sell down his own shares in the company. 

Rampart Talks is brought to you by ⁠⁠BHP⁠, Generation Life 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