Why MAGA is here to stay | Between the Lines
The Wrap: Australia doesn’t need a strong Opposition, but it does need a strong Parliament
“Australia is an ‘elective dictatorship’, an ominous term coined in the 1990s by David Hamer. Mr Hamer was a Liberal parliamentarian who served in both houses of Parliament (he was an MP and a senator). His point was that, between elections, the Government’s power is barely constrained by law or the Constitution.
“Instead, the Government is constrained by the Parliament. However benign or well-meaning a Government, democracy depends on the option for the Parliament to intervene to stop abuse of power,” writes Bill Browne.
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Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch
— Bill Browne is Director of the Democracy & Accountability Program at The Australia Institute
The Big Stories
RBA rate rise: we’re in for a bumpy ride
The RBA has done exactly as the markets expected and increased interest rates by 0.25%. This will put more pressure on those with a mortgage.
After three interest rate cuts last year, the RBA have started this year off with an interest rate increase because they believe that inflation is too high. The December CPI numbers showed that annual inflation was 3.8%, above the RBA’s target of between 2% and 3%.
Still perfectly legal to lie in a political ad
New data from the Australian Electoral Commission reveals that Australia’s biggest political parties raised and spent a record $880 million in the years leading up to the 2025 federal election.
That’s a significant increase on the $704 million spent in the years leading into the 2022 election.
“In Australia, it’s perfectly legal to lie in a political ad. And thanks to taxpayer funding of election campaigns, you could be the one paying for the ad that lies to you,” writes Bill Browne, Director of The Australia Institute’s Democracy & Accountability Program.
Left-right labels make political commentary easy, and democracy hard
“Is protecting freedom of speech a left wing issue or a right wing issue? And if you aren’t sure, how on earth can the press gallery or anyone else talk about what a ‘centre right’ political party’s stance on such a point of principle should be,” writes Dr Richard Denniss in The Point.
“While using the traditional ‘left-right’ lens makes some sense for some policy issues, for most of the big issues paralysing our current federal parliament it is the left-right frame that is causing much of the confusion and paralysis.”
My advice? There’s no such thing as the ‘centre right’
“It’s obvious why a bunch of failed Liberals and wannabe politicians would try to build a new ‘centre right’ party from which to shout, ‘tax cuts for the rich’. It’s just not obvious that anyone outside the press gallery will care. Time to get the popcorn,” writes Dr Richard Denniss in The Point.
Communities beat offshore gas expansion once, the Albanese Government is letting it back in
“Locals are gearing up for a new fight against offshore gas expansion, with a Torquay paddle-out opposing acreage releases in the Otway Basin,” writes Louise Morris in The Point.
The Win
Why Tame Impala’s Grammy win is good news for local listening
Multiple Australian artists have extended the country’s Grammy hot streak, with Amyl & The Sniffers, Tame Impala and RÜFÜS DU SOL each receiving nominations in this year’s awards – and Tame Impala taking out the award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording.
This “Grammy-rush” is symptomatic of a rare good news story for Australian music, at a time when bad news abounds. While Australia Institute research shows that Australian fans are consuming less local music, international audiences are demanding more of it.
The Bin
RBA raises interest rates
“This is a bad decision from the RBA. There was plenty of evidence against raising rates, but they pushed ahead anyway. Let’s hope the economy continues to be resilient,” writes Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at The Australia Institute.
The Quote
“Clowns to the left of us, jokers on the right – and voters stuck in the middle.”
– Amy Remeikis, Chief Political Analyst at The Australia Institute, on the dynamics of Australian politics.
Podcasts
Why MAGA is here to stay with Don Watson | After America
With each passing day, the Make America Great Again movement is becoming more battle-hardened and less likely to disappear once Trump leaves office (whenever that may be), says author and former speechwriter Don Watson.
Listen now:
“They rushed this”: why the Reserve Bank got it wrong by raising rates | Follow the Money
Matt Grudnoff joins Ebony Bennett to discuss big economic reform opportunities facing the government and why the Reserve Bank of Australia is so cautious about cutting rates, yet so quick to hike them up.
Listen now:
How Australian high schools became the most expensive in the developed world | Dollars & Sense
Greg Jericho and Elinor Johnston-Leek discuss the Reserve Bank’s decision to raise interest rates and the absurdity of elite private schools receiving substantial public funding.
Listen now:
What’s On
Why democracies need to collect more corporate tax
Wednesday, 11 February | Online
Inequality creates insecurity. As the United States is showing the rest of the world, that insecurity can have devasting consequences for democracy.
Yet, governments still get it wrong as they race to the bottom on corporate tax. Big Gas, Big Tech and others are enriching themselves at the same time as governments are eroding social safety nets. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Join Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz, Australia Institute co-CEO Dr Richard Denniss, and Australia Institute Deputy Director Ebony Bennett to discuss why corporate tax is good – and why democracies should be collecting more of it.
Politics in the Pub: Earthquake
Wednesday, 18 February | Canberra and online
Join Niki Savva, award-winning political commentator and author of Earthquake: The Election That Shook Australia; Amy Remeikis, Chief Political Analyst at The Australia Institute; and Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO at The Australia Institute, as they discuss Niki’s new book, Earthquake: The Election That Shook Australia.
Earthquake contains the best of Niki’s scene-setting newspaper columns from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, along with a riveting and deeply informed analysis of Australia’s epoch-making 2025 election.
The discussion will be followed by book signings. Copies of Earthquake: The Election That Shook Australia will be available for purchase.
Stolen Man on Stolen Land with Tyree Barnette
Friday, 27 February | Online
Join author Tyree Barnette talking about his new book, Stolen Man on Stolen Land.
When Tyree Barnette moved to Sydney from North Carolina, he knew little of his new home. On first arriving, he was pleasantly surprised: the police treated him with respect and Black American culture seemed to be widely admired and celebrated.
But in time, Tyree saw the darker side to Australia’s relationship with African American culture – a relationship that often tipped from admiration into fetishisation. The undercurrents of racism in Australia came into view, as did the ongoing struggles of Indigenous Australians against injustice.
This is the perspective that has been missing from the race discussion in Australia, one that considers how privilege and race can shift across time and borders. Stolen Man on Stolen Land is both a love letter to Australian multiculturalism and a clear-eyed exploration of its successes and its failings.
An Afternoon with Yanis Varoufakis and Friends
Sunday, 1 March | Adelaide
Join us for An Afternoon with Yanis Varoufakis and Friends, featuring Yanis Varoufakis, Dr Bob Brown, Professor Clare Wright, Hannah Ferguson and Dominic Guerrera.
The event will centre on a panel discussion with Yanis Varoufakis and award-winning historian and author, Professor Clare Wright, hosted by The Australia Institute’s Director of International & Security Affairs, Dr Emma Shortis.
This will be preceded by a panel discussing culture, community, and the stories we tell, featuring environmentalist, doctor, campaigner, and former Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens, Dr Bob Brown. Bob is the founder of the Bob Brown Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that works to protect nature through direct action, legal defence, and science. He will be joined by Hannah Ferguson, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Cheek Media Co., and Dominic Guerrera, Ngarrindjeri and Kaurna poet, writer, artist and curator, recipient of the 2021 Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Poetry Prize and 2024 David Unaipon Prize. This panel will be hosted by the Australia Institute’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, Noah Schultz-Byard.
Books from Australia Institute Press and the authors attending will be available for purchase at the venue. A book signing will follow the event.
An Evening with Yanis Varoufakis and Friends
Thursday, 5 March | Sydney
Join us at An Evening with Yanis Varoufakis and Friends, featuring Yanis Varoufakis, Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah and Leanne Minshull, for a wide-ranging conversation about resistance, courage and social fracture.
Yanis Varoufakis will discuss Raise Your Soul, his most personal book yet, tracing his political awakening through the extraordinary lives of five women against the backdrop of the West’s tumultuous history from 1924 to the present. Leanne Minshull reflects on disruption and why bravery alone is not enough in her essay in A Time for Bravery: What Happens When Australia Chooses Courage?, while Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah explores silence, privilege and social fracture in her novel, Discipline.
All three books will be available for purchase, and a book signing will follow the event.
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