June 2019
How Good Is The Economy?
Two months ago, the Treasurer delivered a budget with rosy economic figures – what the hell happened? Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at The Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Contributors: Richard Denniss, chief economist at the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI Matt Grudnoff, senior economist at the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey // Additional editing by Lizzie Jack. Title Track: Jonathan
Adani mine approval shows climate change debate reaches new level of lunacy
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in The Canberra Times, 15 June 2019] Australia’s debate on the climate crisis reached a new level of lunacy this past week. Almost nowhere else in the world is the climate debate so divorced from reality. Firstly, Adani’s groundwater plan was approved by the Queensland government in a rushed process. This
A poll can’t predict the future, but that doesn’t mean they’re not useful
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in The Canberra Times, 01 June 2019] I come not to bury polls, but to praise them. While everyone – including the polling companies it seems – was shocked by the election results, the media and the public are learning the same lessons that political parties have had to. And it’s
May 2019
Bob Hawke leaves behind an important environmental legacy
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in the Canberra Times, 17 May 2019] Bob Hawke is perhaps credited most often for his economic reforms, but he also leaves a tremendous legacy of protecting Earth’s wilderness. Without Bob Hawke, Antarctica would be a quarry, Tasmania’s iconic Franklin River would be flooded and Queensland’s Daintree rainforest would be a
Mass Confusion About The New Senate Voting System
There’s mass confusion about the new Senate voting system. Follow the Money unpacks how to get the most out of your Senate ballot paper. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at The Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Contributors: Richard Denniss, chief economist at the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI Tom Swann, senior researcher at the Australia Institute // @Tom_Swann Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey //
Danger rests in confusion over Senate voting rules
by Ebony Bennett,[Originally published in The Canberra Times, 04 May 2019] Trust in politicians is at an all-time low, the national debate is coarse and toxic, and the bar for what is judged politically acceptable is so low now that it feels like a cockroach could clear it. It’s not unique to this election, but
April 2019
Getting a go’ isn’t the same as getting a fair go
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published on The Canberra Times, 22 April 2019] Australia is having a huge national debate about taxes and tax reform that’s mostly missing the point. There’s too much focus on costings and not enough analysis of who is getting the biggest slice of pie – here’s a hint: it’s not those struggling
The Wages Crisis
Why is Australia in the midst of a wages crisis? In this episode, Follow the Money explains how we got here. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at The Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Contributors: Jim Stanford, economist and director of the Centre for Future Work // @jimbostanford Troy Henderson, economist at the Centre for Future Work // @troychenderson Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey // Additional
Don’t be sucked in by Frydenberg’s tax cuts econobabble
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in The Canberra Times, 06 April 2019] Look out, it’s a trap! The centrepiece of the Coalition’s budget is more than $300 billion worth of income tax cuts. This sounds great in theory. In reality, the Coalition has committed to a radical plan to flatten Australia’s progressive tax system. If implemented,
Unpacking The 2019 Federal Budget
In this episode, Follow the Money unpacks everything you need to know about the federal budget. Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at The Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Contributors: Richard Denniss, chief economist at the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI Matt Grudnoff, senior economist at the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff Troy Henderson, economist, Centre for Future Work // @TroyCHenderson
March 2019
The reason women were locked out of the budget
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in the Canberra Times, 23 March 2019] Australia has never had a federal treasurer who wasn’t a man and has had more finance ministers named John than female finance ministers. It doesn’t take an economics degree to know those numbers are a problem. With the federal budget near, we learned this
February 2019
The election year of living dangerously
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in the Canberra Times, 23 Febuary 2019] These last two weeks of Parliament may prove a turning point for the 2019 election, but only time will tell if they mark the moment the Coalition got back in the game or the point at which voters wrote them off entirely. At their
What The Hell Is Dividend Imputation?
What the hell is dividend imputation and why is everyone talking about franking credits? In this episode, Follow the Money explains how it all works. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at The Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Contributors: Richard Denniss, chief economist at the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI Matt Grudnoff, senior economist at the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey // Additional
It’s time to rein in CEO pay to curtail banks’ culture of greed
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in the Canberra Times, 8 Feb 2019] One of the first things you learn as a child is not to be greedy. It’s a fairly straightforward lesson. Yet, greed is the ultimate culprit identified by Justice Kenneth Haynes in his banking royal commission report. Worse still, the current hysteria surrounding franking
January 2019
Australia, we have bigger issues to tackle than boardies and thongs
by Ebony Bennett[Originally published in The Canberra Times, 26.01.19] Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and forcing 537 councils to conduct citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day. And it’s stinking hot. What could be more Australian than a nationwide ban on shorts and thongs as we confer citizenship on our newest Aussies during
December 2018
Dead Right With Richard Denniss
Welcome to Follow The Money’s summer special series! If you’re taking a break this summer, but still crave a political fix, settle in a listen to the ‘best of’ from the Australia Institute’s live politics in the pub events this year. In his Quarterly Essay, Dead Right, Richard Denniss talks about how neoliberalism ate itself,
Wrong Way Book Launch With Doug Cameron
Welcome to Follow The Money’s summer special series! If you’re taking a break this summer, but still crave a political fix, settle in a listen to the ‘best of’ from the Australia Institute’s live politics in the pub events this year. Launching the book Wrong Way, Senator Doug Cameron talks about privatisation and how some
10 Year Anniversary Of The Stimulus Package With Wayne Swan Tanya Plibersek And Jim Chalmers
Welcome to Follow The Money’s summer special series! If you’re taking a break this summer, but still crave a political fix, settle in a listen to the ‘best of’ from the Australia Institute’s live politics in the pub events this year. Ten years after the global financial crisis, Wayne Swan, Tanya Plibersek and Jim Chalmers
Bob Brown And Clare Rewcastle Brown, Environmentalist Of The Year
Welcome to Follow The Money’s summer special series! If you’re taking a break this summer, but still crave a political fix, settle in a listen to the ‘best of’ from the Australia Institute’s live politics in the pub events this year. Investigative journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown wanted logging in Sarawak to stop. The Malaysian Prime
Professor Joseph Stiglitz Winner Of Sydney Peace Prize 2018
Welcome to Follow The Money’s summer special series! If you’re taking a break this summer, but still crave a political fix, settle in a listen to the ‘best of’ from the Australia Institute’s live politics in the pub events this year. In this episode you will hear from Nobel laureate economist and winner of the
Yes, Yes, Yes With Alex Greenwich MP, Dr Shirleen Robinson & Senator Sarah Hanson Young
Welcome to Follow The Money’s summer special series! If you’re taking a break this summer, but still crave a political fix, settle in a listen to the ‘best of’ from the Australia Institute’s live politics in the pub events this year. In this second episode of our summer series and one year on from the
2018 Political Wrap With Amy Remeikis Rob Harris Annika Smethurst And Bevan Shields
Welcome to Follow The Money’s summer special series! If you’re taking a break this summer, but still crave a political fix, settle in a listen to the ‘best of’ from the Australia Institute’s live politics in the pub events this year. First up, the end-of-year political wrap with press gallery journos Amy Remeikis, Rob Harris,
Big Sticks, Batteries And Bills
As 2018 draws to a close, Australia’s climate and energy policy remains almost entirely unresolved. While the government under Scott Morrison has a Minister for bringing down energy prices, it really has no clear plans to reduce emissions and has flagged plans to underwrite new coal-fired power. Meanwhile Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has announced Labor’s
November 2018
Will Australia Meet Its Paris Commitment?
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly claimed Australia will meet its Paris commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030 ‘in a canter’, but is this true? As we approach the next United Nations climate negotiations in the Polish town of Katowice, the Institute’s director of Climate & Energy Richie
October 2018
Could The Global Financial Crisis Happen Again?
Ten years ago, on September 15th 2008 the US investment bank – Lehman brothers collapsed – triggering panic on financial markets around the world and the start of what we in Australia call the Global Financial crisis. So what lessons were learnt? How appropriate was Australia’s response? What is the political legacy of the GFC?
September 2018
Climate Of The Nation With Dr John Hewson
In this episode, Ben Oquist talks to John Hewson — former Liberal leader, Professor at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy and former member for Wentworth — about climate change and Liberal party politics and Dr Hewson did not hold back. This episode is an excerpt of our Politics in the Pub event in
Banking against the Reef
by Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of The Australia Institute. [This article originally appeared in the Canberra Times 08.09.18] Watching Brazil’s National Museum burn this week was a tragic reminder that, if we don’t take care, we can snap the threads that bind us to our history forever. Over a matter of hours, tens of millions
What’s Wrong With Politics & How To Fix It
In this episode, Michelle Grattan joins Ben Oquist to discuss what’s wrong with politics and how to fix it. This discussion, ranging from our current ‘coup culture’ to Julia Banks’ resignation, was recorded at our Politics in the Pub event in Canberra. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at The Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Contributors: Michelle Grattan,
August 2018
We cannot afford to give up on politics
by Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director of The Australia Institute. [This article originally appeard in The Canberra Times 24.08.18] I really enjoy the blood sport of Australian federal politics but I consider it a benign vice on my part, to be discussed only among consenting adults, mostly fellow Canberrans and people on Twitter. I confess I
June 2018
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