Robbie Swan in conversation with Fiona Patten
About: After decades spent on the fringes of politics, publishing and Australia’s sex industry, Robbie Swan finally tells the stories he could never quite leave behind. Part memoir and part social history A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Sex Party is a collection of short stories drawing on Robbie’s 25 years as a magazine editor and parliamentary lobbyist for the adult industry, a world where censorship battles, moral crusades, unlikely friendships and political absurdities collide daily. In the book, he reveals the human side of an often-misunderstood industry: the humour, the resilience and the strange, sometimes surreal encounters that shaped a generation of activists and outsiders.
Spanning half a century and bookended by the creation of the Australian Sex Party with his partner, trailblazing MP Fiona Patten these stories chart how a life spent challenging taboos and fighting hypocrisy ultimately helped reshape public debate and law reform.
Join Robbie and Fiona for a wry, candid and funny, behind-the-scenes look at the intersection of sex, politics and power in Australia.
Bios:
Robbie Swan is a former national magazine editor turned political strategist and long-time advocate for free speech and civil liberties. He is the co-founder of the Australian Sex Party, leading national campaigns for Australia’s adult industry. He spent more than 25 years navigating the complex intersection of sex, politics and censorship. Robbie brings decades of frontline experience lobbying governments, shaping policy and challenging moral and political hypocrisy.Robbie last spoke in Nimbin at the 2023 50th anniversary of the Aquarius Festival: “Aquarius 1973 Consciousness Raising Then and Now”.
Fiona Patten is a pioneering activist and former politician who made history as the first former sex worker elected to public office. As co-founder of the Australian Sex Party, she served nearly a decade in the Victorian Parliament, driving progressive reforms across equality, health and civil liberties.
