Latest Episodes
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Chris Bowen's struggle to promote consensus on climate action at COP28
Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, next week heads to COP28 in Dubai, leading the Australian delegation. He joins the podcast to talk about the meeting, which he hopes will be easier than last year's. Well, I want to see a big step forward. Now, at the last COP we were just flat out, and it was a bit of a surprise to all of us, frankly, flat out, me and like-minded ministers, just…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Greens Barbara Pocock on the quest for greater transparency
Greens Senator Barbara Pocock – who has a background in economics and industrial relations and formerly worked at the Reserve Bank, in the federal public service and as an academic – has been in parliament only since the 2022 election, but she has already made a mark. Pocock has been one of the federal parliamentarians who has been holding the big consultancy firms to account this year. PWC especially…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: James Paterson on the High Court's decision on detention and rising anti-Semitism
Last week the High Court ruled that holding high-risk asylum seekers in indefinite detention was unconstitutional. As a consequence of the court decision, more than 80 people, some of whom were convicted of serious crimes including murder and rape, have been released. The government will rush in legislation on Thursday to deal with the fallout. In this podcast, Liberal senator and Shadow Minister for…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Former climate minister Greg Combet on Australia's mission to reach net-zero
As climate minister in the former Labor government, Greg Combet has endured the rigours of the "climate wars". He oversaw the highly contentious move to put a price on carbon, which ultimately came to grief under the Abbott government. Fast forward a decade: now Combet has been appointed by Anthony Albanese to chair the government's new Net-Zero Economy Agency. This agency, due later to become a statutory…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Chris Richardson on a likely interest rate rise and the fall in living standards
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a report this week calling on Australia to raise interest rates again, adding to the speculation the Reserve Bank will increase the cash rate on Tuesday. If that happens it will be yet another blow to many household budgets, already under strain from the rises in the prices of food, fuel and power. In this podcast, independent economist Chris Richardson…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Don Farrell's high noon for European free trade deal, and hopes for lobster exports to China
Last weekend Australia had a big win when China agreed to review over the next five months its prohibitive tariffs on Australian wine, This weekend Trade Minister Don Farrell hopes to finally land a long-awaited free trade deal with the European Union, for which negotiations have been going on for years. Farrell tells the Conversation's podcast that if agreement can't be reached, Australia will need…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Kim Beazley on Albanese's US trip, Biden in the Middle East, and the Voice's defeat
The prime minister heads to Washington next week for a state visit. Talks between Anthony Albanese and President Joe Biden will canvass progress on implementing the AUKUS agreement, Ukraine, China and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, and of course the Middle East crisis. Biden will have just returned from his visit to Israel and will brief the PM on the situation, which has worsened by the…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Middle East expert Ian Parmeter on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
Hamas' attack on Israel has unleashed a horrific conflict. Breaking out over the weekend, Palestinians murdered Israeli civilians and are threatening to execute many hostages. Israel countered with mass aerial bombing and has cut off electricity, water and food going into the Gaza Strip. Even against the history of the conflict ridden Middle East, the atrocities we've seen are beyond appalling. The…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Greens Jordon Steele-John on the disability royal commission and Bill Shorten's NDIS reforms
The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has shared its final report. In this series, we unpack what the commission’s 222 recommendations could mean for a more inclusive Australia. The federal government last week released the report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, which painted a…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Treasurer Jim Chalmers on jobs and work
Treasurer Jim Chalmers released his White Paper on employment this week. Its aim is for everyone who wants a job to be able to get one without having to search for too long. The paper says that a surprisingly large number of people are looking for work or for more hours of work, some three million, and that's when unemployment is at a low 3.7% and we have labour shortages in multiple sectors. Chalmers…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Assessing Daniel Andrews, the extraordinary Pezzullo story, senators give Qantas chiefs a hard time
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics editor Amanda Dunn discuss Victorian premier Daniel Andrews' exit, as well as the revelation of extraordinary texts from leading public servant Mike Pezzullo promoting…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: ANU Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt on the challenges universities face
Australia's higher education sector is under heavy scrutiny. Still recovering from the impact of COVID and criticised for its treatment of staff, it faces strong pressures to step up its performance. The government launched a broad review of the sector in late 2022 to inform a Universities Accord. The interim report was released in July, with the full report coming in December. Professor Brian Schmidt…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Asia expert Richard McGregor on Anthony Albanese's coming visit to China
Anthony Albanese has now confirmed he'll be heading to China before the end of the year. He is the first Australian prime minister to visit since 2016, and it is the culmination of an improvement in China-Australia relations since the change of government. In this podcast, we're joined by Richard McGregor, an expert on China and senior fellow at the Lowy Institute. He was at the high level dialogue…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: RedBridge's Kosmos Samaras on what the public are saying about the Voice
Over recent months, support for the Voice has fallen from a clear majority to a minority. With polling day set for October 14, the "yes" and "no" camps are battling it out to capture those still undecided. In this podcast, RedBridge Group's Kosmos Samaras joins The Conversation to dig into the research on voters' attitudes. RedBridge, consultants on political communications, has been doing both quantitative…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Danielle Wood to head Productivity Commission, Alan Joyce bows to public anger, PM jets off again
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss the latest national accounts and Jim Chalmers' announcement that Grattan Institute CEO Danielle Wood will take over as head of the…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Battle of the Voice - Yes23 campaign director Dean Parkin and former deputy prime minister John Anderson
October 14 is the day Australians will head to their polling booths to vote for or against an Indigenous Voice being enshrined in the Constitution. Anthony Albanese announced the date in a speech in Adelaide on Wednesday, as politicians across the spectrum and Indigenous "yes" campaign leaders rallied around the country. In this podcast, we are joined by the campaign director for Yes23, Dean Parkin…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Date for Voice referendum to be announced on Wednesday
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss the news that the Prime Minister next Wednesday will reveal the date for the Voice referendum. They also canvass the Intergenerational…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: WA Premier Roger Cook on Labor's conference and his state's issues
Labor this week had its first face-to-face national conference in five years, and it all went Anthony Albanese's way. He won on AUKUS and rallied the party faithful, who did not rock the government's boat. For this podcast we caught up with the new Western Australian Premier Roger Cook on the sidelines of the conference, and canvassed a range of issues, including his recent backdown on the state's…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Labor president Wayne Swan on the party's coming national conference
Next week the Labor Party will hold its national conference in Brisbane. It's the first face-to-face conference in five years. These conferences don't have anything like the bite they once did, but there's still a chance for the party's rank and file to have a shout about issues. More than 400 delegates will be there. Most of the delegates are aligned to a faction, and for the first time in decades…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Voice proponents and opponents draw succour from heritage backdown; ALP toughens Palestine policy to placate party; more questions follow Lehrmann inquiry
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss the announcement from Western Australian Premier Roger Cook that a controversial cultural heritage law would be overturned, with…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Double dissolution hot air, PM dodging Treaty question, Morrison hit with counter punch after Robodebt speech
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss whether there's much in the PM's double dissolution threat, and his defensiveness when pressed on Treaty in an ABC interview. As…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: 'yes' campaigner Thomas Mayo and 'no' advocate Derryn Hinch on the Voice
The Garma Festival is being held over the next few days in Arnhem Land. There will be a great deal of talk this year about the Voice. Anthony Albanese will speak on Saturday, but he won't announce the date for the referendum. Peter Dutton isn't attending. Meanwhile in parliament this week the opposition has sought to turn the discussion of the Voice to the issue of treaty, also a feature of the Uluru…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: ACCI Head Andrew McKellar on industrial relations and boosting Australia's productivity
Australia's inflation moderated somewhat this week. But in economic terms, there will be more tough months ahead for households and for businesses. Meanwhile, the relationship between business and the Albanese government is somewhat scratchy. From the point of view of business, the Government is delivering to the unions. Business is particularly critical of the Government's industrial relations changes…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Battle of the Voice – Greens senator Dorinda Cox & Liberal senator Kerrynne Liddle
The Voice to Parliament reached another milestone this week, with the official essays for the Yes and No cases published online by the Australian Electoral Commission. These will be sent to all Australian electors in the lead up to the vote, which will be in the last quarter of the year In recent weeks, polls have suggested the "yes" vote is on the slide, and has an uphill battle if it is to be successful…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: On ditching the Commonwealth Games, the Voice pamphlet, Labor's factions
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss Premier Dan Andrews' surprise decision to pull Victoria out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. They also canvass the official…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan