0/5

The Observer Effect: August 25

Tony Burke guest? I'd rather hear what people outside of politics think about things like asylum seekers and the PNG solution.

2013-08-24_0032When The Observer Effect was announced it was about bringing us well-known faces and getting their reactions on news issues.

Certainly Ellen Fanning has been doing that. But there have been a lot of politicians appearing. Maybe it’s because we’re in an election, but I’d rather hear what people outside of politics think about things like asylum seekers and the PNG solution.

This Sunday 8.30pm on SBS ONE Ellen Fanning goes one-to-one with Minister for Immigration, Multicultural Affairs, Citizenship and Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke. Fanning’s interview takes place against the backdrop of the government’s latest moves on the issue of asylum seekers, with regional talks in Jakarta this week and the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s PNG solution under sustained Opposition attack.

The interview promises to reveal little known aspects of Tony Burke and shed light on key moments in his rise to high political office. It will reflect on the news of the week and provide insights into what keeps the minister awake at night.

This conversation will be followed by an interview with Father Bob Maguire, one of Australia’s best-loved social activists. He’s an outspoken advocate for the poor and disadvantaged and at the age of 78 he shows no signs of slowing down. From 1973 to 2012 he was Parish Priest of St’s Peter and Paul Church in South Melbourne. Under the umbrella of his Father Bob Foundation he continues to run the charities Open Family and Emerald Hill Mission. He’s also the co-host of Triple J’s Sunday Night Safran radio show and the subject of a new documentary film In Bob We Trust and the biography Father Bob: Larrikin Priest. Ellen will press this septuagenarian on the origins of his exemplary energy and what still drives him.

He’s outspoken about the failure of the Catholic Church to address sexual abuse allegations saying, “We should be ashamed we got to where we are” and he says that Catholicism and Secularism need each other in order to do good in the world. Father Bob Maguire was awarded the Order of Australia in 1989.

Sunday 25 August at 8.30pm on SBS ONE.

Leave a Reply