May 2023
Bread and Surpluses: What you need to know about the Budget
The Albanese Government has handed down its 2023-24 Federal Budget, and it contains positive measures like a 15% pay rise for aged care workers, the minimal increases to welfare, and deferral of any change to the Stage 3 tax cuts, confirm that change is going to be incremental and slow. This was recorded on Wednesday
Funding our own Destruction
Despite fossil fuel usage contributing to the destruction of our climate, the Australian government still hands out billions every year in fossil fuel subsidies. But where is the money going, and how much is being spent exactly? This was recorded on Tuesday 2nd May 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute
April 2023
The Housing Crisis
Australia’s housing crisis is only getting worse, and our social housing shortfall has ballooned to 500,000 and rent is skyrocketing. So how did we get here, and what can be done? This episode is a live recording from the Australia Institute’s Politics in the Pub series. This was recorded on Wednesday 19th April 2023 and
The Great Gas Rip-off
The PRRT, or Petroleum Resource Rent Tax, is a tax on profits of petroleum products, including crude oil and petroleum gas. But through accounting tricks and loopholes, gas corporations are avoiding paying their fair share of tax. Research mentioned: https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/reforming-the-petroleum-resource-rent-tax/ This was recorded on Monday 19th April 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
The economy’s still growing, so why does it feel like you’re falling behind?
No, it’s not just inflation. Since the GFC, there has been a radical reversal in who benefits from economic growth. Back in the 1950s, the bottom 90% of income earners enjoyed around 90% of the benefits of the economic growth, but not anymore. So what has happened? This was recorded on Tuesday 11th April 2023 and things may
March 2023
Super Expensive, Super Unfair
Superannuation is supposed to help us save for our retirement, and tax concessions on super are meant to reduce the burden on the government to fund our retirement through the age pension. But what are these concessions, and are they really working in the way they are intended to? To help explain, we’re talking to
Interest Rates are Sky-High, Who’s to Blame?
Australians are doing it tough at the moment, with cost of living soaring, real wages falling at a record pace, and the RBA’s nine back-to-back interest rate rises only making things harder, all in the name of reducing inflation. Some commentators are warning of a ‘wage price spiral’. But what is really driving inflation? This
February 2023
The Pain is the Plan
The RBA recently raised interest rates again for the ninth time in a row, in an effort to reduce inflation. But is the pain the interest rate rises causing worth it? And could they do anything else instead? This was recorded on Wednesday 8th February 2023 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia
How to Not Waste $300 Billion
The new ‘Build Your Own Budget’ tool released by the Parliamentary Budget Office reveals that despite how all-or-nothing the debate about the Stage 3 tax cuts has become, the $300bn cost of the tax cuts over 9 years provides an opportunity for the Albanese government to amend the tax cuts and also increase support for
January 2023
Summer Series – August in Kabul with Andrew Quilty [Webinar]
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. Andrew Quilty was one of a handful of Western journalists who stayed in Kabul as the city fell. His new book August in Kabul his first-hand account of those dramatic final days. This was recorded on Wednesday 3rd August 2022
December 2022
Summer Series – Joseph Stiglitz: The Role of Government in the Modern Economy [Webinar]
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2022. Earlier in the year the Australia Institute hosted Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz for a speaking tour of Australia. In this episode he, Richard, and Ebony discussed the need to expand the role of governments, unions, and civil society.
November 2022
Go Home On Time Today!
New research shows Australian workers are on average working 6 weeks unpaid overtime per year, costing over $92 billion dollars in unpaid wages across the economy. 2022 marks the fourteenth annual Go Home on Time Day (GHOTD), an initiative of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute that shines a spotlight on overwork
Three’s Company: What is multi-employer bargaining?
To combat persistently low wages growth, the Government has put forward its Secure Jobs Better Pay Bill, currently before the Senate. The most contentious reform within the Bill is ‘multi-employer bargaining’. We’ve heard employer groups call it a ‘seismic shift that will increase strikes’. On the other hand, unions are calling the reforms moderate. What
October 2022
October Budget Wrap
The October Budget delivers on a range of welcome bread & butter commitments, but has deferred solving Australia’s meat and potatoes revenue problems. So who are the winners and losers, and what are the missed opportunities? This was recorded on Thursday 27th October 2022 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute //
It’s a No-Brainer!
Gas companies in Australia made up to $40 billion in windfall profits in the last year due to the war in Ukraine, and global price spikes. There are growing calls for a windfall profits tax to claw back some of these war profits, to fund essential services in Australia. This was recorded on Tuesday 18th
Gattaca
In our third episode, Duncan and Mark dive into the 1997 sci-fi noir, Gattaca. Duncan skips out on the squirmy bits, but both our podcasters ultimately complete the viewing of this underrated film with a sense that the eugenicist strive to perfection that so often infiltrates the thinking of tech companies is perhaps not a
Where’s the middle (income)?
As pressure builds for the Albanese government to scrap the promised Stage Three tax cuts, discussion has shifted around who would lose out. The Australian said it would mean “2.5 million middle income Australians will pay thousands of dollars in additional tax,” but describes middle income Australians as individuals earning between $120,000 and $160,000 a
September 2022
The Case for Dumping the Stage 3 Tax Cuts
The $240 billion Stage 3 Tax Cuts, originally legislated by the Coalition government, have been described by the Labor government as an election promise they won’t break. But calls are growing for the cuts to be scrapped, having been labelled tax cuts for the wealthy amid a cost of living crisis. This was recorded on
Safeguarding the ability to increase emissions
Labor’s climate bill cleared the Senate last week. It’s a pretty modest bill, and doesn’t include any measures to actually reduce emissions in the private sector. That’s where the Safeguard Mechanism comes in – which is a voluntary scheme that affects the nation’s biggest industrial emitters, and is the Government’s main policy it will use
What happened at the Job Summit?
This week on Follow the Money Ebony is sitting down with Greg Jericho to discuss the Jobs Summit: what happened, why was it needed, and are we going to get any jobs out of it? This was recorded on Tuesday 6th September 2022 and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute
August 2022
Us versus Them
When you think about Australia’s entire economy, what share of that pie do you think goes to workers (via wages) compared to business (via profits)? The Business Council of Australia is making some bold claims that the profit share of income has fallen, but does the data back that up? In this episode we unpack
Uluru Statement from the Heart: Sydney Peace Prize winner [webinar]
Join First Nations leaders Pat Anderson AO and Professor Megan Davis for a conversation about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its three objectives: a Voice to Parliament, Treaty, and Truth. A webinar in partnership with the Sydney Peace Foundation. This was recorded on Wednesday 3rd August 2022 and things may have changed since
The First Fortnight of the 47th Parliament
We are nearly at the end of the first sitting fortnight of the 47th Parliament, and it has been a packed agenda. This week we’re unpacking quick recap of how much things have changed in this new Parliament, and what changes are likely on the horizon. This was recorded live on Wednesday 3rd August 2022
July 2022
What’s really driving inflation?
Why is everything so expensive? And will a wage increase just make it worse? New research shows that only a trivial portion of Australia’s inflation has come from wages this year, while rising prices continue to drive not just inflation, but profits to record highs. This was recorded on Tuesday 26th July 2022 and things
Follow the Money LIVE!
For this special live episode of Follow the Money, the panel will be discussing: A New Agenda for a New Parliament: Climate Action, International Affairs & Integrity – Yes Please! bringing together diverse knowledge on all fronts of climate & energy, international & security affairs, and integrity issues. This was recorded on Wednesday 13th July
Joseph E. Stiglitz: The Role of Government in the Modern Economy [Webinar]
Join Nobel Laureate, former World Bank Chief Economist, and best-selling author Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz, in conversation with Australia Institute chief economist Dr Richard Denniss, about the need to expand the role of governments, unions, and civil society. Professor Stiglitz is visiting Australia as a guest of the Australia Institute. This was recorded on 11th
26 Years Later
The Parliaments of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory have been banned from legislating voluntary assisted dying laws, but the new government and members of the new Parliament are seeking to restore Territory Rights as a matter of priority. This was recorded on Tuesday 5th July 2022 and things may have changed since
June 2022
Introducing ‘Civility’
This week’s Burning Platforms will introduce ‘Civility’ – a new collaborative platform designed to create better public engagement. Recorded live 10th June 2022. With our regular panelists: Peter Lewis, Director of The Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology Lizzie O’Shea, Chair of Digital Rights Watch and new panelist: David Swan, Technology Editor at The Australian Special guest:
Phasing out Fossil Fuels with Adam Bandt [webinar]
Australia cannot solve the climate crisis while we keep opening new gas fields and coal mines. In this episode we’re listening back to our webinar with Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP for a discussion about how Australia can rapidly transition to a clean energy economy and move beyond fossil fuels. This was recorded on Thursday
May 2022
How do Nordic countries make housing affordable?
Australia’s housing affordability crisis results from over- reliance on just two options – private home ownership and private renting. To tackle it, a wider repertoire of policies is required. Nordic nations’ widespread provision of public housing and housing co-operatives, priority for homes to live in rather than invest in, and effective reduction of homelessness, show
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