The Mark Pirotta Show

Victoria has been governed by Labor for 22 of the last 26 years. Now, less than three weeks out from the state election, Labor is running third in multiple polls. And somehow there are still people trying to convince Victorians that everything is going fine. In this episode, I go through the case being made for Victorian Labor, including Friendlyjordies' latest defence of the government, and c...

The Democrats have just smashed the Republicans in the US midterms, and already the usual suspects are lining up to declare right-wing populism dead. I think they're learning the wrong lesson. Trump didn't fail because his agenda suddenly became unpopular. He failed because millions of people elected him to actually do something, and two years later too many of those voters feel like he di...

It’s been far too long, but The Mark Pirotta Show is finally back — and apparently I picked one hell of a month to disappear. Australian politics has shifted dramatically. David Shoebridge is now leading the Greens, One Nation continues to gain ground, Victoria is heading towards a fascinating election, government spending is still running wild, and Snowy Hydro 2.0 has somehow found another few bi...

Edward Schuller returns to The Mark Pirotta Show for a wide-ranging conversation about education, parental authority, Christianity, culture and the future of Australia. Edward is the founder of Protect Our Kids and works with Red Union, where he has recently been involved in the campaign against Victorian legislation affecting alternative unions. https://www.protectourkids.com.au/ Do you know a te...

Labor wants Australians to believe the federal budget is under control. Look at the raw numbers and the picture becomes much harder to sell. In the final Coalition Budget before the 2022 election, federal payments for 2025–26 were projected at roughly $687 billion. Today, spending for the same financial year is around $788 billion. That's roughly $100 BILLION more. Now, not every dollar of tha...

Jim Chalmers says Australia's budget position has improved by $6 billion. Technically, he's right. But there's a much less flattering number sitting underneath the announcement: Australia still recorded a $22.3 billion deficit—more than double last year's $10 billion deficit. So what exactly are we celebrating? In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show, I compare Chalmers' budge...

Anthony Albanese wants his government to play a much bigger role in deciding what Australians see online, what platforms are required to suppress, and how misinformation and disinformation are handled. There's just one problem. He can't seem to keep his own position straight. After standing at the United Nations and directly linking misinformation and disinformation to Australia's digi...

Donald Trump just went on a rampage at the United Nations—and Australia should be paying very close attention. While Anthony Albanese is in New York collecting awards and shaking hands, the United States has directly challenged one of his government's major online safety proposals, warning that Australia's Digital Duty of Care could facilitate censorship of protected political speech. And...

Pauline Hanson and One Nation keep rising—and the response from Australia's political and media establishment is becoming increasingly desperate. A Nine News report has now dragged an American KKK figure into the Australian immigration debate, attempting to connect his support for Pauline Hanson with One Nation's growing political movement. But there's a much bigger story here. Million...

Why does Australia's answer to an ageing population always seem to be more immigration rather than making it easier for Australians to have families? In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show, I respond to South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas's argument for immigration and ask what it reveals about the way modern governments view their own citizens. Malinauskas argues migrants make an...

Anthony Albanese recognised the State of Palestine. Now, I argue, he's borrowed the political tactic of the human shield. In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show, we look at the sudden revival of Pauline Hanson's months-old comments about Albanese's upbringing and his mother—and why the story has exploded at exactly the moment Labor is facing scrutiny over the distribution of governme...

It has been one year since Charlie Kirk's death. For me, this one is personal. Charlie Kirk changed my life. His willingness to speak openly about Christianity, politics and the culture reminded me that being Christian, being Catholic and having a voice in public life isn't something to apologise for. To a large degree, that helped push me to begin The Mark Pirotta Show. So today's epi...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show, we look at the growing political crisis facing Victorian Labor—and the extraordinary contrast between Ben Carroll and One Nation's Warren Pickering. Pickering has come under intense media scrutiny over his past. Drugs, DUIs, a difficult upbringing and serious mistakes have all become part of the political conversation. But there's another side to t...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show, we look at a question that is becoming increasingly important in Australian politics: Who gets to decide which ideas you're allowed to hear, support or believe? We begin with the White Australia Party's constitutional challenge against the Commonwealth and Australia's prohibited hate-group laws. I strongly disagree with ethno-nationalism and mu...

Labor has a problem—and Secret Harbour may have just exposed how big it really is. After three weeks away, The Mark Pirotta Show returns with a deep dive into One Nation's historic victory in the Secret Harbour by-election and what it could mean for Australian politics. Luke Herdegen has won what was considered safe Labor territory, delivering One Nation its first lower-house seat in Western A...

John Ruddick MLC joins The Mark Pirotta Show for a wide-ranging conversation about ICAC, Operation Rosny, Christianity in politics, the growth of government and the future of conservatism in Australia. Find more from the Hon. John Ruddick MLC: Listen and subscribe at: Apple and Spotify - http://bit.ly/4mH2zEE Rumble and YouTube - @PoliticalHistoryOfAustralia Please tune in and share. The Hon. John...

John Ruddick MLC joins The Mark Pirotta Show for a wide-ranging conversation about ICAC, Operation Rosny, Christianity in politics, the growth of government and the future of conservatism in Australia. At the centre of our discussion is the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption and its investigation into Liberal Party figures associated with efforts to recruit thousands of conservative and...

Victoria's political landscape is changing fast. Ben Carroll has replaced Jacinta Allan and Labor is hoping a new Premier can reset the government before the state election—but beneath the headline polling, the contest on the Right is becoming much more interesting. In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine the first polling since One Nation announced its Victorian candidates, Warr...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine what happens when political ideology collides with reality. From the extraordinary claim that Aboriginal heritage extends to the Moon, to the Oxford Union debates, Western Australia's political shift, Victoria's struggling Labor Government and Australia's growing defence concerns, the same pattern continues to emerge: ideas are incr...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine how small cultural and political changes can gradually reshape an entire society. From Spain's immigration crisis and Australia's border policies to debates over free speech, social media, and the role of government, we explore why seemingly minor decisions often have far-reaching consequences. We break down: Ben Shapiro's concept o...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine the end of Jacinta Allan's premiership—and ask whether changing the Premier changes anything at all. After years of mounting debt, cancelled projects, rising crime, and growing public frustration, Victorian Labor has replaced its leader just months before a state election. But is Ben Carroll offering a new direction, or simply a new face? W...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine a growing political trend that extends far beyond opinion polls: Australians are increasingly questioning whether they can trust what they're being told. From media reporting on the vehicle attack at a Pride parade in Germany to Victoria's crime debate, Anthony Albanese's latest controversies, and One Nation's continued rise in...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine a political shift that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. For years, Pauline Hanson has been portrayed as a fringe figure in Australian politics. But after a series of high-profile media appearances in Australia and the United Kingdom, audience reactions suggest something may be changing. From Spotlight's controversial interview...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine what appears to be a growing trend in Australian politics: replacing public debate with government regulation, censorship, and taxpayer-funded narratives. Following the Albanese Government's decision to adopt recommendations from the Islamophobia Envoy and commit $77 million to new initiatives, questions are being asked about free speech, e...

In this episode of The Mark Pirotta Show , we examine one of the biggest contradictions in Australian politics today. The Albanese Government continues opposing nuclear energy in Australia while expanding uranium exports to India—a country rapidly increasing its own nuclear capacity. If nuclear technology is safe enough for one of our closest strategic partners, why isn't it considered good en...