Extended Interview: Dr Kerryn Phelps
This page features an archived interview from 2024, included as a temporary example while we prepare new Extented Interview Episodes. Fresh interviews will be added throughout the next month.
Dr Kerryn Phelps AM is a trailblazing Australian doctor, health advocate, media figure, and political leader whose career has shaped national conversations for more than four decades. She became one of Australia’s first TV doctors, later serving as President of the Australian Medical Association — the first woman ever elected to the role - where she championed public health reform and patient‑centred care.
A long‑standing leader in Australia’s LGBTQ+ community, Phelps has been a prominent voice for equality, visibility, and human rights. Her advocacy has spanned marriage equality, refugee health, and pandemic management, cementing her reputation as a principled and courageous public figure.
In 2018, following the leadership spill that unseated Malcolm Turnbull, Phelps made history again by winning the Wentworth by‑election as an independent, becoming one of the most recognisable figures in Australia’s modern political landscape. Her work has continued to influence the independent movement that reshaped the 2022 federal election.
Across medicine, media, activism, and politics, Phelps has remained committed to integrity, compassion, and evidence‑based leadership - themes she explores deeply in her memoir Power of Balance.
Watch the Video Podcast
A candid conversation with one of Australia’s most influential medical, political, and LGBTQ+ leaders about her memoir Power of Balance.
Listen Up
Prefer audio? Here’s the full conversation with Dr Kerryn Phelpsin podcast format.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this interview, Dr Kerryn Phelps reflects on her remarkable life as a doctor, media communicator, activist, and political changemaker. Drawing from her memoir Power of Balance, she discusses the pivotal moments that shaped her career — from the challenges of being publicly outed in the Australian media to her leadership during the marriage equality campaign, her advocacy for Medevac, and her role in the independent “teal” movement.
Phelps speaks openly about the personal philosophies that have guided her through public scrutiny, political upheaval, and decades of medical practice. She also shares insights into the values that sustain her: equality, integrity, community, and a deep connection to nature.
Power of Balance is both a personal story and a reflection on leadership in turbulent times — and this conversation offers an intimate look at the ideas, experiences, and convictions behind one of Australia’s most influential public figures.