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Critical Line Item with Tom Ravlic

An unmissable analysis of contemporary political, business and regulatory developments.


Latest episode

  • Mute the noisy galahs in the Voice debate

    24:25
    The Hallway is a boutique advertising agency that had a great idea and its chief creative office Simon Lee tells Tom Ravlic how this idea - an ad to try to get respectful conversation happening on the Voice - came about. The ad features a kangaroo, an emu, and some noisy galahs. Listen ot the poddie and then watch the short video at https://www.noisygalahs.com/ ,

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  • Boyd and the NSW edition of consultants behaving badly

    35:41
    The Commonwealth Parliament has been looking at consultants but it is not the only legislature in the country giving the public service and its outsourced brains a good look. Australian Greens' Abigail Boyd is a member of the NSW Upper House. She is the chair of a committee looking closely at how the NSW government engages and deals with consultants. She reveals the motivations behind the inquiry and talks about some of the things that surprised her even given her experience as a corporate lawyer dealing with banking regulation. Boyd also says that the public service and the consultants it hires are not going to have a quiet time of it. The inquiry will keep on gong until they stop having things to look at ....
  • Psychosocial hazards in the workplace

    18:45
    Rehab Management chief executive officer Renee Thronton spends her time looking at workplace issues and she joins Tom Ravlic to explain what the new WorkSafe rules are around the issues of making a workplace psycholofically as well as physically safe for employees.
  • More on consultants behaving badly .... a view from Senator Pocock

    24:22
    Consulting and accounting firms have been under fire for much of 2023 thanks to the curiosity about their operations expressed by the individuals such as Senator Barbara Pocock, a member of a committee considering what to do with consulting practices that receive government contracts. She updates listeners on her thinking about the sector and the issues that continue to surprise.
  • What is a sustainability standard?

    29:56
    EY sustainability expert Matt Nelson - also a member of the Australian Accounting Standards Board - explains what sustainability standards are and what you might be able to expect from companies that report sustainability information. This is an emerging area and anybody with investments in companies will see a change in company reports over time. Matt explains why the changes are important.
  • Secret State ... insight into a Four Corners report

    21:32
    Four Corners joiurnalist Angus Grigg takes us on a deep dive into the Secret State report and what he and the team found when they went looking at the way in which consultants had embedded themselves in the ecosystem in Australia's national capital.
  • Investigating and reporting on war crimes ...

    16:14
    Journalist Nick McKenzie has been responsible for breakking some of the biggest stories but none more so that the one that led to a marathon defamation case involving Victoria Cross winner, Ben Roberts Smith, and allegations of war crimes. Nick outlines some of the challenges that played out reporting this story and touches on a series of challenges faced by journalists taking on high profile cases.