Internal emails exposing the National Anti-Corruption Commission trying to evade one journalist’s questions, Tony Abbott making a very strange mistake in his political commentary, and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas enjoying an intimate dinner with a top News Corp journalist.

Daanyal Saeed and Crystal Andrews recap these stories, and many more compelling, illuminating and absurd items from The Snoop, our daily roundup of tips, treasures and titbits from news and politics in Australia and around the world.

In today’s episode we catch listeners up on:

• NACC emails from Paul Brereton, Kylie Kilgour revealed
• Built to fail? NACC: the integrity body undermined from the start on The Point
• NACC inspector drops investigation into Brereton
• Peter Malinauskas’ meetings with News Corp journalist Peter Starick
• Back-Scratching. Premier Malinauskus’ love-in with Newscorp exposed on Michael West Media
• Mamamia’s Luca Lavigne is not the only Australian media nepo baby
• AEC changes Tasmania federal electorates
• Tony Abbott’s confusion about “Truganini”
• Labor MP Josh Wilson “striking” ban from over-45s soccer

Want to ask us a question? Send an email to [email protected] or contact us using the secure methods detailed here: https://www.crikey.com.au/tip-off-crikey/ 

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Australia’s most prestigious universities have been plagued by governance and corruption scandals over the past few years, all the while public debate continues on what role universities should play in modern Australian society. 

Julie Hare, one of the country’s most experienced higher education journalists, joins Cut Through to unpack the ICAC investigation into the University of Wollongong, explain how executive greed and policy changes created a perfect storm for the sector, and puts her ideas for how to restore Australian universities to their former glory – and public good.

Want to ask us a question? Send an email to [email protected] or contact us using the secure methods detailed here: https://www.crikey.com.au/tip-off-crikey/ 

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Read more:

• Leaders at Australian universities have lost their moral compass
• ANU and other universities using ‘custom-made’ accounting systems that can obscure financial health
• More Australian universities than ANU face a governance crisis. But why now precisely?
• ‘Broken and unfair’: Morrison-era policy slogging students with hundreds of millions in extra debt  
• John Dewar’s very public humiliation

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Politics editor Bernard Keane returns to the podcast to answer subscriber questions in a dedicated Q&A episode. What does he think of critics who say there is “nothing to see here” on union corruption in Victoria’s Big Build? Is there any substance to rumours that Anthony Albanese would leave politics before the next election? Will the global campaign to introduce a wealth tax – advocated by the likes of Gary Stevenson and Gabriel Zucman – make headway in Australia?

Keane and Cut Through host Crystal Andrews tackle the following questions:

• What kind of Labor leader is Anthony Albanese?
• Where will the government land in its approach to AI policy?
• Should people question the Watson report into CFMEU corruption?
• Will Snowy Hydro 2.0 be “worth it” in the end?
• Is an Australian wealth tax on the horizon?
• How is Australia’s ageing population contributing to socioeconomic issues?

Want to ask us a question? Send an email to [email protected] or contact us using the secure methods detailed here: https://www.crikey.com.au/tip-off-crikey/ 

Subscribe to Crikey now to get 60% off your annual subscription!

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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How did Karl Stefanovic rise to the pinnacle of TV stardom, and what does his move to even smaller screens say about the current state of Australian media? Tina Quinn joins the podcast to go behind-the-scenes of her latest article for Crikey, which saw her speak to a long list of sources who worked alongside Stefanovic — from junior producers all the way up to senior management — about how he really got to the top. 

Quinn and host Crystal Andrews discuss what made Stefanovic “special”, the one industry development that changed Australian TV for the worse, and why we might never see a TV personality like Karl again.

Have a tip for us or want to ask a question? Send an email to [email protected] or contact us using the secure methods detailed here: https://www.crikey.com.au/tip-off-crikey/ 

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Read more:

• Insiders reveal the real story behind Karl Stefanovic, a monster of Nine’s own making
• Job cuts, takeovers and mergers can’t fix the mess that is Australian TV
• The Stefanovic saga and Hanson’s haymaker: it’s all part of Australia’s surging right-wing moment
• Gina Rinehart joins Australia’s billionaire media moguls. You’re welcome, One Nation
• The Free Speech and Free Fall of Karl Stefanovic on Fourth Estate podcast

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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There was a flurry of activity in parliament as politicians tried to make the last sitting fortnight before the winter break really count. So it’s the perfect time to bring Cut Through back from our mid-year break – re-energised and ready to call it as we see it! 

Crikey’s politics writer Rachel Withers joins readers’ editor Crystal Andrews and reporter-at-large Charlie Lewis to discuss the highs and the lows, from the announcement of Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender’s new party “Community Strong Australia”, to the Greens’ role as policy gatekeepers, and why Barnaby Joyce is clearly not helping One Nation MP David Farley learn the ropes. 

Plus, where does Nuclear for Australia get its cash from… and is Bridget McKenzie up to something?

Have a tip for us or want to ask a question? Send an email to [email protected] or contact us using the secure methods detailed here: https://www.crikey.com.au/tip-off-crikey/ 

Read more:

• Does Steggall and Spender’s new party go against the independent movement — or strengthen it? by Tina Quinn
• What Liberal-types like Jason Falinski get wrong about the ‘teals’
• Labor is playing a dangerous game on gambling reform
• Tax reform has winners and losers. Business makes an ugly loser
• One Nation now has to hold itself together — and grow by Leonardo Puglisi
• Tip on Nuclear for Australia’s merch sales
• What is Bridget McKenzie up to?

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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The 2026 federal budget was one of the more “memorable” in recent history. Despite the vast majority of measures having already been aired in the media weeks prior, Jim Chalmers kept one major reveal for budget night: a three-part tax reform, winding back the favourable settings of capital gains tax, negative gearing and private trusts.

The mainstream media has been bleating about “broken promises”, but do voters actually care if the government changes its mind in pursuit of better policy? Politics editor Bernard Keane and readers’ editor Crystal Andrews discuss what they liked in the budget, what was disappointing and the missed opportunity of the gas export tax. 

Plus, does Angus Taylor have any hope of improving the Coalition’s fortunes with his budget reply speech?

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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There are just three days until the Farrer by-election and – for the first time ever – it looks like voters won’t be electing a National or Liberal MP to represent them in Sussan Ley’s old seat.. Instead, the frustration with establishment politics has seen independent Michelle Milthorpe and One Nation’s David Farly emerge as the frontrunners in a fierce and unpredictable campaign

To help you follow the final days of the by-election campaign, Crikey politics reporter Anton Nilsson and Region Riverina editor Oliver Jacques join this special early episode of the podcast. We discuss the water policy problems that all candidates agree is a top priority for the region, the collapse of the Coalition’s reputation in regional Australia, and how public scrutiny over big donations from the likes of Gina Rinehart has impacted the campaign.

Plus, Nilsson and Jacques give their prediction for who will claim Farrer on Saturday.

Read more:

• How One Nation is riding a wave of anger over water towards a federal breakthrough
• ‘You can only sell so many stubby holders’: We asked the Farrer frontrunners about the role of big money in politics
• Just how ‘teal’ is independent Farrer candidate Michelle Milthorpe?
• In the seat of Farrer, candidates are united by their concern for water, and disdain for Labor
• The Coalition’s pitch to Farrer voters: only we can topple a Labor government. But can they?
• Richard Hendrie wants to stop the ‘right-wing slogfest’ in Farrer
• Farrer could start the duopoly’s downfall — and blare a klaxon horn for the Liberals

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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Health Minister Mark Butler’s “major overhaul” of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will reduce the total cost of the scheme by $15 billion over the next four years. The majority of the savings will come from the 160,000 people who will be kicked off the scheme – a brutal decision given that the NDIS only supports a fraction of the 2 million Australians with a severe disability.

The justification for these cuts is the “social licence” that even supporters of the NDIS believe it has suffered from reports of provider rorting and criminal abuse of the system. So why has Butler’s overhaul focused on reducing participant numbers, rather than scrutinising the business-side waste within the scheme?

Grace Tame joins the podcast to challenge the corporate media spin that has made disabled people the scapegoats for what she believes is a poorly designed system. 

Read more:

• Slashing $15bn from NDIS while giving $53bn to Defence. Anyone’s autistic pattern recognition radar wailing? 
• I’m an NDIS insider. Forget rogue providers — conflict of interest is built into the auditing system
• NDIS headlines are turning autistic people into the new dole bludgers
• Belting the disabled, protecting fossil fuel giants: That creaking sound is Albanese’s project under severe stress
• Gillard’s NDIS vision was a promise she couldn’t keep

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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Is “free speech” an Australian value? We examine the latest developments concerning two state laws attempting to restrict political expression, and how the people are pushing back.

First, the verdict is in on the protest-restricting laws introduced by the Minns government ahead of the divisive visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog: the changes are unconstitutional. Grata Fund founder Isabelle Reinecke explains what this means for the protesters who were arrested under laws that have now been overturned. 

Next, Queensland’s new hate speech laws criminalising the phrase “from the river to the sea” have been challenged by protesters impersonating… John Farnham. Comedian and Crikey columnist Sami Shah joins the podcast to discuss why banning speech never works. 

Catch up on our previous episode about the NSW protest laws here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TijjR1SJeFs

Read more:

• Chris Minns is a constitutional vandal. He must apologise for NSW protest laws or resign
• A view from the ground: As police argued with MPs, Sydney’s protest against Isaac Herzog descended into chaos
• Try to understand it: John Farnham’s ‘river to the sea’ and Queensland’s war on words by Sami Shah
• Red flags and ‘the six-word phrase’: Queensland protest arrests are part of an Australian history of crushing dissent
• One critical word is missing in Australia’s push to criminalise pro-Palestine phrases
• How Australia became a police state

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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If it walks, talks and quacks like a duck… is it insider trading? Journalist Lachlan Keller joins the podcast to explain the suspicious pattern of behaviour that has lead experts and analysts to believe people within the Trump administration are using insider trading to make huge, lucrative bets on global news events.

We discuss the major oil commodities trades made just hours before Trump announced the US-Iran ceasefire, how prediction market platforms like Polymarket could be influencing the behaviour of White House staffers, and why the $TRUMP meme coin is the perfect case study for how the Trump family profiteers off his presidency.

Read more:

• $1.4bn was bet on oil falling mere hours before Trump’s Iran ceasefire. It follows a pattern of suspected insider trading
• Has $TRUMP pulled off the world’s most brazen crypto scam?
• Australia urgently needs a debate about the damage the US is doing to us

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.

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