Episódios
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CEO Sunita Kotnala has been named the 2025 Canberra Citizen of the Year.
Tinkering has been a lifelong hobby for Sunita Kotnala, who grew up crafting driftwood and blocks of wood into furniture for fun.
When she became bored of her dining room table, instead of buying a new one, Ms Kotnala took out her tools and transformed it.
Women’s Shed Canberra runs hands-on home repair and maintenance workshops for women.
The focus is on skill-building and mental health for women of all backgrounds.
Participants develop skills in; carpentry; using power tools and DIY.
Through the Women’s Shed Canberra, Sunita has made a space for women of all backgrounds and abilities to: meet, get inspired and develop new skills.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her life journey and passions.
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My guest on the ConFab with Michael G is a multiple woodwinds specialist Jim "J" Geddes. Jim has been touring the world being featured in groups such as the "World Famous Harry James Orchestra" to large Tony-Award winning Broadway shows such as "Ave Q" and "In The Heights." “J” has also played in countless American rock, swing and funk groups through out the states.
J is also a fine classical musician and has played flute and clarinet with many classical orchestras in Minnesota, Wisconsin and California. He is currently residing in Taipei, Taiwan
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions.
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Brother Thomas Oliver (Olly) Pickett AM co-founded Wheelchairs For Kids in 1996 to provide adjustable wheelchairs and occupational therapy expertise for children in developing countries, free of charge.
Since then, more than 60,000 custom-built wheelchairs have been gifted to children in over 80 countries.
With over 250 retiree workshop volunteers, Wheelchairs For Kids is one of Western Australia’s largest (and with an average age of 74, one of Australia’s oldest) volunteer-led charities. A further 550 people from aged care and community groups sew covers for wheelchair soft supports, and crochet rugs and soft toys.
Olly also spearheaded the development of an innovative, low-cost wheelchair design to World Health Organization standards that grows as the children do – a world first.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions.
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Dr Suzanne Packer is a pediatrician and child advocate who was the 2019 Senior Australian of the Year.
Since starting her career as a paediatrician in 1972, she has worked tirelessly to advocate for the rights of children. Sue has been a leader in child abuse prevention and treatment and a champion of the importance of early childhood environments for the developing brain.
Sus has been involved in child abuse prevention through the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect since its very early days and has treated babies and children suffering terrible trauma from child abuse and neglect.
In addition, Sue has championed the importance of early childhood environments for the developing brain, leading to recognition by education and government agencies. Sue was one of the driving forces behind the acknowledgement of the importance of creating child-friendly spaces in hospitals and the value of play in recovery.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her life journey and passions.
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As a young person, Corey developed a love of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects but found little encouragement for Aboriginal people to pursue careers in STEM.
A key reason was that regional and remote schools were often critically under-resourced, and their students did not receive the same learning experiences as students in urban areas.
In 2018 Corey founded DeadlyScience, a not-for-profit organisation to provide STEM resources and learning experiences to regional and remote schools in Australia and connect young Indigenous people with STEM professionals.
Since then DeadlyScience has grown to be Australia’s leading Indigenous STEM charity working with over 800 schools and community organisations across all states and territories.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions.
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Jo is a Green member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and was elected in 2020.
Jo is a lawyer, writer, artist and businesswoman who has lived in Ginninderra for most of her life. Jo is strongly committed to urgent action on climate change and understands that we don’t have a moment to lose. As a child, Jo was concerned about climate change but assumed that by the time she grew up someone would have fixed the problem. Unfortunately, this is not the case and so Jo has decided to do everything in her power to help find solutions.
We talk about her childhood, her passions.Join me on the Confab with Michael G to gain an insight to Jo and her journey.
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Starting as a cadet volunteer while still in primary school, for more than 50 years Val has dedicated her life to St John Ambulance. She’s one of the Australian Capital Territory’s longest-serving volunteers and, year after year, she still dedicates more hours than any other volunteer.
In 2020, Val faced her biggest challenge yet as a St John Ambulance volunteer – first with the ‘Black Summer’ bushfires, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, she led 40 fellow volunteers as they supported fire-affected communities during the emergency that stretched over many weeks.
It was these tireless commitments to St John that has led many in the community to know her lovingly as ‘Aunty Val’.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her life and passions. -
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Nick Jones a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts and Herald-Sun Aria finalist is a brilliant young tenor who has performed with the Australia Opera company (AOC) and several other Australian Opera companies.
He won the Green Room Award for his portrayal of David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Opera Australia. He was nominated for a Helpmann Award for this same role.
In 2016, Nicholas created the role of Fish Lamb in the world premiere of Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet – composed by George Palmer and presented by State Opera South Australia. Nicholas is also the immediate past recipient of the Dame Heather Begg Memorial Award.
He joined the Troupe lyrique de l'Opéra national de Paris in the 2023-2024 season. Nick returned to Australia to perform in Purcell, Dido & Aeneas (AOC) at Sydney Opera House in March 2025.
Join me on the ConFab to gain understanding of his life journey and passions.
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THIS A VERY EARLY EPISODE OF THE CONFAB WITH MICHAEL G AND THE NARRATIVE AND STYLE REFLECTS THE EARLY RECORDINGS OF THE CONVERSATIONS.
Corinne moved to the Highlands over 25 years ago where she started a new job painting French provincial.
Opening in late 2023, Corinne Dany Studios has fast become a hub of creativity and a wonderful art community of 7 artists and an ever growing student body! With workshops, classes, gathering areas, regular open days, exhibitions, as well as a Fine Art Market
Corinne’s journey to opening up the Mittagong studios has been paved with many other ventures along the way from market stalls, retail shops, gallery exhibitions, artist-in-residencies and photography studios.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her life journey and passion.
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Fenja a former archaeologist is an inspirational artist who creates hand-printed artworks that are inspired by the beautiful nature that surrounds her, and from a background of working as an archaeologist and palaeo-ecologist across various Australian regions.
She has created unique prints on paper and on porcelain, using (and experimenting with) a variety of printmaking techniques. All her works are hand-made and are typically created by layering different print elements.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her life journey and passions.
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Peter is the senior artist of Duruga Aboriginal Art which was founded as a way to share the world's oldest culture through Art. It also promotes the art from some of Australia's Koori artists (east coast of Australia).
Mabarraa Peter Kafer is a proud D'harawahl man, born in Newcastle ( NSW) and a proud Saltwater man. He lives in Port Stephens NSW.
He gets his inspiration for his artwork from stories related to him throughout his life by many of his Uncles'.
Artefacts & paintings of his have been sold in USA & Europe as well as Australia.
I meet Peter a local Canberra market on a Sunday morning and was impressed with his artwork, passion and inspiring stories inspiring his artwork and our first nations culture.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions.
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Maura is an author, playwright and filmmaker based in Canberra. Her includes tackling youth mental health themes, Maura’s acclaimed play, Fragments, is now an award-winning web series.
Maura enjoys writing creative non-fiction for children. She has won the 2018 ACT Writing and Publishing Awards and several overseas honours Maura also visits schools and libraries as a guest reader and speaker.
When she’s not busy thinking, dreaming and Maura enjoys spending time with her family at their avocado farm which they share with wombats, echidnas, lyrebirds, kangaroos.
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Megan Gilmour a social innovator wanted to create a world where all children are seen and heard. In Australia, over 1.2 million children are at risk of missing school due to complex medical and mental health challenges.
Megan has advocated for change in education systems for these vulnerable children. She drew on her lived experience to co-found MissingSchool. The organisation develops school solutions that help students continue learning alongside their peers.
MissingSchool launched the world’s first national telepresence service, allowing children in hospital or at home to join lessons in real time.
It has restored school connections for some 6,900 students since 2018.
Join me on the ConFab to gain an understanding of her life journey and passions.
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Craig Foster AM is an Australian retired soccer player, human rights activist and sports analyst for a streaming service in Australia. Foster played soccer professionally including for the national team, the Socceroos.
He is also known for his human rights advocacies, and is a vocal critic of the Australian Government's treatment of asylum seekers. Craig works across a vast range of social programs from First Nations rights and self-determination, homelessness and domestic violence, climate action and gender equality and is particularly well known for his refugee advocacy.
Join me on the ConFab with Michael G to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions.
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Michael is currently Acting Head of Department Foundation Skills Pathways College Canberra Institute of Technology and has been part of WorldSkills since 2009 when he was asked to judge regionals in the ACT. He has continued to be an ACT Judge and has become a Mentor.
He enjoyed the experience of being part of WorldSkills so much, that he became Team Leader for the 2014 and 2016 Nationals where one of the CIT student won gold.
He continues to mentor CIT students, helping them to become exception landscapers that are ready to take on the world’s best.
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Tasneem is an experienced Cross Cultural Consultant and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) trainer helping business, not-for-profits and government understand and navigate diversity and inclusion.
As a media presenter, (on the DRUM) she has provided an expert perspective on topics related to diversity, gender based violence female and women of colour representation, social cohesion, social justice issues and equity.
Tasneem is passionate about female representation, especially Women of Colour (WoC) representation for which she was recently appointed Women of Colour Australia (WoCA) Ambassador.
In 2020 Tasneem was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her work in championing diversity.
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John has been a full-time writer since 2018. His work takes a uniquely fresh approach to the Cold War Spy Fiction genre in that his style is to craft stories around the personal struggles of spies during the Cold War rather their spying pursuits per se. he has been a full-time author since February 2017.
John has written four novels Dublin Zoo, The Far Grass, Weather over Mendoza, and The Wind From New Jersey.
John was a former diplomat for the Australian Government and has been posted to a number of countries.
Join me on the ConFab with Michael G to gain an understanding of his life journey and passions. -
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Tim Winton is an Australian author and has written over 30 books. His novels range from children's books, non-fiction, and short stories.
His work has been widely translated and adapted for film, television, stage and radio.
In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia and has won the Miles Franklin Award four times.
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Dr Julie Old is a wildlife biologist with a passion for conserving native wildlife, especially wombats.
Her observations of bare-nosed wombats suffering from sarcoptic mange led her to develop the Citizen Science project, WomSAT, a project aimed at supporting wombat conservation.
Through her academic position, and her position on the Board of the Wombat Foundation, Julie aims to enhance the profile of wombats, and their appreciation in the wider community, to ensure they remain for generations to come.
Join me on the Confab with Michael G to gain an understanding of her life story and passions.
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Duncan established Wiradjuri Echoes in 1998, since then the Wiradjuri Echoes have worked towards reconciliation and equality. He won the 2003 NAIDOC artist of the year award, Dare to Lead Education Award 2009, Friends of Education Award 2011, Ngunnawal Centre University of Canberra Award 2007, Senior Citizen Centre Award for sharing culture 2016 and in 2016, the Order of Australia Medal.
Duncan is also an Ambassador for CANTEEN for kids and has been working alongside this organisation for over 10 years. through art, dance and music, Duncan has been instrumental in being a role model to the indigenous community, striving for equality and helping indigenous children identify with their culture and teaching the importance of education and respect for the community.
Join me on the Confab with Michael G to gain an understanding of his life story and passions.
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