Parties that stand for human values and looking after every person and our environment. So, for me, it is between the Greens and Labor.

If you were to run for political office, what would be your three big platforms?

Free education – up to and including university.

Which was Australian government policy for a while.

It was one of the best policies we could ever have had. You cannot be called the "clever country" if you don't have an education or politicians that value education.

What's your second platform?

To minimise the plight of vulnerable people. Every single person should have the opportunity for education and work. I'd be looking at ways to invest in the three million Australians who suffer from food insecurity; up-skill them so they can get jobs.

And finally?

A roof over their heads. That's hugely important. You need security – financial, nutritional and emotional – and that comes with having a safe place to live.

RELIGION

Are you religious?

No, I'm spiritual.

Describe the difference.

For me, "religious" means I adhere to one particular faith. "Spiritual" means it's not about one particular god; it's a belief system that doesn't depend on a religious system.

I was brought up in the Jewish faith, and while Judaism has a huge amount of spirituality, that's not the side that was tapped into, in my personal experience.

Lead me through your spirituality.

I have a spiritual teacher, Amma Narayani, who has guided my life for the last 15 years. He happens to be Hindu but espouses the philosophy that we are all one, we are all the same, and we are on this earth in order to serve, do good and make a difference.

How did you come across him?

That was very interesting. My younger son, Edo, was introduced to his ideas 15 years ago and said he was going over to India to meet him. And I thought, "Oh my god, my son's going a cult."

I needed to check out what he was getting into, so I arrived at this ashram and was fundamentally and profoundly struck by the depth and power of a simple message: that we are here to serve, do good, and shift and change the world into the best possible place.

Is that essentially the message that drives your work?

I'd already started OzHarvest by the time I met my spiritual teacher, but there's absolutely no doubt that the things that infuse OzHarvest are spirit, energy, generosity, joy, love and humanity. All of those things are informed by the fact I do have faith.

To clarify, is that a faith in God? Does God come into your spiritual beliefs?

The divine does.

What's the difference?

When we think of God, we probably think of either a white-haired person, or Jesus, or a particular embodiment of God. But the divine is in each and every one of us. That's the difference. It's about finding that.

MONEY

You rescue surplus food to feed Australians – and there's a lot of food to be rescued. What does that tell you about how we consume food in this country?

We're incredibly wasteful. We waste $20 billion worth of food every year in Australia.

Why do we do that?

We overconsume, we're greedy. And because we can. "Money" is an interesting topic for me to get, because I think I have an interesting relationship with money.

How so?

Money is incredibly useful. It allows people who have it a power that's phenomenal. Some use it for evil. Yet there is another story to be told and that is one of generosity: of the millions and millions of dollars that are being created to give away. That story is so valuable to tell.

Do you consider yourself as someone who has money?

Absolutely. I'm beyond privileged. I grew up with parents who didn't have money, and compared to our peers we didn't have a lot of money. But it's all relative, because I was also brought up as a white South African during the apartheid era. My mother worked, scrimped and saved all her life for when she retired, and then she passed away. What I learnt was that you've just got to use your money – because what's the point of saving it? We don't know how long we have to live. When I decided to start OzHarvest, I really changed my whole philosophy about money.

If I gave you $1 billion – tax-free, no strings attached – tomorrow, how would you use it?

First of all: everybody gets a roof over their heads. And everybody gets food on their table! Then they all get to fulfil their potential by being offered the opportunity to either learn, or to get a job or skill so that they can be self-sufficient. I'd want to ensure that $1 billion goes as far as it can.

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