Latest Episodes
Politics podcast: Graeme Samuel on data governance
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…
2 Hosts: Michelle Grattan and Graeme Samuel
Politics podcast: Anna Krien on the climate wars
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…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Gladys Berejiklian on the need to reform federal-state partnerships
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian is alert to the challenge of operating in today's difficult electorate. "The digital age has brought a sense of empowerment. It's brought a sense of greater appreciation of democracy and the political process. And we need to not only respond to it, but adapt to that and make sure that we are listening during our term in office – not just at election time…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Alan Finkel on the future of Australia's energy market
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…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Josh Frydenberg, George Christensen and Mark Butler on the Finkel review
Malcolm Turnbull declared on Wednesday he'd "provided decisive leadership on energy". It is a claim perhaps better cast in the future tense. The debate over the Finkel panel's recommendation for a clean energy target (CET) is just beginning, and already it is clear that reaching an outcome that brings the certainty the business community needs to invest will be a hard slog for Turnbull, who will be…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: John Blaxland on handling Islamist terrorism
Events in Britain, the New South Wales coroner's report on the Lindt Cafe siege, and a new attack in Australia have given a much sharper edge to the debate about how to handle Islamist terrorism. Amid the hype, ANU security expert John Blaxland provides a reality check. He says while there's an escalation of and change in the nature of terrorist attacks, collaboration between Australian police and…
2 Hosts: Michelle Grattan and John Blaxland
Politics podcast: Matt Canavan on Adani
The Coalition has backed the Adani Carmichael coal mine but there's debate about assistance for the project, and argument about the jobs it would create in the region. Resources Minister Matt Canavan argues there's a role for the government to invest in large-scale infrastructure. He tells The Conversation this mine is only one part of a plan for "opening up the Galilee Basin" to provide investment…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Chris Bowen on Labor's budget responses
Labor has come under fire for some of its budget responses, including its opposition to the schools package, and only partial support for the Medicare levy increase. Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen rejects the government's argument about the schools plan being more "needs-based" than present arrangements. He tells The Conversation its "one-size-fits-all" approach will put pressure on families and the…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Dennis Richardson on telling it like it is
Dennis Richardson, one of Australia's most respected federal public servants, has just retired after an illustrious career. He served as head of the foreign affairs department, the defence department, and ASIO, and was Australian ambassador in Washington. He was also once chief-of-staff to then-prime minister Bob Hawke. Richardson was never afraid to tell ministers what he believed they should hear…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Mathias Cormann and Anna Bligh on the new bank tax
Despite the hefty tax imposts in Tuesday’s budget, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann still insists the fiscal problem was a spending rather than a revenue one. Cornman says the problem was clearly "on the spending side", but while the government had made significant progress it couldn’t get all the savings measures through the Senate. "We’ve made some judgements that to the extent that we couldn’t…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Andrew Giles on schools funding
The shadow assistant minister for schools, Andrew Giles, says the strong opposition from Catholic schools to the government's education package is because they were given "almost no notice" of the funding changes. "What’s different in the Catholic system from the independent sector is the practice of making systemic decisions. And that’s something that has been fundamentally ignored by the minister…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Simon Birmingham on the government's education reforms
This week, the government made big announcements about the future funding of schools and universities. Haunted by the unpopular 2014 budget, it is treading more carefully with its new education policies. Education Minister Simon Birmingham says one of the challenges of the 2014 budget was that there were "a lot of different pieces of policy reform all announced simultaneously". Birmingham – who took…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: John Hewson on the budget climate
John Hewson, a former Liberal leader and chair in the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at the Australian National University, describes the uncertain economic climate into which Treasurer Scott Morrison will deliver next week's budget. "I think it's an occupational hazard for treasurers that they're always optimistic – always try to put a better gloss than is the case," Hewson says. "I've been analysing…
2 Hosts: Michelle Grattan and John Hewson
Politics podcast: Jane Halton on how to make a federal budget
Jane Halton, a former finance department secretary and an adjunct professor, appeared at cabinet's expenditure review committee over nearly 30 years. Halton describes the inner workings of the federal budget in what's known as "the razor gang". The razor gang, comprised of the treasurer, the finance minister and then a couple of senior ministers, scrutinises the government's spending and savings in…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Peter Jennings on North Korea's aggression
As North Korea continues to antagonise the US and its allies, the prospect of war hangs in the air. But Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says he doesn't think we'll see armed conflict with North Korea any time this year. "I think the US has now resolved that it's going to exhaust all diplomatic options first before it thinks about pre-emptively striking…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Jenny Lambert on the 457 visa scrapping
This week, the government announced it would abolish the 457 visa and replace it with a new temporary skill shortage visa program. The change has met a mixed response from businesses. Jenny Lambert, director of employment, education and training at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the key issue for the business community is to "try and reset the button on confidence in the temporary…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Gareth Evans on Australian self-reliance
In a speech to the National Press Club on Thursday, former Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans lambasted US President Donald Trump and called on Australia to become more self-reliant. Evans described Trump as "manifestly the most ill-informed, under-prepared, ethically challenged and psychologically ill-equipped president in US history". Evans, who is chancellor of the Australian National University…
2 Hosts: Michelle Grattan and Gareth Evans
Politics podcast: Matthew Sussex on Russia's long game
A cloud continues to hover over Russian interference in the US presidential election. Associate professor Matthew Sussex, academic director at the Australian National University's National Security College and a specialist in Russian foreign and strategic policy, says Russia's meddling has been "exceptionally damaging". "I think that the Kremlin was really dreading having a Hillary Clinton White House…
2 Hosts: Michelle Grattan and Matthew Sussex
Politics podcast: David Marr on Pauline Hanson's star power
In his latest Quarterly Essay, journalist David Marr delves into why Pauline Hanson attracts so much attention. Looking at figures from the last election, Marr also paints a portrait of those voting for One Nation. "The principal characteristics of her followers are this: they're white, they're at least third-generation Australians, they are – unlike most Australians – pessimistic about their own prospects…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Michaelia Cash on union misconduct
The government this week introduced a bill that aims to put a stop to secret agreements between employers and unions without the knowledge of union members. The next hurdle will be the Senate, although it's possible Labor may support the legislation. Employment Minister Michaelia Cash says she is always in discussion with the Senate crossbenchers about the implementation of the recommendations from…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: Richard Di Natale on the future of work
Greens leader Richard Di Natale is calling for a reimagining of the way Australians approach work. "What we're saying is: let's have a look at some of the models around the world," he says. "It's absolutely possible, as we've seen in places like Sweden, where in the aged-care sector people are working a six-hour day rather than an eight-hour day, but they're actually delivering a productivity dividend…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics podcast: WA election – Mark McGowan accuses Turnbull of bluffing
The end of the mining boom has hit many people in Western Australia hard, and this has flowed strongly into the election. Debt and deficit are besetting the state budget. In this final podcast from Perth, we talk to economist Alan Duncan about the challenges for the state’s economy and for whoever forms government after Saturday, as WA undertakes a vast transition. We also interview Opposition Leader…
2 Hosts: Michelle Grattan and Alan Duncan
Politics podcast: WA poll – Kim Beazley on One Nation
In our second podcast from the Western Australian election, we talk to Kim Beazley, especially about One Nation. Beazley was federal Labor leader during Pauline Hanson's first political phase. He sees her as a national security threat and believes she should be opposed in the strongest terms. "We [in WA] are probably more conscious of southeast Asia. We do more trade with southeast Asia ... with Indonesia…
3 Hosts: Michelle Grattan, Kim Beazley, and William Bowe
Politics podcast: election report from the West
In the first of three Conversation podcasts on the Western Australian election, we talk to Natalie Mast at the University of Western Australia, Premier Colin Barnett and ABC election analyst Antony Green. Saturday's election potentially carries a hefty national punch. The polls are running strongly against the Liberal government. If Colin Barnett loses, the federal Liberals will become even more jittery…
2 Hosts: Michelle Grattan and Natalie Mast
Politics podcast: former ambassador Jeff Bleich on the shocks of the Trump presidency
Australia got a taste of US President Donald Trump's approach to diplomacy in a sensational phone call with Malcolm Turnbull, details of which were leaked to the Washington Post. But the former US ambassador to Australia during the Obama years, Jeff Bleich, says the reaction in the US was "very helpful" to Australia. "Because one person after another, myself included, was called onto TV to talk about…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan