Follow The Money

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we're bringing you a conversation with our chief economist Richard Denniss about the merits and flaws in the government's fiscal response to the pandemic and the long terms effects on the Australian economy. This was recorded live on 31 March 2021 and things may have changed since recording. Host: E...

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we're bringing you a conversation about coal, climate change and conservatives and why NSW needs a moratorium on new coal mines with former Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, in conversation with the Australia Institute's chief economist Dr Richard Denniss. This was recorded live on 27 A...

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode you’ll hear from Saul Griffith, clean tech entrepreneur and founder and Chief Scientist of Otherlab, in conversation with VIC Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and Minister for Solar Homes, Lily D’Ambrosio about how Australians can save thousands of dollars and help reduce...

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we bring a discussion with Shadow Minister for Climate and Energy Chris Bowen MP about how the globe’s climate emergency is Australia’s jobs opportunity. He was in conversaton with Richie Merzian, climate & energy program director at the Australia Institute. This episode was recorded liv...

Our summer series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinar series. This episode we bring you a conversation on pandemic leadership with ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, who has not only overseen Canberra becoming the first 100% renewably powered jurisdiction in Australia, but also the most Covid-vaccinated city in the world. This episode was recorded live on 17th November 2021 and...

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we talk to sexual assault activist Chanel Contos, whose petition calling for earlier sex education in schools prompted hundreds of testimonies from former Sydney schoolgirls about sexual assault. This episode was recorded live on 11 August 2021 and things may have changed since recording. Ho...

Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars in 2021. This episode we’ll be talking about how to protect Australian content in the age of Netflix and other streaming services, with actor and producer Erik Thomson and CEO of Screen Producers Australia Matthew Deaner. This episode was recorded live on 29 September 2021 and things may have changed since record...

On the eve of an election, without consultation and without scrutiny, the Morrison government, with the support of the Opposition, rushed retrospective amendments into the Parliament that will squash charities' right to advocate, effectively stomping on our democracy. The Australia Institute's Ben Oquist unpacks what happened and what the impacts will be for the Australian charity sector and for A...

Many superannuation funds exclude so-called ‘controversial weapons’ from their investments, but consumers don't know that nuclear weapons are not defined as controversial. New research from the Australia Institute and Quit Nukes reveals most major Australian superannuation funds have holdings in nuclear weapons companies, such as Airbus, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. Recorded live on 7 December 20...

This episode we bring you a conversation with journalist and author Rick Morton about his wonderful book ‘My year of Living Vulnerably’, recorded as part of our webinar series. Rick’s book is also on the Australia Institute’s 2021 Essential reading list , which you can find on our website. This was recorded live on Friday 19th March and things may have changed since recording. The Australia Instit...

This week the Australia Institute released the biggest most comprehensive analysis of federal government grants programs ever undertaken, which revealed that $3.9 billion spent by federal grants programs with ministerial discretion has clearly skewed towards marginal Coalition seats in particular, at the expense of safe Labor seats and, to a lesser extent, safe Coalition seats. It's public money,...

The Australian Senate is a unique and powerful legislative body that provides accountability, representation and diversity to a greater extent than the House of Representatives. To discuss the role of the Senate in our democracy, we spoke with Senate President Scott Ryan, who was in conversation with Ben Oquist, our Executive Director. This was recorded live on Tuesday 9 March 2021 and things may...

Glasgow was the first UN Climate Summit where fossil fuels were specifically targeted as the major cause of climate change - join our Climate & Energy director Richie Merzian -- just off the plane from Glasgow -- for a wrap up of the big outcomes from COP26, what the pact means for Australia and what we can expect for next year's COP27 in Egypt. This was recorded on 23 November 2021 and things...

The Morrison government finally released its long-awaited climate modelling for its net zero by 2050 plan and our experts agree it's the stuff of science fiction. A number of big flaws in the model have already been identified, the biggest of which is that it doesn't actually reach net zero - there's a 15% gap. But it also includes imaginary emissions reduction technologies being invented ‘very so...

In this episode we'll update you on the latest news from Glasgow COP26, as well as the latest research on Australia's plan to massively increase gas and coal projects, using carbon capture and storage - which has a long track record of failure. Join Polly Hemming and Mark Ogge from the Australia Institute's Climate & Energy team for a deep dive on climate. This was recorded on 9 November 2021...

Scott Morrison is having perhaps the most disastrous international trip for a Prime Minister in recent history as diplomatic relations with France sour even further. But there is high expectations for the Glasgow summit to deliver high ambitions for high emissions reduction over the next decade and for the first time there is a focus on phasing out gas and coal globally. But Australia didn't come...

Each year the federal government spends upwards of a billion dollars of public money on external consultancies, but most of the work is kept secret from the public. It's a big issue for government transparency as huge questions remain over the Morrison government on questions of accountability and integrity. Recorded live on 26 October 2021, things may have changed since recording. The Australia I...

Climate of the Nation is Australia's longest running tracking poll of community attitudes towards climate change. This year Climate of the Nation explored attitudes towards fossil fuel subsidies, the appetite for electrifying everything in our homes as well as support for a net zero emissions target and bigger 2030 target as we’re just weeks out from the Glasgow COP26 Summit. Recorded live on 19 O...

The announcement of the AUKUS security pact between Australia, the UK and the USA is now a few weeks old and it represents an enormous departure in the direction of Australia's foreign and defence policy. Will AUKUS ensure Australia's long term security, or is it little more than a stunt? In this episode, former Ambassador to China, Dr Geoff Raby, and International & Security Affairs program d...

Today's episode examines carbon offsets, in other words, the credits companies can buy to offset their emissions. The Australia Institute, together with the Australian Conservation Foundation did a bit of digging into Australia's offsets system and found some alarming things. Recorded live on 5 October 2021 The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Aus...

The number of independent Members and Senators elected to Parliament has been steadily increasing and the crossbench plays an important role in shaping the future of Australia. Independent Senator for Tasmania Jacqui Lambie gave an inside look at how it all works. Recorded live on 3 March 2021 as part of the Australia Institute webinar series. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebon...

Australia blind-sided France and the Australian public by dumping a $90 billion French submarine deal in favour of a new trilateral security partnership with the UK and USA, including a deal to secure Australia nuclear-powered submarines. In this episode we explore the ramifications of this historic policy shift, made with zero democratic debate in Australia. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director a...

Australia's higher education sector has been amongst those hit hardest by the pandemic. Just how bad is the damage? In a new report, the Australia Institute’s Centre for Future Work takes a closer look at the harm caused to the sector and its workers and its long term consequences. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute // @CntrFutureWork Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Australi...

Extracting gas from the Northern Territory through hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is one of the largest potential sources of carbon pollution in the world. In this episode we explore the climate cost of a potential policy backflip on opening up the NT to fracking, as well as the community opposition and the economics of it all. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett,...

Our ability to ‘Test, Trace, Isolate and Quarantine’ people who have been exposed to Covid19 has been the front line of Australia’s defence against Covid. But while Australia’s TTIQ is world class, it can and will be overrun if case numbers are allowed to keep rising. The Doherty Modelling makes clear that without a highly functioning TTIQ system we have no chance of stopping our country’s ICUs fr...