Latest Episodes
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Historian Frank Bongiorno reflects on elections present and past
Every election is unique, but each also presents comparisons and contrasts with elections past. In this podcast, Australian National University history professor Frank Bongiorno gives his insights into the current battle but also takes the long views of campaigns. Bongiorno talks about the role of leaders in what's often dubbed the "presidential" election age ("a kind of proxy for judgements about…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Five seats to watch on Saturday night, and getting the hang of a hung parliament
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 Coalition's "super" housing pitch, five seats to eyeball on Saturday night, and what would happen if the parliamentary numbers…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Grattan Institute's Danielle Wood on election's thin policy debate
Danielle Wood is the CEO of the Grattan Institute, an independent think tank, Its purpose is to research and advocate policies to improve Australians' lives. Wood laments the dearth of policy debate in this election. "There was a lot of optimism when we were coming out of COVID that this might be a period of genuine policy reform. It certainly was a period that laid bare a lot of challenges. We saw…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Word from The Hill: Scott Morrison defends Katherine Deves (again), but slips up on surgery detail
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 how the interest rate rise has played against the government, Scott Morrison defending Katherine Deves (again), the major parties…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Dave Sharma, Allegra Spender, and Kerryn Phelps on the contest for Wentworth
In the Wentworth Project, sponsored by the University of Canberra's Centre for Change Governance and The Conversation, we are tapping into voters' opinions in this seat, which appears to be on a knife edge. In this podcast we talk with the two main candidates, Liberal incumbent Dave Sharma and "teal" independent Allegra Spender, as well as with Kerryn Phelps, the former independent member in the seat…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: On the rate rise, Albanese's launch and what a Frydenberg loss would mean for the Liberals
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 Reserve Bank's increase in interest rates, and which side wins or loses from it, as cost of living is centre stage in the election…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Economist Saul Eslake on why Reserve Bank needs to raise rates next week
After Wednesday's larger-than-expected inflation number, all attention has turned to the Reserve Bank's meeting on Tuesday. If the bank moves next week, it will be the first time there's been a rise in a campaign since 2007, the election John Howard lost. Pointing to recent rate rises overseas, independent economist Saul Eslake says: "If the Reserve Bank were to do nothing in the face of this much…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Ray Hadley's shouty assault on Albanese; the intractable Solomons issue; and the wider play of Deves
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 latest (static) polls, apparently unaffected by Anthony Albanese's COVID absence, or indeed by much else in the campaign so far…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Andrew Wilkie invites independent candidates to call him for a chat about approaching a hung parliament
Andrew Wilkie, MP for the Tasmanian seat of Clark, has "lived" a hung parliament. In 2010, Wilkie did a formal "deal" to support Julia Gillard. When later she didn't deliver on his key issue of gambling reform, he broke it off. In this podcast Wilkie explains how he would approach the situation if the election produces no clear winner. No deals. But maybe a letter on giving confidence and supply. He…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: On Katherine Deves, a hung parliament, and the new silence about COVID
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 controversy surrounding Katherine Deves, the Prime Minister's hand-picked candidate for Warringah, who posted transphobic comments…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Joe Hockey on Trump, Biden, and the federal election
In this episode, Michelle Grattan speaks with Joe Hockey about his newly-released memoir titled Diplomatic: A Washington Memoir. Hockey, treasurer in the Abbott government and former Australian ambassador to the United States, picked early that Donald Trump had a good prospect of becoming president and reached out to his team, something that went down badly at the time with the foreign affairs bureaucracy…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Morrison suggests voters judge him as they would their dentist
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 fallout from Anthony Albanese's lapse when asked to nominate the unemployment level and the cash rate. Meanwhile Scott Morrison…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Court saves Morrison's NSW preselections but what sort of campaign will Liberals run?
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 talk about Tuesday's court ruling in the NSW Liberals' factional fighting. It has given Scott Morrison a get-out-of-jail card. But it still…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Election expert Antony Green on the election map
With the announcement of a polling date imminent, Michelle Grattan speaks with the ABC's election analyst Antony Green about the national electoral map, with its variations between the states. The latest round of opinion polls are strong for Labor, but there's still a long way to got before polling day. Green says:"I think if the opinion polls are correct, then the swing will be large enough for Labor…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Josh Frydenberg is optimistic about wage growth
The tax offset for low and middle income earners (LMITO) will not be extended beyond this financial year, so does this amount to a tax increase for these people? Treasurer Josh Frydenberg tells the podcast the offset was a "temporary measure" that was extended as fiscal stimulus, due to the pressures on the budget from COVID. It's being removed "now that the economy is normalising". With unemployment…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Next step for Morrison is visit to governor-general
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 talk about treasurer Josh Frydenberg's 'big spend' budget, Anthony Albanese's coming budget reply speech, a Liberal senator's scathing review…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Jim Chalmers on the budget Labor can't oppose
The opposition is criticising the government's "giveaway" budget but, predictably, with the election close, is not opposing its cost of living package, which includes a temporary cut in full excise and billions of dollars for low and middle income taxpayers, pensioners and welfare recipients. Jim Chalmers is shadow treasurer, and he tells this podcast, "It's a vote seeker budget in the sense that it's…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Sarah Ferguson on reporting from Ukraine
As the devastating war in Ukraine continues, Michelle Grattan speaks with ABC journalist Sarah Ferguson about her experiences in reporting her Four Corners episode Despair and Defiance – how she was able to capture this story – and her views on where the conflict is likely to go from now. Sarah and her team presented a raw portrayal of the conflict and its human toll in Kyiv and elsewhere. "[In reporting…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Labor will give human rights award in memory of Kitching
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan now 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 talk about Anthony Albanese's handling of the bullying allegations mounted by friends of the late senator Kimberly Kitching, Labor's sweeping…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Stay calm, petrol is headed down, budget is improving – economist Chris Richardson
Australia's budget situation has been quietly improving. Deloitte Access Economics director Chris Richardson says the remarkable strength of the Australian economy means it no longer needs the emergency support it has been getting from the government and the Reserve Bank. Government spending fell by a record 10% in the year to January. He counsels against emergency measures to protect Australians from…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Be careful what you say about your opponent's 'makeover'
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan now includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. This week Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn talk about the continuing "blame game" after the floods, the pressure on the government over petrol prices, the coming weekend's South Australian…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Mark Maund on improving our resilience to deal with flood crises
Catastrophic floods have devastated large areas of NSW and Queensland. More than 20 people have lost their lives and Scott Morrison moved for the declaration of a national state of emergency in response to this disaster. Mark Maund is from the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the University of Newcastle. He has qualifications in environmental science, urban and regional planning and…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Subs, floods and people saying it's 'time to give someone else a go'
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan now includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. This week Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn talk about the government's proposal for a new east coast submarine base and the politics of that in an election Scott Morrison wants to frame…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Russia specialist Matthew Sussex on Putin's potential to start wider war
As the West watches appalled at Russia's brutal attack on Ukraine, attention is increasingly turning to the question of Vladimir Putin's longer term ambition, and the potential for this conflagration to turn into a wider war. Matthew Sussex, associate professor at the Griffith Asia Institute at Griffith University and an expert on Russia, believes Putin won't want to stop at subjugating Ukraine. "Putin…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Assistance for Ukraine and Peter Dutton's fundraising
As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan now includes "Word from The Hill", where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. This week Michelle and politics + society editor Amanda Dunn discuss Australia's response to the war in Ukraine which now includes more than $100 million for lethal and non-lethal assistance and humanitarian…
1 Host: Michelle Grattan