Rather than delivering on their election promise to create a Great Koala National Park, the New South Wales Government is sitting on its hands until it can earn carbon credits from forests. On this episode of Follow the Money, Walkley Award winning journalist and Australia Institute Senior Fellow Stephen Long joins Ebony Bennett to discuss his new report into the disastrous consequences of the ongoing logging in the state for koalas and the climate. If you want the New South Wales Government to end native forest logging, you can sign our open letter. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausin ..read more

After scarcely mentioning it for nearly a decade while in government, the Coalition are now hot to trot on nuclear power – but why? On this episode of Follow the Money, energy researcher Matthew Ryan and host Ebony Bennett discuss the cost of a massive nuclear energy rollout, the legal and environmental barriers standing in the way and why the Coalition’s plans would be dreadful for Australia’s emissions in the coming decade. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Matthew Ryan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the Australia Institute // @mattdjryan Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy D ..read more

Capitalism is dying, but not in the way you might think. That’s the argument of academic economist and former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who proposes capitalism has mutated into a far more sinister, feudal system on the back of sophisticated algorithms and big tech. On this episode of Follow the Money, recorded live at the State Library of NSW, Varoufakis speaks with the Australia Institute’s Ebony Bennett and Stephen Long about his proposition and his new book, Technofeudalism. This episode was recorded on Tuesday 12 March. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Gues ..read more

The Albanese government came to power with big expectations around climate action, but are the government’s actions falling short of their rhetoric? On this episode of Follow the Money, former President of Kiribati Anote Tong joins Walkley Award winning journalist Stephen Long to discuss the Australian government’s “disappointing” record on climate, the role of China in the region and the prospects of a Pacific UN climate conference hosted in Australia. There are still tickets available to see Anote Tong in conversation in Melbourne on Wednesday 13 March and in Sydney on Friday 15 March. austr ..read more

The ‘robodebt’ debacle was a shameful episode for the federal government, but was it an anomaly? Our guest today says the same behaviours that enabled robodebt have been playing out for decades in our climate policymaking and questions whether the government has appetite to implement its proposed integrity reforms. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Polly Hemming, Director, Climate & Energy program, the Australia Institute // @pollyjhemming Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edite ..read more

Independent MP Helen Haines has introduced a bill to Parliament designed to prevent pork-barreling, where taxpayer money is allocated according to where it is needed to win votes, not where the public needs it most.  This was recorded on Tuesday 27th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Bill Browne, Director, Democracy & Accountability program, the Australia Institute // @Browne90 Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edit ..read more

Tasmania is heading to an election – 14 months early.  Tasmania is retuning the size of its lower house from 25 seats to 35 seats at this election and multiple polls have predicted the result will be a minority government, so this is shaping up be a particularly interesting contest. This was recorded on Tuesday 20th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Eloise Carr, Director, the Australia Institute Tasmania // @GeneveraE Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer ..read more

Federal Parliament is set to pass new industrial relations laws, including the 'right to disconnect.' This means that workers will legally be able to ignore calls outside of work hours.  This was recorded on Tuesday 13th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Dr Jim Stanford, Director, the Centre for Future Work, the Australia Institute // @MarkOgge  Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey Edited by: Emily Perkins Theme Music ..read more

Every year, the Commonwealth collects more revenue from HECS than it gets from the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax. The PRRT is so insufficient that gas companies love it! Mark Ogge explains the Government's proposed changes, and how we can fix it to tax our gas companies fairly. This was recorded on Tuesday 6th February 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Mark Ogge, Principal Advisor, the Australia Institute // @MarkOgge  Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer M ..read more

It’s been a week for the books in Australian Politics history, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing changes to the highly-criticised Stage 3 tax cuts. Which got the media, and the opposition, into a bit of a frenzy. So what's changed, and how will it affect you? This was recorded on Tuesday 30th January 2024 and things may have changed since recording. australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute Guest: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @MattGrudnoff Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Producer: Jennifer Mac ..read more