Herald Sun launches new podcast series with Victorian power players

Whoever had the idea for the new Herald Sun podcast series Face Off gets to see the initiative splashed all over the front page of Australia’s biggest-selling daily newspaper today.

It’s a brilliant idea for a podcast and its first iteration will surely attract a big audience.

Liberal and Labor giants Jeff Kennett and Steve Bracks have been brought together for the 20th anniversary of the election battle which ended Kennett’s run as Victorian premier, and the pair has warned some dangers loom for Australia.

As they admired the city they helped build while ruling Victoria for a combined total of 15 years, Jeff Kennett couldn’t resist a gentle ribbing of his former political adversary, Steve Bracks.

“Didn’t I build it? You just came in and took the bloody surplus,” he said with a grin.

The two giants of the Liberal and Labor parties were reunited for their first joint interview to discuss the boilover 1999 state election that ended Kennett’s seven-year reign.

The interview forms part of a new Herald Sun podcast series Face Off in which one-time fierce rivals discuss key battles that have shaped Australia’s history, politics and sport.

Photo: Jeff Kennett and Steve Bracks with the Herald Sun’s Matt Johnston and James Campbell