Australia Matters

The Australian Government can’t afford to do everything, but it can afford to do anything it wants. 

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor preview next week’s Federal Budget and why the Government doesn’t need to leave so much tax revenue on the table. 

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 20 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording. 

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website. 

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut 

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek 

Show notes: 

5 ways and 63 billion reasons to improve Australia’s tax system by Greg Jericho, the Australia Institute (March 2025) 

‘Expect a lot of talk about Australia’s deficit, but remember the golden rule: budgets are always about choices’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (March 2025) 

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The will-he-or-won't-he game over Trump’s steel and alumnium tariffs is over. Turns out he will – despite the apparent offerings of the Australian Government.

On this episode of After America, Dr Ruth Mitchell joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss how Canada and Australia have responded to tariffs, what America’s decision to sell out Ukraine means for efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, and RFK Jr’s performance as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 13 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Read more from Emma in the latest edition of Australian Foreign Affairs.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Ruth Mitchell, Board Chair, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War // @drruthmitchell

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis

Host: Angus Blackman, Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Show notes:

How to deal with Trump: former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, The Australia Institute on YouTube (July 2024)

Why Russia’s aggression cannot be rewarded with Vasyl Myroshnychenko, After America, the Australia Institute (March 2025)

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chunks of dead salmon have washed up on Tasmanian beaches and the Maugean skate is at risk of extinction, so why won’t governments to more to rein in the salmon industry in Tasmania?

On this episode of Follow the Money, Eloise Carr, Director of the Australia Institute Tasmania, the Federal Government’s dangerous proposal to get around Australia’s already inadequate environmental protections and why salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour needs to end.

This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 19 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Sign our petition to end salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Eloise Carr, Director, the Australia Institute Tasmania // @eloise-carr

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

Bombshell FOI reveals fish farms have been inadequately assessed for impact on threatened species and World Heritage, the Australia Institute (March 2025)

Australians must be protected from diseased salmon, the Australia Institute (February 2025)

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Looking to buy a house? Having a good job that pays good money probably won’t be enough.

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss new research showing just how difficult it is to save for a house deposit and the political response to Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 13 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

‘Gone are the days when a ‘good job’ gets you a house – and now we have the data to prove it’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (March 2025)

Housing affordability crisis – Saving for a deposit forever by Greg Jericho, the Australia Institute (March 2025)

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The public sector is under fire, but is it really as inefficient as DOGE and Dutton claim?

On this episode of Follow the Money, Dr Fiona Macdonald, Acting Director at the Centre for Future Work, joins Glenn Connley to discuss Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, Peter Dutton’s plan to axe public service jobs, and why the private sector generally doesn’t deliver better public services.

This discussion was recorded on Wednesday 12 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Fiona Macdonald, Acting Director, Centre for Future Work // @drfionamac

Host: Glenn Connley, Senior Media Advisor, the Australia Institute // @glennconnley

Show notes:

Briefing Paper: Restoring public sector capability through investment in public service employees by Lisa Heap, the Centre for Future Work (February 2025)

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia joins us to discuss why defending Ukraine’s sovereignty is critical for Australia, America and other democracies around the world.

On this episode of After America, His Excellency Vasyl Myroshnychenko joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the importance of upholding the international rule of law, the deterioration of relations between Ukraine and the Trump administration, and why Ukrainian security is important for the entire world.

This discussion was recorded on Friday 7 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: His Excellency Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand // @ambvasyl

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis

Show notes:

Poll: Trump a greater threat to world peace than Putin or Xi, the Australia Institute (March 2025)

J.D. Vance on a Foreign Policy for the Middle Class, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft (May 2024)

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia’s per capita recession is over, but the United States economy could be in for much worse.

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the end of Australia’s per capita recession, why the humble chickpea deserves some of the credit, and why DOGE is looking like a disaster for the American economy.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 6 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Subscribe to Between the Lines, the Australia Institute's fortnightly newsletter.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

‘The Reserve Bank should be looking at these numbers and wondering why it waited until February to act’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (March 2025)

Briefing Paper: Restoring public sector capability through investment in public service employees by Lisa Heap, the Australia Institute (February 2025)

“A drowning memory”: the Pacific Island communities fighting for their survival, Follow the Money, the Australia Institute (March 2025)

After America, the Australia Institute

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Polls point to a power-sharing government being the most likely outcome at the upcoming federal election, but how do they actually work?

Independent Senator David Pocock and Tony Windsor AM, former independent parliamentarian who held the balance of power during the Gillard minority government, join Amy Remeikis to discuss how they negotiate with the major parties, the growth of the independent and minor party vote, and why there’s so much fearmongering about minority governments in Australia.

This discussion was recorded live on Wednesday 26 February 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Senator David Pocock, Independent Senator for the Australian Capital Territory // @davidpocock

Guest: Tony Windsor AM, former Independent Member for New England // @TonyHWindsor

Host: Amy Remeikis, Chief Political Analyst, the Australia Institute // @amyremeikis

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

Power sharing in Australian parliaments by Bill Browne and Richard Denniss, the Australia Institute (July 2024)

Electoral Reform Bill analysis by Bill Browne and Joshua Black, the Australia Institute (February 2025)

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a week when America’s reliability as an ally was called into question, new research shows that more Australians think Donald Trump is the greatest threat to world peace than either Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin.

On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the shocking public disintegration of relations between the United States and Ukraine, why many Australians are feeling less secure with Trump in office, and what that means for the future of the Australia-US alliance.

This discussion was recorded on Monday 3 March 2025 and things may have changed since recording.

Read more about the research on the Australia Institute website.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @EmmaShortis

Host: Angus Blackman, Producer, the Australia Institute // @AngusRB

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For communities in Tuvalu and Kiribati, climate change isn’t an abstract threat – it’s having a real-time impact on their lives and culture.

On this bonus episode of Follow the Money, Walkley Award-winning journalist Stephen Long speaks to three young climate advocates about the impact of climate change in Tuvalu and Kiribati, their dismay at the continued expansion of fossil fuels by Australia and other developed nations, and how they are fighting for the future of their societies.

Subscribe to Between the Lines, the Australia Institute’s fortnightly newsletter.

Order What's the Big Idea? 32 Big Ideas for a Better Australia now, via the Australia Institute website.

Guest: Gitty Yee, Communications Officer, Tuvalu Climate Action Network

Guest: Aselu O’Brien, Draughtsman, Lands and Survey Department, Government of Tuvalu

Guest: Robert Karoro, National Coordinator, Kiribati Climate Action Network

Host: Stephen Long, Stephen Long, Senior Fellow and Contributing Editor, the Australia Institute // @StephenLongAus

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

Neighbour from hell – A Pacific plea to Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton, Pacific Elders’ Voice (December 2024)

‘As the Coalition goes nuclear, Labor is free to ensure fossil fuels are burned with abandon and little scrutiny’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (June 2024)

Theme music: 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 Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.