Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

National Affairs journalist, Jason Koutsoukis joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, an historic election victory, the vexed question of political authority, and declining trust in major parties. Will Albo develop a significant reform agenda in 2026 or will he stick to the modest election promises that delivered him a landslide election victory? Can Labour effectively manage a progr...

Historian and author Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, a landslide federal election victory, the rise of Teal and independent politicians and the split in the conservative Coalition. Will Labour grasp the reform ‘nettle’ and tackle complex structural issues facing Australia or will Albo take a small C approach to governing? Can the Liberal party survive in a new...

Political journalist and author Sean Kelly joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his Quarterly Essay examining the Albanese government and asks what today's Labor actually stands for. Why has Labor become a graveyard of lost futures, discarding reform policies after political failures? Can Anthony Albanese's vision of 'kindness' translate into material policy? And has Labor's 94-member caucus become...

Independent ACT Senator David Pocock joins Democracy Sausage to challenge both major parties on climate policy, gambling reform and political transparency. Have gas companies captured both major parties on energy policy? Why won't Labor ban gambling advertising when 80% of Australians support it? And why do universities have governance structures that lack basic accountability mechanisms found in...

In this special live recording from the 2025 Whitlam Symposium, Mark hosts a star-studded panel discussing the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal. Was Sir John Kerr's decision to dismiss Gough Whitlam constitutionally correct but politically catastrophic? Did Malcolm Fraser's blocking of supply in the Senate represent an abuse of power, or legitimate opposition tactics? And has the Dismissal left l...

Political journalist and author Troy Bramston joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his new biography of Gough Whitlam and asks how a government could be so transformative yet so chaotic. How did Whitlam's government profoundly change Australia in less than three years despite being shambolic and scandal-prone? Could Whitlam have avoided the Dismissal if he'd passed supply in the House of Reps? And d...

Jason Koutsoukis joins Democracy Sausage to examine Barnaby Joyce's political future and asks whether One Nation is really a viable option for the former Nationals leader. Will Barnaby Joyce defect to Pauline Hanson's One Nation party? Why did David Littleproud allegedly tell Joyce he wasn't wanted in Parliament? And is Sussan Ley's Coalition giving Labor too easy a ride on AUKUS and foreign polic...

Political scientist Feo Snagovsky joins Democracy Sausage to explore the uncanny valley between Canadian and Australian politics and ask whether Mark Carney can govern while sleeping next to an 'elephant on meth'. How did Trump's annexation threats unite Canadians like never before? Why does Alberta want to hold a separation referendum while sitting in the middle of Canada? And what happens when y...

Political scientists Jill Sheppard and Pat Leslie join Democracy Sausage to ask whether the Albanese government is strategically waiting or simply drifting through its second term. Why did Labor walk back its modest superannuation tax reform after winning 94 seats? How has Nigel Farage's Reform party overtaken the UK Conservatives with 250,000 members? And what happens when governing parties becom...

Former ambassador Bob Bowker joins Democracy Sausage to assess the Middle East two years after October 7 and asks whether the prospect of a Palestinian state has been obliterated forever. Why did Hamas's military wing launch an attack they knew would unleash catastrophic retaliation? How has Australia's recognition of Palestine exposed an 'iceberg adrift' in our society? And why does Trump's 20-po...

Author Virginia Haussegger joins Democracy Sausage to discuss her new book tracing fifty years of Australian feminism and ask why the revolution that began in 1975 remains unfinished. What role did a Canberra house party have in selecting the world's first women's advisor to a Prime Minister? Why did ASIO surveil women's liberation meetings and photograph their knitting bags? And what does the UN...

Columnist Jenna Price and economist Sinclair Davidson join Democracy Sausage to dissect the crisis engulfing Australia's university sector and ask whether it can be fixed before it's too late. Why are students being taught by academics on 13-week contracts who can't get home loans? How did universities end up with 55% of staff in administration while gutting teaching? And should prospective studen...

Historian Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage to dissect the Liberal Party's existential crisis and asks whether Australia's 'natural party of government' is heading for collapse. Is the Liberal Party becoming ideologically pure but electorally toxic? Why are Liberal MPs losing control of their branches to Sky After Dark viewers? And what happens when a political party holds just one in ten me...

Former senior Australian diplomat Jane Hardy joins Democracy Sausage to examine the new alliances emerging from Beijing's recent military parade and what they mean for global security. What does it mean when India's Modi holds hands with Putin while Trump imposes punishing tariffs on supposed allies? How has North Korea quietly amassed enough material for 50 nuclear warheads? And is the West's pos...

Political scientist Kate Crowley and election analyst Ben Raue join Democracy Sausage to examine Tasmania's political crisis and what it reveals about Australia's democratic future. Is Tasmania ungovernable or just badly governed? Why do the major parties keep pretending they have mandates when voters have abandoned them? And what does Tasmania's experience with minority governments tell us about...

What does the government's reluctance to partner with the Greens reveal about its reform agenda? What do the Liberal Party's internal battles over net-zero mean for the future of conservative politics in Australia? And where does Labor sit on Mark's freshly coined 'reform-courage' spectrum?   On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Professor Mark Kenny is joined by Jason Koutsoukis and Dr Stewa...

Can we fix the tax system?  What is  good  economic growth vs  bad  economic growth?  And, as the government's productivity roundtable begins, how do we become more productive as a nation? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Marija Taflaga enlists tax policy specialists Robert Breunig and Kristen Sobeck to help chart a productive future for Australia. Professor &nbs...

Economist Richard Denniss joins Democracy Sausage and argues policies suffer because of our need to find the centre in any debate.   What does pragmatism really mean for Australian politics? How do attempts at unity constrain political debate? And how do evidence, position and politics interact in policymaking?    On this episode of Democracy Sausage , Dr Richard Denniss a...

Political scientist Jill Sheppard joins Democracy Sausage to talk about the upcoming productivity roundtables, protests on starvation in Palestine and having the courage to act. What is a mandate and how should Labor interpret its victory? Will the upcoming productivity roundtable act as a stepping stone for action or a delegation of decision-making? And how can our politicians start to...

Political scientists Mark Riboldi and Pandanus Petter join Democracy Sausage to discuss housing policy, safety nets and the fair go.   How do politicians talk about housing, and does it impact policy? Who are the villains (or scapegoats) in the Australian housing narrative? And what does living with dignity mean in our current society; is it universal basic income?    On...

Security expert John Blaxland joins Democracy Sausage to talk Trump, Australia and taking a strategic approach to the relationship.   As parliament returns and a new opposition leader in place, what can we expect the tone of the debate to be? Is the Trump administration’s approach to their allies indicative of isolationism?  And how should Australia respond to the US request to com...

Historian Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage talk about political independence, and the pressure to be agile and take action. Is Albanese’s John Curtin Oration pivot-point speech on the level of Curtin’s own ‘turn to America’ or something entirely tamer?    How will history interpret AUKUS?    And can we expect Labor to take a bolder approach to governance this time around...

The numbers are in. Pollster Shaun Ratcliff joins Democracy Sausage to dissect the latest election data and what it means for the future of #auspol. What do the numbers tell us about when the shift to Labor started?    What does the fall off in the primary vote tell us about the future of our politics?    And what’s behind young voters moving away from major parties?  &nbs...

US expert Emma Shortis joins Democracy Sausage to talk about the reshaping of the US-Australia relationship, misguided assumptions and finding Australia’s place in the world.   Can Trump be treated as an aberration in US foreign policy or has he permanently reshaped the global order? Does fealty to Trump’s America make Australia safer or should we rejig our relationship? And what can we...

The ABC’s Chief Election Analyst Emeritus Antony Green joins Democracy Sausage to discuss a career spent covering elections.   Antony Green has covered more than 90 elections. How does this recent one compare to ones in the past? What does the ‘broad church’ of the Liberal party mean these days? And will Labor ever be vulnerable to an ‘orange’ independent vote?    On this...