Can “good people” make change in Australia’s political system, or will power always corrupt? That’s the question that Jo Tarnawsky — former diplomat and chief of staff to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles — is answering with her series exploring how power protects itself.

Tarnawsky joins the podcast to discuss what it’s like to be “in the room” when big decisions are made, how power is maintained by either weaponising or rewarding silence with gag orders, NDAs and party rules, and the biggest obstacles faced by independent voices attempting to challenge the major parties. 

Plus, in light of the robodebt corruption report, how do institutions like the National Anti-Corruption Commission hold us back from good governance? 

Read more:

• Swimming with narcissists: What power looks like up close
• Why good people leave politics — and what it costs us
• Setting the standard? Parliament still doesn’t take workplace harm seriously
• Power and silence: The strategy of saying nothing
• Labor MPs quietly alarmed by Albanese government’s response to US-Israel strikes on Iran
• NACC’s robodebt investigation conjures offensive and stupid excuses for letting Scott Morrison off

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