Episodes
-
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 // @theausinstitute
Guest: Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @StephenLongAus
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Additional editing: Emily Perkins
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
The major parties claim that minority and coalition governments are chaotic and unworkable, but are they actually more effective?
Australian politicians aren’t exactly known for getting along with each other. But history shows that, when they’re forced to share government, they can get a lot done. In the wake of the Tasmanian election, Australia Institute Executive Director Richard Denniss joins Follow the Money to discuss why the need to negotiate can make minority and coalition governments better at lawmaking.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guest: Richard Denniss, Executive Director, the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Additional editing: Emily Perkins
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Missing episodes?
-
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 Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Additional editing: Emily Perkins
Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to [email protected].
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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
Guest: Yanis Varoufakis, Secretary-General of Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 and former Greek Finance Minister // @yanisvaroufakis
Host: Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @StephenLongAus
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Additional editing: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guest: Anote Tong, former President of the Republic of Kiribati
Host: Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @StephenLongAus
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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 Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
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 Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
With the Iowa Republican caucus over, the starting gun on the 2024 US Election has fired, with the promise of a dramatic election year, and democracy itself on the ballot.
This was recorded on Tuesday 23rd January 2024 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guest:
Dr Emma Shortis, Senior Researcher, International & Security Affairs program, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
7 years ago, The ABC’s groundbreaking environmental series War On Waste firmly placed the nation’s attention on Australia’s waste issues and solutions. The new season investigated recycling in Australia, brought to light new waste topics, challenged the lack of corporate accountability towards their own waste and explored what government can do to curb the waste tide. And most importantly the season provides straightforward solutions to help us all shift the status quo with Australia’s waste crisis.
Join Craig Reucassel, host and producer of ABC TV’s War On Waste and Nina Gbor, Director Circular Economy & Waste Program at the Australia Institute, for a discussion on how we can all turn the tide to resolve Australia’s waste crisis as individuals, within communities and with our local and national government.
This was recorded on Thursday 14th September 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guests:
Craig Reucassel, writer, comedian and documentary maker // @craigreucassel
Nina Gbor, Director, Circular Economy & Waste Program, the Australia Institute // @NinaGbor
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
Extreme heat is the most direct and deadly consequence of our hellbent consumption of fossil fuels. It is a first order threat that drives all other impacts of the climate crisis. And as the temperature rises, it will reveal fault lines in our governments, our politics, our economy, and our values.
Join Jeff Goodell, award-winning environmental journalist and author of Heat, for a discussion about the extreme ways in which our planet is already changing, and what we can do to stop it.
This was recorded on Wednesday 23rd August 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guest:
Jeff Goodell, award-winning environmental journalist and author of Heat // @jeffgoodell
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
On 15 September 2008 came the collapse of Lehmann Brothers, the largest bankruptcy in US history. This set off a chain reaction and had a massive impact on the Australia financial system and economy. Across the northern hemisphere the GFC became known as the Great Recession. But in Australia the economy was spared the large rises in unemployment that occurred in the USA and Europe as well as the collapse of major financial institutions.
This was recorded on Friday 15th September 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guests:
Wayne Swan, National President of the ALP, former Labor Member for Lilley and former Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer of Australia // @SwannyQLD
Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work // @GrogsGamut
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
Australia’s native forests are not only home to some of our most vulnerable and threatened species, they hold critical cultural and ecological value. While native forest logging is being phased out in Western Australia and Victoria, other states are failing to take action to protect these iconic and precious ecosystems from logging.
This was recorded on Wednesday 4th October 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guests:
Bob Brown, Environmentalist, Bob Brown Foundation // @BobBrownFndn
Polly Hemming, Director, Climate & Energy Program, the Australia Institute // @pollyjhemming
Prof Brendan Mackey, Director, Griffith Climate Action Beacon, Griffith University
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
The first person will face trial in relation to Australian war crimes in Afghanistan is David McBride, the whistleblower on trial, not an alleged war criminal.
On the eve of David McBride’s trial, a distinguished panel of experts discussed what’s at stake, what it says that whistleblower not a war criminal is facing trial, and the right to truth and accountability when whistleblowers are facing prosecution.
This was recorded on Friday 10th November 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guests:
Rex Patrick, Former independent Senator and Whistleblower Justice Fund Founder // @MrRexPatrick
Hadi Marifat, Director and co-founder of the Afghanistan Human Rights and Democracy Organization // @HMarifat
Rawan Arraf, Executive Director of the Australian Centre for International Justice // @rawanarraf
Kieran Pender, senior lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre // @KieranHRLC
Sharara Attai, Executive Director of the Islamophobia Register Australia
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
What if we’re thinking about inflation wrong? Join renowned economist Isabella Weber, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for a discussion about the economics and politics of seller’s inflation.
This was recorded on Thursday 7th September 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guests:
Isabella M Weber, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst // @IsabellaMWeber
Jim Stanford, Director of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute // @JimboStanford
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
This episode, we're listening back to one of our most popular episodes from the year with our Executive Director Richard Denniss, digging into the cycle of corporate profits, inflation, and low wages.
This was recorded on Wednesday 7th June 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guest:
Richard Denniss, Executive Director, the Australia Institute // @RDNS_TAI
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
-
Our summer podcast series brings you some of the best conversations from our webinars and live events in 2023.
One of the great mysteries of Australian life is that a land of sweeping plains, with one of the lowest population densities on the planet, has a shortage of land for houses. As a result, Sydney’s median house price is the second most expensive on Earth, after Hong Kong’s. Alan Kohler discusses his latest essay and tells the story of how we got into this mess – and how we might get out of it.
This was recorded on Tuesday 28th November 2023 and things may have changed since recording.
australiainstitute.org.au // @theausinstitute
Guest:
Alan Kohler, Finance Presenter, ABC News // @AlanKohler
Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett
Producer: Jennifer Macey // @jennifermacey
Edited by: Emily Perkins
Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
- Show more
