Politics with Michelle Grattan

By increasing their numbers within the government, the Nationals were the surprise success story of the election, with a very local campaign. Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Victorian National Darren Chester tells Michelle Grattan the presidential style of campaigning that is becoming more prevalent in Australia doesn’t suit the Nationals. “We don’t necessarily benefit from that styl...

As a veteran of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years, former treasurer Wayne Swan is a politician with a great deal of experience with parliamentary instability. With the outcome of the election still uncertain, Swan tells Michelle Grattan Labor should approach the next period ahead in a very positive way. “We put [forward] a comprehensive agenda for inclusive growth. What you saw at this election was the...

The election has plunged Australia into uncertainty and placed a question mark over the country for companies looking to invest. Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO James Pearson tells Michelle Grattan that businesses are disappointed there isn’t a clear result and that policies that are pro-business will now be harder to get through parliament. “The call from business now is to get on...

Senator Nick Xenophon is the South Australian “vote magnet” making both the Coalition and Labor nervous, as he spreads his brand at this election. His probable success promises not just more Senate seats for the nascent party but a powerful role in the new Senate for its leader. Xenophon tells Michelle Grattan he believes that while governments have a mandate to introduce legislation, the Senate h...

Tony Abbott has been low key so far this election, spending much of his time campaigning in his own electorate, with some visits to MPs who invite him. Speaking with Michelle Grattan, he plays up being part of the team. He admits staunch Liberals have issues with the superannuation changes but says “the point I keep making to them is that we cannot avoid tough decisions”, and does not expect the p...

The Greens, who already hold the seat of Melbourne, are making a big play for two nearby Labor-held seats – Batman, held by David Feeney, and Wills, where the popular Kelvin Thomson is retiring. Labor is especially worried about Batman, where Feeney’s failure to declare his A$2.3 million house added to his already embattled position. This week The Conversation spoke to Greens leader Richard Di Nat...

The battle for the Victorian seat of Indi is shaping up as a three-way contest. Independent Cathy McGowan is trying to fend off the former member Sophie Mirabella and the Nationals' Marty Corboy. McGowan tells Michelle Grattan the election will come down to preferences. “I’m hoping that the National Party people will consider giving me their second preference and I’m hoping that Liberal Party peop...

The Labor Party has been driving a campaign bus from Cairns to Canberra. On Sunday night senator Sam Dastyari, leader of the “Bill Bus”, told supporters at a Canberra pub they had raised enough money to extend its journey through to Melbourne and would be leaving the next morning. After giving a speech to the faithful, Dastyari tells Michelle Grattan they have been getting a lot of local media in...

This is The Conversation’s first election podcast, where we visit the New South Wales seat of New England. The electorate is held by deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who is under challenge from former independent member Tony Windsor. Joyce predicts the government will “take a haircut” at the election, and talks about New England becoming a net exporter of renewable energy...

In response to the government’s pre-election budget, Labor’s Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh, a former professor of economics, describes an alternative economic plan. Leigh tells Michelle Grattan that a Labor government would have delivered a budget that faced down Australia’s big economic challenges. “They include declining living standards: income per capita in real net terms has decline...

On the cusp of calling the election, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull sat down with Michelle Grattan to talk about the budget. When the discussion turned to political trust, Turnbull said it’s critical to be very upfront about issues, to explain what the problems are, and to explain how you propose to resolve them. “I think there is a gotcha culture in the media and perhaps in the political discour...

Sleep is at a premium in Canberra this week. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann is one of those doing the post-budget heavy lifting, with 22 media interviews on Wednesday. He sat down with Michelle Grattan to discuss the government’s long-term economic plan. Mentioned in this episode: The Making of an Autocrat Search: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy un...

From the Parliament House lockup, Grattan Institute CEO John Daley joins Michelle Grattan to give an overall picture of the government’s pre-election budget. Mentioned in this episode: Your support matters Support non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025 The Making of an Autocrat Search: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time...

The future of Senator Robert Simms, one of the freshest faces in the Greens team, may hang on whether he is first or second on his party’s ticket. In his home state of South Australia, where the Nick Xenophon Team looks to be strong, the Greens face a particularly tough battle. But Simms tells Michelle Grattan he thinks the Greens have a chance of retaining their two seats. “There’s no question it...

In 2015, the ABC aired a gripping documentary series covering the tumultuous Rudd-Gillard era. This week, the series’ writer and interviewer Sarah Ferguson has released a book developed from the documentary. Ferguson tells Michelle Grattan she longed for a single villain or a single narrative that she could pursue to the ends of the earth. The widely acclaimed journalist talks about the difficulti...

In his ministerial reshuffle earlier this year, Malcolm Turnbull made Angus Taylor, an up-and-coming Liberal MP, the assistant minister for cities and digital transformation. Taylor tells Michelle Grattan there needs to be agreement across all three levels of government to meet the challenges of jobs growth, transport and housing affordability faced by the nation’s cities. “We have already said we...

Malcolm Turnbull will visit China this week in his first trip there as Prime Minister. The two-day trip, including Shanghai and Beijing, will juggle trade and political issues. ANU Professor of Strategic Studies Hugh White tells Michelle Grattan that Turnbull will be primarily focused on the economic agenda. “Turnbull is one of those who remain bullish about China. He thinks its economic prospects...

The global scandal surrounding the release of the Panama papers and Malcolm Turnbull’s criticism of Australian banks have put the spotlight on the often murky world of banking and finance. Greens' finance spokesman Peter Whish-Wilson, who had a pre-parliamentary career on Wall Street, tells Michelle Grattan one reason he walked away from the banking industry was because of its culture. “You’re onl...

Senators will return to Canberra later this month with the expectation that they will give final consideration to the government’s industrial legislation - unless they decide to refuse to consider it. Glenn Lazarus, a crossbencher whose approval the government may need if the bills are to have any hope of passing, tells Michelle Grattan he will not be bullied or blackmailed into giving his support...

While Labor goes into the coming election as underdog, the party’s strategy to win government will capitalise on what it sees as its competitive advantages. From Labor’s national secretariat in Canberra, campaign director George Wright tells Michelle Grattan the party will be working hard to increase its direct contact with voters. “We worked very hard at that in 2013 and we will work even harder...

The Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party’s Ricky Muir this week made an unsuccessful last roll of the dice to try to delay the government’s Senate voting reform legislation. The bill will prevent almost all “micro” players being elected to the Senate, and facilitate the government driving out most of the current bunch if it holds a double-dissolution election. But Muir tells Michelle Grattan the r...

In what promises to be one of the toughest contests at the election, former independent MP Tony Windsor will try to retake the seat of New England from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Windsor tells Michelle Grattan he believes the seat is winnable. “I’m not naive in politics, I know there will be an enormous amount of money thrown at this but my campaign will be based on people – and people p...

Following recommendations from the joint standing committee on electoral matters, the government has amended its Senate reform bill to include provision for optional preferential voting “below the line” as well as “above the line”. Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann explains the details of the changes and says the bill “empowers the Australian people to determine what happens to their votes...

Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has accused Malcolm Turnbull of failing to live up to his promise to liaise closely with the Senate crossbenchers. As the "micro" players react furiously to the government's proposed Senate voting changes, Leyonhjelm tells Michelle Grattan he has not heard from Turnbull since his call in his first week as prime minister. Despite the "reservoir of goodwill"...

Soaring community outrage over the issue of child sexual abuse was this week fanned by a Tim Minchin song calling for Cardinal George Pell to return home to Australia to give evidence to the Royal Commission. Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council tells Michelle Grattan that his organisation supports the crowd-funded push to fly victims to Rome and describes Cardinal Pell...