Independent MP Helen Haines joins us to talk about how a deal between the Government and the Opposition could swing Australia’s electoral laws in their favour.

He lost the Queensland election, but former Premier Steven Miles may have saved the furniture by putting forward popular, progressive policies that voters responded to.

Excessive secrecy in government decision-making makes Australia less safe, not more.

Press gallery veteran Paul Bongiorno joins us to discuss how conflict in the Middle East is reverberating through Australia and reconciliation one year after the Voice referendum.

Australian superannuation funds have been investing in nuclear weapons, according to new research.

Mark Kenny joins us to discuss the government’s census own goal and Australia’s flagging economy.

On this episode, we discuss regulating the digital giants, the challenge of artificial intelligence and restoring trust in the media.

We discuss declining social cohesion, the Prime Minister’s visit to the Northern Territory and the cabinet reshuffle with veteran journalist Paul Bongiorno.

The rise of independents and minor parties means that Labor and the Coalition can no longer take any race for granted.

Careless political finance reforms could shift the balance in Australian democracy in favour of special interests.

Freedom of Information laws have helped the public uncover information governments would prefer to keep secret, but the system is failing.

The major parties claim that minority and coalition governments are chaotic and unworkable, but are they actually more effective?

Capitalism is dying, but not in the way you might think.

The ‘robodebt’ debacle was a shameful episode for the federal government, but was it an anomaly? Our guest today says the same behaviours that enabled robodebt have been playing out for decades in our climate policymaking and questions whether the government has appetite to implement its proposed integrity reforms. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Polly Hemming, Director,

Independent MP Helen Haines has introduced a bill to Parliament designed to prevent pork-barreling, where taxpayer money is allocated according to where it is needed to win votes, not where the public needs it most. This was recorded on Tuesday 27th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Bill Browne,

Tasmania is heading to an election – 14 months early. Tasmania is retuning the size of its lower house from 25 seats to 35 seats at this election and multiple polls have predicted the result will be a minority government, so this is shaping up be a particularly interesting contest. This was recorded on Tuesday

With the Iowa Republican caucus over, the starting gun on the 2024 US Election has fired, with the promise of a dramatic election year, and democracy itself on the ballot. This was recorded on Tuesday 23rd January 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Emma Shortis, Senior Researcher, International &

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. The first person will face trial in relation to Australian war crimes in Afghanistan is David McBride, the whistleblower on trial, not an alleged war criminal. On the eve of David McBride’s trial, a distinguished panel

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. This year has been a doozy in Australian politics, and we need to talk about it. We invited a panel of distinguished press gallery journalists along to our Politics in the Pub live event, to give

By exposing human rights abuses, government wrongdoing and corporate misconduct, whistleblowers like David McBride and Richard Boyle make Australia a better place. Yet too often in Australia, whistleblowers are prosecuted rather than supported. This was recorded on Tuesday 24th October 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guests: Kieran

Following the Voice Referendum, new Australia Institute research shows that almost nine in ten (87%) Australians want Parliament to pass truth in political advertising laws before the next federal election. This was recorded on Tuesday 17th October 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guest: Bill Browne, Director, Democracy &

As the Senate Inquiry into the management and assurance of integrity by consulting services continues, Labor senator Deb O’Neill and Greens senator Barbara Pocock have been applying the pressure to consulting firms in the hotseat. This was recorded on Wednesday 4th October 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute

A new deal to save the Murray-Darling basin has been brokered by Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, following another mass fish kill, and a survey finding not a single adult Murray Cod in the Lower Darling-Bakka. This was recorded on Tuesday 5th September 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute //

Restoring trust and integrity in Australia’s democracy was a key issue in 2022 federal election. In March, independent MP Dr Sophie Scamps introduced a new bill designed to end the ‘jobs for mates’ culture in federal politics. The bill seeks to legislate a transparent and independent process for major government public appointments, setting a gold

Sitting parliamentarians rarely lose elections. While incumbents have a publicly funded head-start, challengers rely on donations to fund their election campaigns, which is why political donation reform needs to ensure everyone should be able to afford a ticket to run in an election. This was recorded on Friday 23rd June 2023 and things may have

Norway is number one the World Press Freedom Index, while Australia dropped 14 places in 2022 due in part to its highly concentrated media landscape. This webinar, the second of our special Nordic Talks webinar series, will explore how Norway’s targeted ‘press support’ subsidies could help Australia to achieve greater diversity in its highly concentrated

The Australian government spends a billion dollars or more each year on consulting firms to complete necessary work, often involving confidential information. But a recent scandal at PricewaterhouseCooper has racked the consulting industry, undermining public trust in the system. This was recorded on Tuesday 16th May 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The

The recent by-election in Aston was historic, with Labor candidate Mary Doyle claiming victory. But what can we learn from these results? Political analyst Kos Samaras joins the podcast to explain. This was recorded on Tuesday 4th March 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Guest: Kos Samaras, Political