Socially Democratic

Socially Democratic is back with the July Mailbag, and we're here to answer your questions on AI regulation, nationalising critical infrastructure, and whether Victorians should be nervous about the state election.

Host Stephen Donnelly is joined by former Chief of Staff to Daniel Andrews and Managing Partner at FMRS Advisory Lissie Ratcliff, and the Director of Campaigns and Strategy at Unions NSW, Todd Pinkerton.

They cover:

🤖 Albanese's big AI speech. Is it a fundamental shift in the government's position, or just a step in the right direction?

🏭 The recent Telstra outage prompts the question: Should Labor nationalise critical infrastructure?

🏠 Victoria's housing story: why Labor governments need to get off the fence and just say they want house prices to come down

🗳️ The Victorian Election: With One Nation polling at 27%, and Liberal support collapsing, should Labor be worried?

👀 Plus: the watch (and read and listen) list. Top recommendations from Todd, Lissie, and Stephen.

Mentioned in the Show:

Socially Democratic: Feeney Files with Jessie McCrone LIVE!

Friday July 24, 5:15pm
The Jade
142-160 Flinders Street
Adelaide, SA 5000

Purchase tickets: https://bit.ly/4w0M6AI

Send a Woman to Washington! A full ride to the 2026 Dunn Street United States Engagement Mission. Applications close July 31.
Apply here: https://bit.ly/4aRSO3l

Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana: https://bit.ly/4ppNydk
and The Quiet American: https://bit.ly/3RkWqEr

The Fourth Estate: In Conversation with Barrie Cassidy

Part 1: https://apple.co/4aZa2vM

Part 2: https://apple.co/4bragMe

Socially Democratic is an Australian Labor politics and campaigns podcast with expert guests. New episodes every Friday.
Support the show
Socially Democratic is an opinion-based political and campaign podcast that facilitates discussion on a range of topical issues. The opinions of guests are not an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at Dunn Street and Socially Democratic.
Access ad-free episodes and send in questions by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SociallyDemocratic
If you like the show, rate and review us on your favourite podcast app.
Follow Us on Socials:
Facebook (https://tr.ee/9jGIOy)
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YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DunnStreet)
The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au

Socially Democratic goes live at the New South Wales Labor State Conference Fringe for a special episode recorded in front of a live audience at Sydney Town Hall.

Host Stephen Donnelly is joined by regular guest and Unions NSW Director of Campaigns and Strategy Todd Pinkerton, Federal Member for Cunningham Alison Byrnes, and ALP National Assistant Secretary Rosie Ryan.

They cover:

🏛️ What makes the NSW Labor Conference unlike any other political event in Australia

🗳️ How the McKell Model keeps Labor's three pillars (rank and file, parliamentary party, and unions) working together

⚖️ Managing dissent and coming out united: why Labor has kept the show together for 150 years

🎤 Chris Minns' keynote: jobs, manufacturing, multiculturalism, and what it signals for 2026

📊 One Nation: what's driving the surge and how Labor speaks to voters who feel left behind

🎉 Plus special categories and conference trivia!

Socially Democratic is an Australian Labor politics and campaigns podcast with expert guests. New episodes every Friday.

#AustralianPoliticsPodcast #AusPol #AustralianPolitics #LaborParty #ALP #AustralianLabor #ProgressivePolitics #SocialDemocracy #Podcast #CurrentAffairs #NSWLaborConference #NSWLabor #ChrisMinns #NSWElection2026 #OneNation #PaulineHanson #AlisonByrnes #RosieRyan #ToddPinkerton #McKellModel #TradeUnions #UnionsNSW #Elections #Campaigns #Strategy #Manufacturing #Multiculturalism #Liberals #Coalition
Support the show
Socially Democratic is an opinion-based political and campaign podcast that facilitates discussion on a range of topical issues. The opinions of guests are not an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at Dunn Street and Socially Democratic.
Access ad-free episodes and send in questions by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SociallyDemocratic
If you like the show, rate and review us on your favourite podcast app.
Follow Us on Socials:
Facebook (https://tr.ee/9jGIOy)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sociallydemocratic)
LinkedIn (https://tr.ee/YxyYJh)
X (https://x.com/SocialDemPod)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DunnStreet)
The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au

Apologies to our listeners for the technical difficulties this week. 
Socially Democratic heads to Victorian Trades Hall for a special episode with two of the most important figures in the Victorian trade union movement.
Luke Hilakari, Secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, and Wil Stracke, Assistant Secretary, join host Stephen Donnelly to talk organising, digital campaigning, the rise of One Nation, and what happens to working people when AI reshapes the economy.
This is a rare inside look at how Trades Hall went from a place that passed resolutions to one of the most sophisticated campaigning operations in the country.
Plus:
🏛️ How Luke and Wil rebuilt Trades Hall from the ground up, and the internal resistance they had to overcome
📱 Wil's accidental TikTok and Instagram career, started by a single tweet about Grace Tame.
📋 The NDA campaign: how Trades Hall helped win world-leading legislation on non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases
🤖 AI and the future of work: What happens when cognitive labour disappears? What are the implications for employee surveillance?
📊 What focus group findings from former Labor voters tell us about the rise of One Nation
💪 How community organising and solidarity are the real antidote to the far right
Socially Democratic is an Australian Labor politics and campaigns podcast with expert guests. New episodes every Friday.
Support the show
Socially Democratic is an opinion-based political and campaign podcast that facilitates discussion on a range of topical issues. The opinions of guests are not an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at Dunn Street and Socially Democratic.
Access ad-free episodes and send in questions by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SociallyDemocratic
If you like the show, rate and review us on your favourite podcast app.
Follow Us on Socials:
Facebook (https://tr.ee/9jGIOy)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sociallydemocratic)
LinkedIn (https://tr.ee/YxyYJh)
X (https://x.com/SocialDemPod)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DunnStreet)
The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au

This episode of Socially Democratic covers a massive month in Australian politics: One Nation's rise, Pauline at the National Press Club, and a Victorian Labor leadership non-challenge that fizzled before it started.

David Feeney is back on the Feeney Files with Jessie McCrone and host Stephen Donnelly.

They cover:

💰 $4 million in 48 hours? One Nation's digital fundraising machine and what it signals.

🎤 Pauline at the Press Club: What she got right, what she got wrong, and the GetUp stunt.

🏛️ The Victorian leadership non-challenge: Why it fizzled and what it means for November.

📣 Luke Hilakari's email: poor form or exactly what needed to be said?

🎯 Stephen's hot take: Victorian Labor currently looks like the Liberal Party.

📰 Plus all your nominations, unanswerable questions, Social Democrat of the Month, and who won the month

Don't miss this ep.

Socially Democratic is an Australian Labor politics and campaigns podcast with expert guests. New episodes every Friday.

MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

Send a Woman to Washington Application: https://www.dunnstreet.com.au/usem-application

Socially Democratic: Feeney Files with Jessie McCrone LIVE!

Friday July 24, 5:15pm
The Jade
142-160 Flinders Street
Adelaide, SA 5000

Purchase tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/socially-democratic-feeney-files-with-jessie-mccrone-live-at-the-jade-tickets-1992186741171

Socially Democratic LIVE! at the NSW Labor State Conference

Saturday July 5th at 4pm
Sydney Town Hall

Register as an observer: https://www.nswlabor.org.au/register_interest_conference26

#AustralianPoliticsPodcast #AusPol #AustralianPolitics #LaborParty #ALP #AustralianLabor #ProgressivePolitics #SocialDemocracy #Podcast #CurrentAffairs #Elections #Campaigns #Strategy #OneNation #PaulineHanson #VictorianLabor #JacintaAllen #VictorianElection #DavidFeeney #JessieMcCrone #LukeHilakari #AndyBurnham #Makerfield #GetUp #NationalPressClub #FeeneyFiles #ToryWithATypewriter #UnanswerableQuestions #WhoWonTheMonth #FeeneysFilibuster #Greens #Liberals #Coalition #Insiders #SocialDemocrat
Support the show
Socially Democratic is an opinion-based political and campaign podcast that facilitates discussion on a range of topical issues. The opinions of guests are not an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at Dunn Street and Socially Democratic.
Access ad-free episodes and send in questions by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SociallyDemocratic
If you like the show, rate and review us on your favourite podcast app.
Follow Us on Socials:
Facebook (https://tr.ee/9jGIOy)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sociallydemocratic)
LinkedIn (https://tr.ee/YxyYJh)
X (https://x.com/SocialDemPod)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DunnStreet)
The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au

Host Stephen Donnelly sits down with NSW ALP General Secretary Dom Ofner ahead of the NSW Labor Conference, July 4–5 at Sydney Town Hall.
They cover:
🏛️ Why the NSW Conference is unlike any other political event in Australia, and why it has to be at Town Hall
📜 The McKell Model: how NSW Labor keeps government and party in balance
🎯 Safe seats aren't safe anymore. Rethinking the target seat strategy in five-party politics
🤖 NSW's nation-leading reforms on AI-generated campaign content
📅 What this conference sets up as the last one before March 2027
Plus:
Socially Democratic is LIVE at the Conference Fringe on
Saturday July 5th at 4pm
Sydney Town Hall!
First in, best dressed.
Socially Democratic is an Australian Labor politics and campaigns podcast with expert guests. New episodes every Friday.
#Australianpolitics, #progressivepolitics, #AustralianLabor, #SocialDemocracy, #AusPol, #LaborParty, #Podcast, #ALP, #Campaigns, #Elections, #Strategy, #Insiders, #Liberals, #Coalition, #ExpertGuests, #Housing, #Infrastructure, #Policy, #Inclusion, #Employment, #NSWLabor, #NSWConference, #StateConference, #DomOfner, #NSWPolitics, #OneNation, #ChrisMinns, #NSWElection, #SydneyTownHall, #LaborConference, #ALPConference, #CampaignStrategy, #AIElections
Support the show
Socially Democratic is an opinion-based political and campaign podcast that facilitates discussion on a range of topical issues. The opinions of guests are not an endorsement and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at Dunn Street and Socially Democratic.
Access ad-free episodes and send in questions by joining our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SociallyDemocratic
If you like the show, rate and review us on your favourite podcast app.
Follow Us on Socials:
Facebook (https://tr.ee/9jGIOy)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/sociallydemocratic)
LinkedIn (https://tr.ee/YxyYJh)
X (https://x.com/SocialDemPod)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DunnStreet)
The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Dunn Street. For more information on how Dunn Street can help you organise to build winning campaigns in your community, business or organisation, and make the world a better place, look us up at: dunnstreet.com.au