Inside Politics

Inside Politics is still on a break, but we’re set to return in two weeks.   Today, we return to an episode released just after Anthony Albanese’s successful meeting with Donald Trump, and one in which we had a special guest -  former Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten. Bill also has some advice for the opposition, and its leader Sussan Ley, before a slight diversion t...

We’re on a break over summer, our dear chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal is probably off to a yoga retreat somewhere in Bali, and we return at the end of January for another fun-filled year of Inside Politics. Well, we can’t ignore the impact that Donald Trump had on domestic politics last year and for this episode, we return to a point in time when most of the press pack was o...

Happy New Year. We’re on a break over summer - lucky us - before we return at the end of January for another year of Inside Politics. Today, we’re returning to an episode recorded in the wake of the divisive ‘March for Australia’ protests, which became the vehicle for a hodgepodge of causes, including immigration, an issue that would lead to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s...

Hi and Merry Christmas! Your Inside Politics team is on a little hiatus over summer before we return at the end of January. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy some of our favourite episodes of the year, starting with a trip down memory lane to election night with our former chief political correspondent David Crowe before he passed the baton to BFF of the podcast Paul Sakkal. Subscribe to The Age...

This week it feels wrong to talk about politics in the wake of the horrific antisemitic massacre at Bondi Beach on Sunday. Australians and Sydneysiders in particular are still trying to make sense of the senseless.  But the fact is that the response to the massacre has been deeply political, and things got divisive very quickly.  So this week on Inside Politics we are going to discuss th...

In this bonus episode of  Inside Politics , former primer minister Tony Abbott joins host Jacqueline Maley and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal. Abbott has penned a new book, Australia: A History,  describing a more positive view of our past. He also discusses the current political and cultural challenges facing the Liberal Party, as well as reflecting on his own political caree...

Today, we're delving into the expenses scandal, if indeed we are calling it a scandal, that has engulfed the Communications Minister Anika Wells. A $100,000 taxpayer funded flight to New York snow-balled into a drip-feed of information about flights to the Formula 1 grand prix, the Boxing Day tests and even a family reunion at Thredbo. All of this dropping at precisely the moment the min...

This week the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was on his honeymoon after his low-key Lodge wedding last weekend, while Senate estimates rolled on in Canberra, uncovering some interesting secrets. Notable was the head-scratching amount that Communications Minister Anika Wells spent on flights to New York, made public ahead of the mammoth social media ban coming into effect. Chief political correspo...

Well, Barnaby Joyce finally announced his resignation from the Nationals this week, paving his way to join One Nation, in a week where Pauline Hanson recycled a burqa stunt from 2017. And it’s amid this turmoil that we have a special guest with chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and Jacqueline Maley - Opposition Leader Sussan Ley. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com....

Recently on this podcast we have been highly fixated on the problems within the Liberal opposition and we have neglected the government somewhat. So this week we are going to focus on Labor, and to that end we have a real treat for listeners. Sean Kelly, a columnist for  The Age  and  Sydney Morning Herald , was previously a Labor staffer with Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. He i...

This week in federal politics there was really only one show in town, and that was the compelling and 'can't look away' car crash that is the Liberal party's continued ructions on its net zero policy. They culminated, or maybe even concluded, on Thursday afternoon, when the Liberal Party met and finally came up with a policy. Today, host Jacqueline Maley is joined by chief political correspondent...

It’s been a rather torrid week for the Coalition, with yet more messy fighting over whether it will dump its commitment to Australia achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This was followed by controversial comments by former frontbencher Andrew Hastie on late-term abortions. Today’s guest is Senator Jane Hume, a Liberal moderate, joining chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and ho...

This week we're going to talk about the government's weaknesses, which might seem a little bit counter-intuitive, because Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been flying so high on the international stage, where he dined with US President Donald Trump at a dinner at ASEAN. But back on the domestic front, there are a few weaknesses, particularly in the economy. Chief political correspondent Paul Sa...

The week in federal politics could not have been more fun. We had Prime Minister Anthony Albanese travel to Washington, finally, for his meeting with US President Donald Trump. The meeting was a total hit, and Albanese came home with a deal on critical mineral supply and reassurances on the AUKUS submarine pact. Jacqueline Maley is joined by chief political correspondent, Paul Sakkal and special g...

They said he couldn’t do it, but he’s doing it. In a few days, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, fresh from a week’s holiday, will be flying to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump.  And also, what really went on between the PM and his Treasurer over the super reforms that Jim Chalmers abandoned this week. Paul Sakkal says the Treasurer had his pants pulled down by th...

The member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, is a guest on the podcast this week during a very interesting time for the Liberal Party. Last week, home affairs   spokesman Andrew Hastie quit the front bench, followed by infighting and internal leaking. Wilson talks about his relationship with Hastie and the former frontbencher's 'fraught' decision to step back, and where the party's soul-searching co...

The prime minister has just returned from 10 days of high-wire diplomacy, initially at the United Nations in New York before swinging through London and stopping by Abu Dhabi on his way home. He’s claimed some credit for helping push along a potential peace plan for Gaza, spruiked Australia’s social media ban on the global stage, and drummed up interest in Australia’s green trans...

Today we are bringing you a special international episode of the pod. The prime minister has spent the week in New York addressing the United Nations, recognising Palestinian statehood and chasing Donald Trump around Manhattan trying to get a meeting. We talk about all these capers with host Jacqueline Maley and our chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal, who are joined by foreign affairs and n...

The government announced its 2035 emissions reduction target this week, committing Australia to climate action despite a retreat from the United States. Meanwhile, the Coalition looked a lot like it was about to take up arms in the climate wars - again. Chief political commentator James Massola joins host Jacqueline Maley. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.co...

Controversial Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was sacked from the Coalition frontbench this week. Price left Opposition Leader Sussan Ley with little choice, after she refused to apologise for comments she made about the Indian community, and then refused to publicly affirm her faith in Ley’s leadership. Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and federal political correspondent N...

Political debate was dominated this week by the topic of immigration after anti-immigration rallies in major cities last weekend. Politicians from both major parties tried to strike a balance between listening to people’s legitimate concerns while condemning the extremist fringe of the anti-immigration movement. Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and federal political correspondent Na...

This week Canberra turned into a John le Carre novel, with the stunning revelation from the head of ASIO Mike Burgess, that the state of Iran directed at least two attacks on Australia’s Jewish community, on Australian soil. As a consequence, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expelled the Iranian Ambassador from the country.  Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss these dramatic developments...

This week was an exciting one in Canberra, especially if you’re the kind of person who digs the philosophy of tax and transfer. We are talking, of course, about the economic roundtable, hosted by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.  Meanwhile Health Minister Mark Butler began the necessary but painful process of reining in the enormous growth of the NDIS. Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal,...

This week the Albanese government announced it would recognise Palestine as a state, a huge foreign policy shift that was greeted with approval by many and criticism by others.  Plus, the Reserve Bank assumes a fall in productivity right before the government's productivity summit, and is there tension between the PM and Treasurer? Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is chief political corres...

This week on the pod we are going to delve into what we are calling Canberra’s Coachella - AKA the Productivity Summit, which is happening the week after next.  What is the point of it? And what is productivity anyway?  Here to discuss, we have Chief Political Correspondent, Paul Sakkal as usual, and special guest star and productivity king, Senior Economics Correspondent Shane Wri...