Follow the Money
The Australia Institute’s Follow the Money podcast explains Australia’s big economic issues in plain English. We bust myths, dissect politics, interpret econobabble and help you sound really smart at your next dinner party, with host Ebony Bennett.
May 2024
Budget 2024: what you need to know
Budget 2024 had a little bit for a lot of people, but in trying to please everyone, has the government disappointed everyone instead?
The budget vs inflation
Millions of Australians are struggling to make ends meet, yet when it comes to the federal budget, too often we hear that governments ‘can’t afford’ additional spending.
Australia’s state-sponsored greenwashing
It’s going to be difficult to tackle bogus environmental claims from the private sector until the government itself stops greenwashing, argues Polly Hemming on this episode of Follow the Money.
April 2024
The Knitting Nannas redefining the face of activism
As the government shelves important reform to the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, the Knitting Nannas are getting out into their communities and demanding an end to fossil fuel projects.
Making freedom of information “sexy” with Rex Patrick
Freedom of Information laws have helped the public uncover information governments would prefer to keep secret, but the system is failing.
Not seeing the koalas for the carbon credits
Rather than delivering on their election promise to create a Great Koala National Park, the New South Wales Government is sitting on its hands until it can earn carbon credits from forests.
Minority retort
The major parties claim that minority and coalition governments are chaotic and unworkable, but are they actually more effective?
March 2024
The Coalition goes nuclear
After scarcely mentioning it for nearly a decade while in government, the Coalition are now hot to trot on nuclear power – but why?
The end of capitalism with Yanis Varoufakis
Capitalism is dying, but not in the way you might think.
Great expectations: will Australia walk the talk on climate change?
The Albanese government came to power with big expectations around climate action, but are the government’s actions falling short of their rhetoric?
Robodebt, repeated? How government is failing the nation on climate
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,
February 2024
The Push to Stop Pork Barrelling
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,
Tasmanian State Election Announced
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
The Right to Disconnect
Federal Parliament is set to pass new industrial relations laws, including the ‘right to disconnect.’ This means that workers will legally be able to ignore calls outside of work hours. This was recorded on Tuesday 13th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Jim Stanford, Director, the Centre for
The Great Gas Rort: Fixing the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax
Every year, the Commonwealth collects more revenue from HECS than it gets from the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. The PRRT is so weak that gas companies love it! Mark Ogge explains the Government’s proposed changes, and how we can fix it to tax our gas companies fairly. This was recorded on Tuesday 6th February 2024
Stage 3 Tax Cuts reform: “The biggest and most honest piece of tax reform in decades”
It’s been a week for the books in Australian Politics history, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing changes to the highly-criticised Stage 3 tax cuts. Which got the media, and the opposition, into a bit of a frenzy. So what’s changed, and how will it affect you? This was recorded on Tuesday 30th January 2024
January 2024
Brace yourselves… US Election 2024
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 &
The War On Waste with Craig Reucassel | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. 7 years ago, The ABC’s groundbreaking environmental series War On Waste firmly placed the nation’s attention on Australia’s waste issues and solutions. The new season investigated recycling in Australia, brought to light new waste topics, challenged
Heat: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet with Jeff Goodell | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. Extreme heat is the most direct and deadly consequence of our hellbent consumption of fossil fuels. It is a first order threat that drives all other impacts of the climate crisis. And as the temperature rises,
Global Financial Crisis 15 Years On: What Have We Learned? with Wayne Swan | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. On 15 September 2008 came the collapse of Lehmann Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in US history. This set off a chain reaction and had a massive impact on the Australia financial system and economy. Across the
Ending Native Forest Logging with Bob Brown | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. Australia’s native forests are not only home to some of our most vulnerable and threatened species, they hold critical cultural and ecological value. While native forest logging is being phased out in Western Australia and Victoria,
Truth on Trial: War Crimes and Whistleblowers | Summer Series
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
Isabella Weber: The Economics and Politics of Seller’s Inflation | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. What if we’re thinking about inflation wrong? Join renowned economist Isabella Weber, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for a discussion about the economics and politics of seller’s inflation. This was recorded
December 2023
Profits v Wages, what’s driving inflation? – Rerun | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. This episode, we’re listening back to one of our most popular episodes from the year with our Executive Director Richard Denniss, digging into the cycle of corporate profits, inflation, and low wages. This was recorded on
The Great Divide: Australia’s Housing Mess and How to Fix It | Summer Series
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023. One of the great mysteries of Australian life is that a land of sweeping plains, with one of the lowest population densities on the planet, has a shortage of land for houses. As a result, Sydney’s
Politics in the Pub: End of Year Wrap | Summer Series
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
Big Petrostate Energy
The United Nations annual climate conference, COP28, is wrapping up, and it’s crunch time. Is there going to be a mention of actually phasing out fossil fuels? Or will we have more of avoiding the issue? This was recorded on Tuesday 12th December 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Polly
‘Thylacine of the Sea’ vs. the Salmon Industry
The Maugean skate, native to Macquarie Harbour, is running out of time. It’s facing extinction, due in large part to the Tasmanian salmon industry. This was recorded on Monday 4th December 2023 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Eloise Carr, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @GeneveraE Host:
November 2023
Clive Palmer of…Singapore?
Clive Palmer, one of Australia’s richest men, is suing Australia for $41.3bn, claiming it breached the ASEAN free trade agreement in relation to coal exploration permits. But he’s doing so…as a foreign investor? Stephen Long explains how Clive Palmer’s controversial legal strategies challenge Australia’s trade agreements and environmental laws. Stephen Long is a Senior Fellow
International Charm Offensive
In a less than ideal week for the government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has copped some criticism for how much overseas travel he’s been doing. Most PMs have been subject to criticism for travelling, so how seriously should we take it this time? This was recorded on Tuesday 21st November 2023 and things may have
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