Latest Episodes
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Michael Brennan on Australia's parlous productivity growth
The Productivity Commission's nine-volume report has a tough central message. It says productivity policy has to focus on the areas that have proven the hardest in the past, rather than those where previously progress has been most readily achieved. One key take from the report is that Australia is performing poorly in growing its productivity. The commission makes recommendations across the policy…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Reactions to AUKUS, next steps on the Voice, NSW election
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn canvass the reactions, inside and outside Labor, to the AUKUS submarine agreement; the government and Coalition reaching a deal on the Voice…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Antony Green, Professor Andy Marks and Ashleigh Raper on the NSW election
Voters in New South Wales are heading to the polling booths on March 25. For both Premier Dominic Perrottet and Labor leader Chris Minns, it is their first election as leader. The Coalition government has held power since 2011. Labor needs to gain a net nine seats to form majority government. If Labor wins, the party will be in power in every state and territory except Tasmania. There are 10 seats…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Chair of Retirement Income Review, Mike Callaghan, on reforming superannuation
Treasurer Jim Chalmers sparked a political row when he announced a tax hike on superannuation concessions for accounts with balances over $3 million, from 15% to 30%, to begin in 2025. Polling indicates the move has broad support from the public, although any change to super is always controversial. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has promised the change would be reversed by a Coalition government…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Another rate rise; support for super tax hike; PM's India trip; Rugg V Ryan
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss the tenth interest rate rise and Jim Chalmers' response, the polling reaction to the superannuation tax hike, Anthony Albanese's…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Chalmers learns lesson in 'rule-in-rule-out' game
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss the government's decision to double the tax on big super account earnings, Jim Chalmers' blunder when quizzed about taxing family…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Greens leader Adam Bandt on trying to force Labor's hand on reform
Adam Bandt aspired to power-sharing with a Labor government. That was never going to happen but, possessing the major slice of the balance of power in the Senate, the Greens have considerable potential muscle – at least in theory. In this podcast, we get a glimpse of the gap between Greens leader Adam Bandt's aspiration for ambitious reforms and the reality that the government is only giving concessions…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Albanese at the National Press Club, Aston byelection, Super battles
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Wednesday appearance at the National Press Club, where he spoke about security, broadly defined…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Frank Brennan on rewording Voice question
Frank Brennan has been involved over decades in the big debates in Indigenous affairs. A Jesuit priest and an academic expert on the constitution, Brennan has advocated for recognising First Nations peoples in that document. Supplied/Frank Brennan, Author provided But he has concerns about the breadth of Anthony Albanese's proposed referendum question, arguing in his new book that its reference to…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Kate Chaney on life as a teal MP
Kate Chaney was one of half a dozen new "teal" MPs elected to parliament last year, winning the previously solid Liberal seat of Curtin in Western Australia. "It's been a fascinating and steep learning curve over the last eight months," Chaney tells the podcast. "As a crossbencher, you really have to think very carefully about how you vote on every piece of legislation and try as much as possible to…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Defence review goes to government; Dutton's apology for boycotting Sorry; Phil Lowe under fire
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss the landmark Defence Strategic Review, handed to the government on Tuesday, which Defence minister Richard Marles describes as the…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Government should set date for Voice to start talking
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation's politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss the Reserve Bank's latest (but not last) interest rate rise, Lidia Thorpe's defection to the crossbench, which potentially benefits…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Senator Malarndirri McCarthy on Alice Springs and the Voice
Alcohol bans are being reimposed on Northern Territory Indigenous communities, as the federal and territory governments grapple with intractable problems in Alice Springs and elsewhere in the NT. The situation in Alice Springs and the surrounding communities has come into the national news at the same time as debate ramps up about this year's referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. In this…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Treasurer Jim Chalmers answers critics of his 'values-based capitalism'
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has rejected as "laughable" criticism he has turned his back on the Hawke-Keating reform era in his blueprint for "values-based capitalism". In this podcast Chalmers also reveals he spoke with Paul Keating while writing the essay, published in The Monthly. "Capitalism after the crises" looks at Australia's future following three international crises: the GFC, the pandemic, and…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Albanese flags new progress in China relationship 'in coming weeks'
In this, our last podcast for 2022, we talk with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. We spoke to each of them on the day the parliament was back to pass the energy package. Albanese, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping during the recent summit season, reveals he anticipates a further positive development in China's relationship with Australia within weeks. Asked whether…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: 2022 retrospective, and a look at 2023
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn review the year, which is finishing with the surprise recall of federal parliament to pass the Albanese government's legislation to contain…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Energy crisis has 'badly damaged' social licence of coal and gas
Australians are currently confronting a cost of living crisis that includes soaring energy prices. Ministers have been working for weeks on a strategy to contain the prices of coal and gas, driven up by the fallout from the Ukraine war. It's the toughest, most complicated policy issue so far faced by Anthony Albanese, and it's involved some head-butting with the NSW and Queensland governments. In this…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Federal parliament's 'salt mines' final week
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn canvass federal parliament's final sitting week of the year, including the House of Representatives' censure of Scott Morrison, and the flurry…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Niki Savva on her book Bulldozed, Scott Morrison and the Liberals' woes
Six months after Scott Morrison was ousted, he remains a centre of attention, with parliament set to censure him on Wednesday over his multi-ministry power grab. In exquisite timing, journalist Niki Savva's book Bulldozed is released this week. It documents Morrison's style, which eventually shocked even those closest to him in government. "He's a very secretive character. He's distrustful. He's a…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: 'Teal' Monique Ryan on the Victorian election and six months in parliament
The Australian National University Dictionary Centre has just announced its word of the year is "teal". Senior researcher Mark Gwynn described it as an "easy choice". "The colour came to represent a movement of independent and strong female voices taking on the establishment." Monique Ryan, the member for the Melbourne seat of Kooyong, is the giant slayer of the movement, having defeated former treasurer…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Industrial relations bill, Victoria's election, and imminent report on Morrison's multi-ministries
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn canvass the final sitting weeks of parliament, in which the government is battling with crossbencher David Pocock to secure its industrial…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Tim Colebatch, Kos Samaras and Sumeyya Ilanbey on the Victorian Election
Victorians go to the polls on November 26, with the Andrews government seeking a third term. Labor is the clear favourite, but it is under pressure in a number of seats. The premier is a polarising figure, especially (although not only) as a result of the trials Melburnians endured with the prolonged harsh lockdowns during COVID. Victoria will be a fresh test of what we saw in the federal poll – the…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Albanese-Xi meeting is the first step on long march
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and politics editor Amanda Dunn discuss the significant thaw in Australia-China relations that's come with the Albanese-Xi meeting, held on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali. The last…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Karen Andrews on the Medibank hack, visa scams, and winning back women voters
Karen Andrews is the former home affairs minister and now shadows that portfolio, which includes cyber-security. With Australians shocked by hackers starting to post Medibank data on the dark web, in this podcast Andrews calls on the health insurer to provide more information. "There are some very serious questions that need to be put to Medibank about what it actually did." "They have sustained incredible…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Rush on for workplace bill; Albanese gives COP27 a miss; big-spending Teals
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. The clock is fast running down on the parliamentary year, but the government still has lots to do before Christmas. In this podcast Michelle and Amanda Dunn, the Conversation’s politics editor, discuss Labor's…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan