Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has strongly backed party leader Richard Di Natale’s push to purge those who leaked against candidate Alex Bhathal in the Batman byelection. Hanson-Young told The Conversation it was clear that the party infighting played on the minds of voters. “I don’t think there’s a place for people who want to undermine our party like that. This selfish act by a small number of people in Victoria has ramifications for all of us … because of that these individuals need to fa...
Mar 20, 2018•21 min•Ep. 89
Byelections are not just important in the obvious sense of their results, but also for the confidence of political players. On Saturday Labor and Bill Shorten face a major test in the Melbourne seat of Batman, traditionally Labor but with the Greens now threatening the ALP’s hold. A Labor loss would be a blow to the morale of the opposition - it would also open some debate within the party about Shorten’s performance and what should be done to combat the Greens at the next election. On the other...
Mar 13, 2018•50 min•Ep. 88
The South Australian election will be held on March 17 - the same day as the federal byelection in Batman. In SA Labor is pitching for a fifth term, with former senator Nick Xenophon's SA-Best party injecting a high element of unpredictability into the result. Jobs and power prices are to the fore in voters' minds while the gambling industry is investing heavily to try to fend off the "X factor". The Conversation spent two days in Adelaide; we interviewed Dean Jaensch, emeritus professor in poli...
Mar 07, 2018•52 min•Ep. 87
Ahead of her second Australia visit, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern spoke to Michelle Grattan about the toughness of Australian politics, her ambitious policy plans and the demands of being a young high-profile female leader that everyone wants to know about. On the New Zealand refugee offer Ardern told The Conversation it “still obviously sits on the table but it’s absolutely Australia’s prerogative as to whether it is taken.”
Mar 01, 2018•28 min•Ep. 86
The recently-created Home Affairs department, headed by Peter Dutton, is a behemoth that its critics fear will compromise civil liberties. But Dutton argues there should be no basis for such concerns. “There are no greater laws or arrest powers that have been introduced or a lessening of protections that have been provided for under this new arrangement,” he tells The Conversation. On the growing area of cybersecurity, Dutton says there is a need to “get the balance right” between protection and...
Feb 26, 2018•38 min•Ep. 85
How to increase wages and tackle inequality are live political and economic debates. Many Australians are feeling the cost-of-living squeeze. Speaking ahead of a conference in Melbourne this week to revisit the landmark Henderson inquiry into poverty, conducted in the 1970s, former deputy prime minister Brian Howe says the targeted nature of Australia’s contemporary social security system goes hand-in-hand with stigmatising welfare recipients. Howe, a minister in the Hawke and Keating government...
Feb 12, 2018•26 min•Ep. 84
Introduced in the final hours of sitting last year, the government’s foreign interference legislation have been criticised for being too broad and draconian. Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says Labor acknowledges the need to do more about espionage activity and foreign influence in Australia but argues changes need to be made to the “hastily” and broadly drafted bill. On the security legislation, he says despite a narrow defence journalists risk being sent to jail for handling classified i...
Feb 08, 2018•27 min•Ep. 83
Innovation has been a buzzword of Malcolm Turnbull’s government, but the public reception of this message has been less than enthusiastic. Innovation and Science Australia chair Bill Ferris launched a report this week setting out a plan over five key areas – education, industry, how government can be a catalyst for change, research and development, and culture and ambition – that seeks to put Australia into the top tier of innovation nations by 2030. Ministerially, the innovation area has had mu...
Feb 01, 2018•34 min•Ep. 82
The government’s new foreign interference laws propose broad changes to political donations, counter-surveillance, and lobbying in Australia. ANU professor John Blaxland has some real concerns about the unintended consequences of the legislation for academic debate. He says there’s a real chance that good people engaging intellectually with issues might get caught up in the broader crackdown. On the controversy surrounding Sam Dastyari’s dealings with a Chinese businessman, Blaxland says its bee...
Dec 07, 2017•21 min•Ep. 81
The Liberal National Party's loss in the Queensland election has sparked demerger discussions, while at a federal level it has emboldened the Nationals to take a more independent line. Nationals federal cabinet minister Matt Canavan, who is a Queenslander, doesn't agree that breaking up the LNP would solve any problems politically: "you can't unscramble the egg." Despite being an opponent of a royal commission into the banks, Canavan says the government's change of tune to support it demonstrate...
Nov 30, 2017•16 min•Ep. 80
New Greens senator Jordon Steele-John is the youngest person ever to sit in the senate. He was sworn in this week with two other 'accidental' senators who are the gainers from the citizenship crisis. He talks to Michelle Grattan about coming to Canberra for the first time since he was a baby, his political passion, and his commitment to promote his causes - youth and disability issues.
Nov 15, 2017•23 min•Ep. 79
The pundits are reluctant to place bets on who will win Queensland's November 25 election, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition leader Tim Nicholls both carrying a good deal of baggage. A lot of attention is focused on Pauline Hanson's One Nation, which has been polling strongly and might end up with the balance of power in the new parliament. The Adani coal mine project has been centre stage early in the campaign, with the Labor government saying it would veto any financing from th...
Nov 09, 2017•56 min•Ep. 78
Not for the Faint-hearted, the first volume of Kevin Rudd’s massive autobiography is out, and the former prime minister is on the promotion circuit. Rudd now spends much of his time in America, where he is president of the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York, and keeps a close eye on the unfolding Trump presidency. He argues Australia should minimise direct engagement with Donald Trump in favour of dealing with “sane people” in his administration. “Assume that this will be a passing phase ...
Oct 30, 2017•14 min•Ep. 77
The government’s long-awaited energy plan has rejected Chief Scientist Alan Finkel’s Clean Energy Target, which focused on subsidies for renewables, in favour of a National Energy Guarantee (NEG). The government has promised affordability and reliability, as well as compliance with Australia’s international climate obligations. Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott headed a group of energy experts charged with developing a scheme, the details of which are now being modelled. She says the stat...
Oct 27, 2017•24 min•Ep. 76
There are still a few weeks left to run in the same-sex marriage postal ballot campaign, and millions of votes are yet to be returned – or not returned. With 67.5% of ballots now in, Equality Campaign executive director Tiernan Brady says the high turnout shows the importance of a “yes” vote to people’s lives and dignity. He says tyranny of distance in Australia has made campaigning difficult, compared to his experience during Ireland’s marriage referendum. Despite criticism of what some saw as ...
Oct 19, 2017•25 min•Ep. 75
This podcast is a recording of an In-Conversation with Gareth Evans, former foreign minister and currently Chancellor of the Australian National University, which took place on October 12 in Canberra at a dinner of university chancellors from around Australia. The occasion was hosted by the University of Canberra's chancellor Tom Calma in collaboration with the Australian National University. Evans talks with Michelle Grattan about his new book, Incorrigible Optimist, in which he writes of his e...
Oct 18, 2017•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 74
Jokes about the satirical program Utopia aside, managing the rollout of infrastructure programs in Australia is a formidable task. Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester says there is too much hyper-partisanship in Australian politics. “I think that the tone of debate in Australia has deteriorated in recent years and we’ve shown ourselves incapable of having a good, rational debate on significant issues and its lead to some poor policies.” The challenge of projects spanning more than one term re...
Oct 05, 2017•23 min•Ep. 73
Canberra politics often seems beyond satire. So it’s perhaps not surprising that Working Dog’s TV show Utopia has more than once foreshadowed reality in its hilarious depictions of life in a federal authority. Rob Sitch, Utopia’s co-writer and star, says he’s had no need to draw on covert leaks and insights from bureaucrats for material. “90 plus percent of what we find is sitting in front of everybody. It’s on the front pages.” And he’s had plenty of feedback from insiders to confirm the progra...
Sep 27, 2017•33 min•Ep. 72
In the eye of the storm over energy policy is Liddell, an ageing coal-fired power station owned by energy giant AGL. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has twisted the arm of AGL chief executive Andy Vesey to take to the company’s board the proposition that it should extend the plant’s life beyond its scheduled 2022 closure, or alternatively sell it to an operator that would carry it on. AGL chief economist Tim Nelson says the company is running the rule over both options but he argues preserving t...
Sep 21, 2017•31 min•Ep. 71
It is popular to look at today’s political challenges through the prism of prime ministers past, but when it comes to former liberal leaders it’s usually Robert Menzies, not Alfred Deakin, who comes to mind. However Judith Brett, emeritus professor of politics at La Trobe University and author, says we have much to learn from Australia’s second prime minister. Her new biography, The Enigmatic Mr Deakin, reveals the intense inner world of one of the most important fathers of Australian federation...
Sep 18, 2017•21 min•Ep. 70
Pressure is mounting on the government to put an end to energy uncertainty as an Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) report warns of looming power shortages over the next few years. Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Mark Butler has written about the toxic divisions on energy policy in his recent book, Climate Wars. He recognises there are challenges in the Coalition party room over the Finkel report, but says Labor will negotiate with the government on an energy framework. It w...
Sep 12, 2017•30 min•Ep. 69
As leader of a senate crossbench party, Nick Xenophon’s position on contentious legislation, currently media reform, is crucial for the government. He says it’s “not for lack of trying” that the Nick Xenophon Team has not yet reached an agreement with the government on media ownership rules. He is pushing for tax breaks for smaller organisations to promote media diversity. He also opposes concessions that the government has made to Pauline Hanson that would clip the wings of the ABC , saying the...
Sep 04, 2017•15 min•Ep. 68
When the government didn’t get the numbers to pass legislation for a same-sex marriage plebiscite they put the wheels in motion for their second best plan: a postal survey. Since announcing that the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) would be responsible for carrying out the same-sex marriage postal survey, acting special minister of state Mathias Cormann has had no shortage of questions from journalists and on social media. In the absence of normal protections offered by the Australian Elect...
Aug 21, 2017•20 min•Ep. 67
After spending a year immersed in the parliamentary machine, broadcaster-turned-senator Derryn Hinch is keen to see a more efficient Senate. His suggestions include shortening the length of speeches – and thus the opportunity for filibusters – and trimming supplementary questions. He’s frustrated by the government’s “Dorothy Dixers”. “It’s a waste of time,” he says. As the debate around same-sex marriage continues to affect the government, Hinch has made clear his support for reform. But he foun...
Aug 11, 2017•17 min•Ep. 66
The issue of same-sex marriage is derailing the government’s attempts to promote its agenda as tension mounts ahead of a special Liberal party meeting on Monday and parliament’s resumption on Tuesday. The executive director of The Equality Campaign, Tiernan Brady, a leader of the successful ‘yes’ referendum on same-sex marriage in Ireland, has been working with activists in Australia to get marriage equality over the line. He says the majority of MPs and the opposition just “want to find a solut...
Aug 03, 2017•21 min•Ep. 65
Malcolm Turnbull, perhaps Australia’s best-known republican, declared himself “an Elizabethan” during his recent visit to London. Turnbull insists the quest for an Australian republic is on the backburner until Queen Elizabeth’s reign ends. But Bill Shorten is pushing for an earlier timetable, as is the Australian Republic Movement (ARM). The ARM’s national director, Michael Cooney, argues that becoming a republic would give Australians, who are facing a political system that is breaking if not ...
Jul 29, 2017•22 min•Ep. 64
The new home affairs super ministry announced by Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday is considered by some experts to be unnecessary and potentially dangerous. Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) Peter Jennings, says that while the department would present an array of bureaucratic challenges it is largely a “sensible step”. Likely benefits include the potential for a much needed improvement to Australia’s ability to address cybersecurity issues and foreign interference. But he s...
Jul 19, 2017•20 min•Ep. 63
Many Australians are worried about the proliferation of data businesses and the government knowing too much about them. Data Governance Australia chairman Graeme Samuel hopes that a self-regulatory code of conduct will raise the standards among data-driven organisations. Despite the pervasiveness of data in our daily lives, he argues most people don’t understand the extent to which organisations use it. As a former regulator, Samuel regards government regulation of data as “second-best” and is “...
Jul 14, 2017•27 min•Ep. 62
Melbourne-born author Anna Krien’s latest Quarterly Essay explores the debates on climate change policy in Australia and the ecological effects of not acting. She interviewed farmers, scientists, Indigenous groups, and activists from Bowen to Port Augusta. She says climate change denialism has transformed into “climate change nihilism”. Krien says the Finkel review provides another opportunity in a long line of proposals to take up the challenge of legislating clean energy. “We just need to get ...
Jul 03, 2017•17 min•Ep. 61
Despite the government still considering his proposal for a clean energy target (CET) – after endorsing his other 49 recommendations – Chief Scientist Alan Finkel is optimistic the CET remains firmly on the agenda. Finkel’s challenging task has been to put forward a scheme to bring Australia’s energy market into the future, providing certainty for investment and supply. His plan has required a balance between appeasing consumers on prices and meeting Australia’s commitments on climate change. Th...
Jun 24, 2017•22 min
