Jo Briskey MP: Leadership & Her Journey to Parliament | Bridged By Words
How do you keep moving toward public life when the path includes defeats, career changes, family responsibilities and no guarantee that you’ll ever win? In this episode of Bridged By Words, Ethan Urch sits down with Jo Briskey MP, Federal Member for Maribyrnong, to explore the experiences that eventually took her from psychology and advocacy into the Australian Parliament.
Jo shares how growing up in a politically engaged Queensland family shaped her understanding of community service, collective action and the responsibility of representing others. From studying developmental psychology and working with children and families to leading advocacy for Australian parents, she explains how listening to people — particularly when systems are failing them — became central to the kind of political representative she wanted to be.
Together, they unpack the less glamorous reality of a political journey: losing elections, having difficult conversations with voters, putting yourself forward again and learning to focus on what you can control. Jo reflects on contesting Cleveland and Bonner before eventually entering Parliament, and why those defeats were still valuable experiences that exposed her to communities, industries and perspectives she otherwise may never have encountered.
The conversation also explores what it meant to succeed former Labor leader Bill Shorten in Maribyrnong, the strange first weeks after actually winning an election, and Jo’s belief that politics works best when leaders approach disagreement with curiosity rather than judgement. In an era where social media can encourage people to retreat into political silos, she argues that progress requires being willing to understand where someone else is coming from — even when you disagree.
Bridged By Words is the podcast where aspiring leaders connect with experienced politicians, gaining the lessons and inspiration they need for their own political journeys. Watch full interviews on YouTube or listen on Spotify.
What You’ll Learn:
Why losing an election does not necessarily mean your political journey is over
How Jo’s background in psychology shaped the way she listens to and represents people
Why aspiring politicians can only control the effort they put into a campaign
What it was like succeeding Bill Shorten as the Member for Maribyrnong
What actually happens in the first weeks after someone is elected to Parliament
Why “curiosity builds bridges” is central to Jo’s approach to political disagreement
Why representative politics is stronger when people from different walks of life step forward
Why you don’t need the perfect qualification, résumé or permission to begin serving your community
