Follow The Money

How have a select few accumulated such colossal wealth while many Australians struggle? On this episode of Follow the Money , Senator Larissa Waters, leader of the Australian Greens, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the causes of Australia’s housing crisis, making gas exporters pay their fair share, and the Greens’ new ‘tax the 1%’ campaign. The latest Vantage Point essay, Ri...

Australia is one of the largest exporters of gas in the world, yet beer drinkers pay more tax than the gas industry pays in Petroleum Resources Rent Tax. On this episode of Follow the Money , Senator David Pocock and Dr Richard Denniss join Leanne Minshull to discuss the case for a 25 per cent gas export tax, why Australians currently get so little in return for the country’s finite resource...

With President Trump spewing threats at friends and foes, the American government has gone off the rails. On this episode of Follow the Money , Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss Trump’s genocidal threats against Iran, his efforts to subvert US democracy, his administration’s growing isolation from long-time allies, and why it’s time for the Australian government to reasse...

There is no reason our societies can’t change radically, to produce more of what we need and less of the things that are sowing the seeds of our own destruction, says Yanis Varoufakis. On this episode of Follow the Money , we bring you highlights from the recent Australian tour of economist and author Yanis Varoufakis, with contributions from a cast of very special guests. Across live events...

Petrol and diesel prices are sky high because of the illegal US-Israel war on Iran, but major fuel shortages in Australia are very unlikely.  Matt Grudnoff and Ebony Bennett discuss Australia’s relatively strong position in global energy supply chains. Matt explains why some petrol stations have run low despite overall fuel supplies remaining steady, how the price hikes are fuelling ine...

A 25% gas export tax would drive down gas prices for Australians and collect billions of dollars that can be used to provide better, cheaper health and education services.  On this episode of Follow the Money , Rod Campbell and Ebony Bennett discuss the case for a 25% gas export tax and the New South Wales government’s ban on new coal mines. This episode was recorded on Tuesday 24 March...

Now costing Australian governments $31,020 per minute, fossil fuel subsidies are growing faster than spending on the NDIS. On this episode of Follow the Money , Rod Campbell and Ebony Bennett discuss why it’s time to call out the idea that governments can’t afford to support Australians in need yet still dish out $16.3 billion on fossil fuel subsidies in 2025-26 alone. This episode was...

The Australian government has been trying to placate Trump in order to secure the AUKUS submarine deal – and now we are seeing the results. On this episode of Follow the Money and After America , Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss the illegal US-Israel war in Iran, the implications of the conflict for the Middle East, and why Australian personnel were on board an American nuclear-powe...

The far-right is benefitting from a failing status quo – but it doesn’t have to be this way. On this episode of Follow the Money , author and economist Gary Stevenson joins Ebony Bennett to discuss wealth inequality, the global issue of housing unaffordability, why Australia should tax gas properly, and how many far-right parties have become the Steven Bradburys of global politics. Thi...

Shedding voters on the left and the right, is the Liberal Party heading for “oblivion”? On this episode of Follow the Money , journalist and author Niki Savva and Australia Institute co-Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Denniss join Amy Remeikis to discuss how the Liberal Party ended up with their worst federal election result in modern history in 2025, why there’s no such thing...

Inequality creates insecurity and, as the United States is demonstrating right now, that insecurity can have devasting consequences for democracy. On this episode of Follow the Money , Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz joins Ebony Bennett and Dr Richard Denniss to discuss why Australia should get a better return for its natural resources, the power of corporations to mark up...

With a leading role in this year’s United Nations climate conference, the Australian government has an opportunity to show genuine solidarity with its Pacific neighbours and climate-vulnerable communities at home. On this episode of Follow the Money , Kumi Naidoo, South African human rights and climate advocate, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the need for a fossil fuel non-proliferation trea...

With inflation driven by Christmas holidays and data centres for artificial intelligence, the RBA didn’t need to raise the interest rate this week, argues Matt Grudnoff. On this episode of 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 quic...

The Australian government can’t keep its head in the sand and hope the chaos of the Trump administration will just go away. Dr Emma Shortis and Greg Jericho join Glenn Connley to discuss how Australia can navigate what Canadian PM Mark Carney calls the Trump “rupture”. A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available now via Australia Institute Press....

The government passed new gun control and hate speech legislation in a special parliamentary sitting, but what impact will they have on Australian democracy? Amy Remeikis and Bill Browne join Ebony Bennett to discuss how having fewer guns in the community will make Australians safer. However, the complex anti-hate legislation that was rushed through at the same time could have serious consequences...

Richard Denniss discusses the government’s response to the Bondi terrorist attacks, the chaos of the Trump administration and how to protect Australia’s democracy. On this episode of Follow the Money , Richard Denniss and Ebony Bennett discuss the political and policy response to devasting Bondi terrorist attacks, the cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week, Trump and the Australi...

What would it take to make the PALM scheme a genuine win-win for Australia and its neighbours? In the fourth and final episode of PALMed Off , host Morgan Harrington canvases some of the proposed solutions to the problems facing the PALM scheme, including an amnesty for disengaged workers and ensuring that everyone working in Australia has the right to leave their employer. PALMed Off is a special...

PALM visas holders do not get Medicare (outside of a trial limited to 200 people), so what happens when they are injured, get sick or fall pregnant? In episode three of PALMed Off , host Morgan Harrington hears how a lack of affordable medical care can have dire consequences for PALM visa holders and discusses the problems faced by women who fall pregnant whilst working in Australia. PALMed Off is...

Where do the thousands of people who have left the PALM scheme, but stayed in Australia, go? How do they survive without a valid visa and, more importantly, what does the future hold for them? In episode two of PALMed Off , host Morgan Harrington travels to Leeton, New South Wales, a town that’s become a safe haven for some of the estimated 7,000 people who have ‘disengaged’ from...

In this summer mini-series, we examine the Australian guestworker program that could be putting people from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste at risk of modern slavery. In PALMed Off , a special  Follow the Money mini-series, we explore the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, a program that allows people from nine Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste to work in Australia o...

Rumours about America's role in the dismissal of Gough Whitlam have circulated for decades – but is there any truth to them?  On this special episode of Follow the Money , Dr Emma Shortis explores the state of the Australia-United States relationship under the Whitlam government, the machinations at the time around the renewal of Pine Gap, and the previously untold account of Dr Liz Cha...

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Traditional custodians are fighting back against climate-destroying gas developments being rammed through by Canadian governments. On this episode of Follow the Money , Hereditary Chief Na’Moks of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, Gwii Lok’im Gibuu Jesse Stoeppler of the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en Nations, and Kai Nagata from not-for-profit Dogwood tell us about their figh...

These days, Aussie music is falling out of the charts, leaving local acts wondering if they’ll ever see your face again. INXS. Kyle Minogue. Even the Wiggles. Australia has an incredible musical legacy, but with declining streaming numbers and revenues heading abroad, will the Aussie musician just become somebody we used to know? On this episode of Follow the Money , former Spotify Chief Eco...

Australian scientific discoveries have improved people’s lives and made the economy more productive – so why is the CSIRO being forced to shed workers again? On this episode of Follow the Money , Matt Grudnoff and Ebony Bennett discuss the latest job cuts at the CSIRO, why this is a missed opportunity as researchers leave the United States, and why science investment matters for produc...