The Pub Test

Stamp duty can add $40,000 to the cost of a $750,000 home in Victoria. If it makes buying harder and discourages people from moving, why is it so difficult for state governments to scrap? Then, Australia’s high-speed rail debate. Is the proposed $61 billion Sydney to Newcastle connection the right place to start and what will it take to finally get it built? Finally, more than 30 years after apart...

Kazakhstan is the world's largest uranium producer and is becoming increasingly important to global energy, trade and critical minerals. So why should Australia be paying more attention? First, we catch Neil up on the week in Australian politics. Labor is polling third in Victoria, raising questions about whether Ben Carroll can turn the party's position around before the election. We also...

Victoria goes to the polls in November with its third premier since 2022 — and voters picked neither of the last two. Will Labor pay for that? And will the rewritten upper-house rules actually change who wins a seat? Then, why does Western Australia receive special protection in the distribution of GST revenue and is the current arrangement fair to the rest of the country? Finally, why have Myanma...

Are we too focused on fixing children instead of the systems around them? Dr Caroline Croser-Barlow, CEO of The Front Project, joins us to talk about early childhood, rising diagnosis, the pressure on parents and teachers and why supporting the adults around children may be just as important as diagnosing the child. Dr Caroline Croser-Barlow is a former senior public servant with extensive experie...

What does parenting in Australia really look like and are parents getting enough support? Rob Ryan, CEO of the Parenting Research Centre, joins us to unpack new national parenting research. Does the way we raise our kids pass the pub test? Then over to Ireland, a small country with big wealth on paper. But how much of that comes from its low corporate tax rates and how are everyday Irish people be...

Pakistan is back in the news, with Imran Khan, its relationship with India and its growing role in talks between the US and Iran. So why does Pakistan matter and why should Australia be paying more attention? Then Catherine Liddle, CEO of SNAICC, joins us to talk about what’s happening in Alice Springs, Australia’s child protection system and why tough-on-crime politics can miss the bigger picture...

We’re back from the winter break with plenty to catch up on. Ben Carroll is Victoria’s new Premier, One Nation is becoming a serious threat to the Coalition and Australia’s political landscape is shifting fast. Then Saffron Zomer, Executive Director of the Australian Democracy Network, joins us to discuss their new report, The Invisible Hand, which examines lobbying, political influence and transp...

On the eve of July 4th, American royalty gets married, but what are the political and pop culture consequences? Why did Pauline Hanson’s comments on paid parental leave hit such a nerve with Australian parents? Has childcare choice become the next major political fight? And is Australia’s early education system built for modern families, or for a world that no longer exists? Dolly Parton’s Dollywo...

This week on The Pub Test, Karl Stefanovic’s controversial podcast moment, the teals’ move to unite under a new political banner, and why Albania has become the centre of a major tourism and development protest. From One Nation’s media strategy to the future of independent politics and the fight over Albania’s coastline, it’s a sharp look at how politics is playing out locally, nationally and glob...

Why do Australian parties keep removing their own leaders? Who really has influence inside Parliament? And why does Georgia matter in the struggle between Europe and Russia? This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & York https://tanck.com.au/ https://www.bakerandyork.com/ https://www.thepubtestpodcast.com/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown 00:01:12 — Leadership spills in Australia 00:17:14...

The Budget Is Over. The Fight Isn’t. Four weeks after the 2026 Federal Budget, Australia is still arguing about it. The Budget was handed down four weeks ago. So why are we still fighting about it? This week on The Pub Test, Neil Pharaoh and Dr Erin Watson hear two very different takes on the 2026 Federal Budget. Joseph Mitchell from the ACTU says it starts shifting the burden from workers to weal...

Australia’s university debt system, Victoria’s work-from-home debate and Argentina’s economic experiment all raise the same question: when does government intervention stop helping and start distorting the system? HECS, TAFE, gendered work, flexible workplaces and the lessons Australia can draw from one of the world’s most politically fascinating economies. This episode was powered by Tanck and Ba...

The latest Redbridge opinion poll has dropped a absolute bombshell: One Nation has surged to become the country's most popular primary vote political party, outpolling both Labor and the Coalition. As a massive political disruption looms over upcoming state and federal elections, the center-left and center-right are being completely hollowed out. This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & Y...

Australia’s water crisis is becoming one of the biggest political and economic issues of the decade. Neil Pharaoh and Erin Watson break down why water may become more valuable than oil, how regulation is slowing Australia down and what Cuba reveals about modern geopolitics. This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & York https://tanck.com.au/ https://www.bakerandyork.com/https://www.thepubt...

*This episode was recorded before the 2026 Federal Budget* This week on The Pub Test , we sit down with legendary election analyst Antony Green to unpack what the recent Farrer by-election reveals about the future of Australian politics. From political fragmentation and regional decline to compulsory voting, generational frustration and the changing political mainstream. This episode was powered b...

Australia’s childcare system is under pressure, federal and state governments are increasingly trapped in blame-shifting, and Nepal is attempting major reform without the institutions to fully support it. This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & York https://tanck.com.au/ https://www.bakerandyork.com/https://www.thepubtestpodcast.com/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

The Nepean by-election and what it reveals about shifting voter behaviour, a confronting case in the Northern Territory and the questions it raises about national attention and response. We also look beyond Australia, as Japan’s Prime Minister visits and signals a deeper shift in the Indo-Pacific. -------------------------- This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & York https://tanck.com.a...

Australia is facing a growing insurance crisis that could reshape where people can live, while debates over gas profits and taxation raise deeper questions about who really benefits from the country’s natural resources. The episode also explores Rwanda, one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies, and whether its model of governance offers lessons for the rest of the world. -------------------------...

Sydney is often seen as Australia’s global city but is it still working for the people who live there? Neil and Erin break down the reality behind rising housing costs, urban planning decisions, and does the Sydney still pass the Pub Test? Then joined by Bec Strating the Director of the Centre for Global Security at La Trobe University to unpack what’s happening in one of the world’s most critical...

Australia’s healthcare squeeze is no longer abstract. This week, Neil Pharoh and Erin Watson unpack why seeing a GP has become harder and more expensive, why public systems feel less capable of delivering basic services and what New Zealand’s political system reveals about voting, coalition rule, and democratic stability. -------------------------- This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker &...

Australians are being told not to worry about fuel supply, but is the truth getting in the way of a good story? Why Albanese’s address to the nation may have been more than reassurance. & whether NATO is starting to crack under pressure. Ed Mason is a Jet Zero biofuel project developer. https://jetzero.com.au/ -------------------------- This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & York ht...

Big events. Hard questions. No spin. What Victoria’s free fares can’t actually fix. Why Australia’s tax system no longer rewards work. & how Sri Lanka’s strategic position suddenly matters again This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & York https://tanck.com.au/ https://www.bakerandyork.com/ https://www.thepubtestpodcast.com/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

Big events. Hard questions. No spin. What South Australia’s election result really says about One Nation and the Liberal vote. Why petrol prices keep rising and how Australia left itself so exposed. & what instability in the Middle East could mean for the region and for Australia. This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & Yorkhttps://tanck.com.au/https://www.bakerandyork.com/https://ww...

Big events. Hard questions. No spin. The parliament that voted to abolish itself and why Canberra runs the way it does. The gap in Australia's gun laws that thirty years on, nobody has fixed. & Why Nigel Farage is a symptom of a class system the UK can't escape. This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & York https://tanck.com.au/ https://www.bakerandyork.com/ https://www.thepubtestpodc...

Big events. Hard questions. No spin. Victoria’s growing debt and how it could shape the upcoming state election. The political pension debate and whether the system still makes sense in modern politics. & Greenland’s growing strategic value and why it has become a geopolitical prize. This episode was powered by Tanck and Baker & Yorkhttps://tanck.com.au/https://www.bakerandyork.com/Produce...