Follow The Money

The wealth of Australians (or at least some of them) has grown by an extraordinary $9.5 trillion or 302% in the past 33 years according to a new report released by the Australia Institute. But because Australia currently has no taxes on wealth and collects very little income from capital gains, government revenues have not grown nearly as rapidly as the wealth of Australians. australiainstitute.or...

Professor Ross Garnaut is an economist and author of new book Reset - which explores the opportunity Australia has to reset its economy in the wake of the pandemic. Warning: there is a bit of feedback on the audio for the first few minutes. Recorded live on 24 February 2021 as part of the Australia Institute webinar series. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Di...

When the Black Lives Matter protests swept the globe in 2020, it shone a spotlight on Australia's legacy of Aboriginal deaths in custody. It was a subject journalist Amy McQuire had written about extensively. Amy McQuire was the Australia Institute's Writer in Residence recipient for 2020 and in this episode she discusses her upcoming book ' The Water Behind Us', a journalistic investigation into...

The desperate scenes at Kabul airport after the city fell to the Taliban represent an inglorious end to Australia’s longest war in Afghanistan. Join Allan Behm, director of the Australia Institute's International and Security Affairs program, as he explains the failures of strategy, politics and intelligence that led directly to this moment. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony...

The sixth IPCC assessment report sounded the alarm on the climate crisis, finding that human activity is changing the Earth’s climate in “unprecedented” ways, with some of the changes now inevitable and “irreversible”. We unpack the latest report and the urgency of change with Richie Merzian and Alia Armistead from the Australia Institute's climate & energy team. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Di...

The government's massive $300 billion income tax cuts package will proceed in full, making inequality worse and mainly benefitting high income earners. But what makes a tax good or bad? This week, Richard Denniss and Matt Grudnoff explain the principles of a good tax and run the ruler over different types of taxes like income taxes, GST, super profits tax, a Buffet rule and more to see how they fa...

When the going gets tough, the Morrison government calls in the military to boost its authority and credibility. In this episode, Allan Behm discusses the securitisation of domestic policy issues and how bringing in the ADF doesn't really solve anything. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guest: Allan Behm,...

The EU has announced it will introduce a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) as part of its efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This has big implications for the Australian economy, especially carbon intensive expor industries. This week we talk to Richie Merzian and Hannah Melville Rea about what CBAMs are, how they work, why they aren't protectionist and how it will impact Austral...

It's no secret the Australia-China relationship has hit a rocky path recently. How did we get in this mess? How do we get out of it? And how does the Australian public perceive the threat of China? Today we discuss the latest research on public attitudes to China, comparing them to public attitudes in Taiwan. The Australia Institute // @theausinstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the A...

Births declining, fewer people working, health funding will double and deficits for years to come. The latest Intergenerational Report (IGR) has been released and the government wants you to be scared. But it turns out the IGR is rubbish at making predictions. Join Richard Denniss as he uncovers the hidden assumptions buried in the Intergenerational Report. The Australia Institute // @theausinstit...

When the University of Newcastle appointed the Chair of Whitehaven Coal as its new Chancellor, it prompted a swift and public backlash from students, staff, philanthropists and alumni. Join our chief economist Richard Denniss as he unpacks the problems with the university's decision, the community who challenged that decision and why Vaile ended up resigning his position. The Australia Institute /...

Australia still has no federal anti-corruption commission, more than 2 years after the Coalition government promised to enact one. Worse, there are several serious flaws with the government's proposed model for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission. Join two former judges, the Hon Anthony Whealy QC and the Hon David Harper AM QC as they explain why that the government's model will be weak and ineffe...

There has been an enormous surge in the sale of utes, due to the instant asset write-off in the Budget. But just how effective is this in terms of stimulating economic growth and creating jobs? Dig into the details and find out how we're spending billions of dollars to make our car fleet bigger, heavier and less efficient. Host: Ebony Bennett, deputy director of the Australia Institute // @ebony_b...

National Cabinet was created during the pandemic to make big decisions at a fast pace, but how much do Australians know about the advice on lockdowns or hotel quarantine, or about its deliberations and decisions? Not much, it's pretty much a black hole. But a court case could change that. In this episode we dive into the importance of transparency and accountability to a healthy democracy - especi...

Not the federal budget, the carbon budget. Prime Minister Scott Morrison keeps telling world leaders Australia will 'meet and beat' its Paris target and that Australia is 'leading the world' on emissions reduction, but if you dig into the carbon accounts the numbers tell a different story. Join Richie Merzian and Polly Hemming from the Australia Institute's climate & energy program as they unp...

Gone are the scare campaigns about debt and deficit, but was this really a big spending budget? Cut through the economic nonsense and pollywaffle with our senior economist Matt Grudnoff, as he unpacks everything you need to know about the Budget. Don't forget to check out the Australia Institute's federal budget breakdown here . Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Australia Institute // @e...

In today's episode we take a look at how much Australia spends subsidising the oil, coal ang gas industry every year, with co-authors of a new Australia Institute report, Eliza Littleton and Alia Armistead. The numbers are mind-boggling. Host: Ebony Bennett, deputy director of the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guest: Eliza Littleton, research economist // @elizalittleton Alia Armistead, gr...

Tasmania is a unique place. Tassie’s coastal waters have high biodiversity and species found nowhere else, but its marine environment is in a state of decline and increasing pressure from climate change, fishing and aquaculture operations like intensive salmon farming, agricultural run-off. Only 1.1% of Tasmania’s marine waters are fully protected. In this episode, join Eloise Carr, director of th...

Why are new coal mines like melting ice cream? In today's episode, Richard Denniss explains the economics of coal, why Malcolm Turnbull has been in trouble with the Liberals and the National party and why we need to pause approvals of new coal mines. Host: Ebony Bennett, deputy director of the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guest: Richard Denniss, chief economist, The Australia Institute //...

For the national electricity grid to function securely it needs control systems that keep frequency and voltage within safe limits. Historically this service has mainly been provided by coal, gas and hydro power stations. But could we get the same security from renewables and batteries? In this episode we’re doing a deep dive into making sure the lights stay on with the Australia Institute’s energ...

When it comes to addressing the systemic issues which are impacting Australian women’s everyday lives, it often feels like the problems are big and impossible to tackle. In today's episode, Australia Institute research economist Eliza Littleton outlines 8 practical things that Prime Minister Scott Morrison could do right now to remove barriers to women's equality and to put some actions behind his...

Australia has no policy to incentivise electric vehicle uptake, are we destined to become a dumping ground for gas guzzlers? This week we talk to Richie Merzian and Audrey Quicke about what how Australia can electrify its transport sector, quick smart. Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guest: Richie Merzian, director Climate & Energy program // @...

A year on from the recession, how are Australian women faring economically? Pretty poorly actually. This week we speak to Alison Pennington, senior economist from the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute about how women have disproportionately lost their jobs, returned to crappier jobs and why the gender pay gap actually widened over the last year, despite what you may have heard othe...

The findings of the Aged Care Royal Commission are shocking but not surprising. Among the recommendations is the call for an effective 1% increase in the Medicare levy, or a new Medicare-style Aged Care levy which could be applied progressively based on income, to create the revenue required to fund an aged care system with dignity at its centre. This week we talk to senior economist Matt Grudnoff...

When Facebook banned Australian news and information from its platform -- as well as the pages of many charities, community groups and government departments -- in an attempt to avoid regulation, it may have been the first time many Australians had heard of the news media bargaining code. So in this week's episode we unpack what the code is, what it does, why it's necessary and what happens next w...