(00:00:00) The Great Environmental Backflip and the Joy Division

(00:01:09) Green Light, Red Flags: Labor’s Environmental Backdown

(00:16:40) Nuclear Déjà Vu: The Coalition’s Broken Record

(00:29:26) Between Beijing and Washington: Albanese at ASEAN

(00:41:10) Culture Wars on Vinyl: The Joy Division Distraction

We examine one of the biggest environmental retreats in years as the Albanese government prepares to hand decision-making powers on coal, gas and water projects back to the states, gutting environmental protection and empowering the fossil-fuel lobby. It’s supposedly about “cutting red tape,” but critics say it’s a green light for mining giants and a betrayal of Labor’s climate promises. We also assess the new “national interest” override, the anger from NT Aboriginal land councils, and the government’s growing resemblance to the Morrison era. Meanwhile, the Coalition revives its nuclear energy obsession as Senator Jane Hume pushes to lift Australia’s nuclear ban, reigniting divisions between Barnaby Joyce and the moderates. Plus, Anthony Albanese’s balancing act at the ASEAN summit – caught between China and the US – and Sussan Ley’s bizarre attack on the Prime Minister for wearing a Joy Division T-shirt. Sharp analysis, politics without spin, and all the week’s contradictions in Australian politics.

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Song listing: 

1. ‘Bonnie And Clyde’, Serge Gainsbourg (French Accent remix).
2. ‘Satellite Anthem Icarus, Boards of Canada.
3. ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, Joy Division.
4. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

(00:00:00) Alliance Games and the Price of Truth

(00:01:09) The Albanese–Trump Deal and the $8.5 Billion handshake (17 mins)

(00:18:46) Sparks Over The South China Sea (11 mins)

(00:29:56) Barnaby Joyce and One Nation: Who Really Cares (8 mins)

(00:38:45) A Ceasefire That Still Kills in Gaza (5 mins)

(00:43:35) The ABC Hatchet Job on Hedges (15 mins)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s long-awaited meeting with Donald Trump delivers smiles, handshakes and a critical minerals deal that deepens Australia’s dependence on Washington. Beneath the diplomacy lies a bigger story – how this deal sidelines China, fuels the mining magnates and leaves Australia as the world’s quarry. Meanwhile, rising tensions in the South China Sea, Barnaby Joyce’s flirtation with Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, and the collapse of the Gaza “ceasefire” expose a world of political theatre and moral failure. From AUKUS to media censorship and Chris Hedges’ fight for truth, this episode dissects power, propaganda and the high price of speaking out.

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Song listing: 

1. ‘Spitfire’, Public Service Broadcasting.
2. ‘Confessions Of A Window Cleaner’, Ed Kuepper.
3. ‘Dātura’, Tori Amos.
4. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

In this week’s podcast, Labor’s superannuation retreat exposes a government afraid to lead – Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ watered-down super tax gives wealthy Australians another break while real reform on housing, climate and tax fairness slips further away. We examine the bizarre corruption scandal of the Australian Parliamentary Sports Club – with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presiding over a registered lobby group – and the vindictive legal crusade of former senator Linda Reynolds against Brittany Higgins, highlighting Australia’s broken defamation laws. Plus, Donald Trump’s so-called Gaza “ceasefire” reveals more illusion than peace, as Israel’s narrative control collapses and global calls for justice and accountability grow louder.

Support New Politics, just $5 per month: 

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics
• Substack: https://newpolitics.substack.com

Song listing: 

1. ‘Off The Grid’, Beastie Boys.
2. ‘Confessions Of A Window Cleaner’, Ed Kuepper.
3. ‘Talking To A Stranger’, Birds of Tokyo (cover).
4. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

We expose the hypocrisy behind the National Press Club’s cancellation of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Chris Hedges, silenced for planning to speak about the collapse of journalism and the genocide in Gaza. We reveal how corporate sponsors like Raytheon, BAE Systems and Thales – all supplying weapons to Israel – help shape media censorship in Australia’s so-called home of free speech. We also examine the Optus Triple-0 outage, which blocked hundreds of emergency calls and caused three preventable deaths, highlighting the failure of neoliberalism and the dangers of outsourcing essential public services. And as the Liberal Party descends further into chaos, with Andrew Hastie’s aborted leadership challenge, Jacinta Price’s infighting and Peter Dutton’s factional damage, we ask whether Australia’s conservative movement is now ideologically bankrupt and politically finished. #AUSPOL
Support New Politics, just $5 per month: 

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics
• Substack: https://newpolitics.substack.com

Song listing:

1. ‘All I Need’, AIR (feat. Beth Hirsch).
2. ‘Ameno’, +eRa+.
3. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

Anthony Albanese is back from his international tour, pitching stability and steady progress – but is “slow and steady” enough, or just political stagnation? We unpack the prime minister’s speeches at the UK Labour conference, his meeting with King Charles, and what his cautious style means for Australia’s future. Labor may have the advantage of a fractured Liberal Party, but with Andrew Hastie pushing a hard-right agenda and Sussan Ley struggling to hold her party together, the opposition’s leadership battles could shift quickly. We also examine Labor’s $790 million Nauru contract with a US private prison company, concerns over the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and the so-called Gaza peace plan backed by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu – a deal that looks more like forced surrender than genuine peace. #AUSPOL
Support New Politics, just $5 per month:

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics
• Substack: 

Song listing: 

1. ‘Atomic Moog 2000’, Cold Cut.
2. ‘Crooked River’, Richard Pleasance. 
3. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

America’s democratic decline under Donald Trump’s second term is reshaping global politics – institutions are undermined, conspiracy theories drive policy, and US credibility is collapsing on the world stage. As China, Russia, India, and Brazil strengthen BRICS alliances, Australia faces tough choices on AUKUS, tariffs, and its role in a fractured order. While the media obsesses over Anthony Albanese’s “date” with Trump, the bigger story is Australia’s recognition of Palestine at the UN, a symbolic but historic shift signalling cracks in decades of Western obstruction and reshaping global debates on justice, sovereignty, and accountability. 

Support New Politics, just $5 per month: 

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics
• Substack: https://newpolitics.substack.com

Song listing:

1. ‘Living In America’, James Brown (Mixerm8’s dub version).
2. ‘Satellite Anthem Icarus, Boards of Canada.
3. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

Australia’s first national climate risk assessment warns of rising seas, deadly heat, and collapsing ecosystems, raising doubts about whether Anthony Albanese’s 2035 emissions target is bold enough. Meanwhile, the Royal Children’s Hospital caves to Zionist lobby pressure, cancelling a Gaza-related health panel as the UN declares Israel guilty of genocide. Abroad, Albanese falters in Papua New Guinea, Richard Marles unveils $1.7 billion Ghost Shark drones, and the Coalition sinks further into political chaos. #AUSPOL #ClimateEmergency
Support New Politics, just $5 per month:

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics
• Substack: https://newpolitics.substack.com  

Song listing: 

1. ‘Confessions Of A Window Cleaner’, Ed Kuepper.
2. ‘Wherever We Go’, Vera Blue. 
3. ‘Hungry Face’, Mogwai. 
4. ‘The Hard Road’, Hilltop Hoods. 
5. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

In this bonus episode of the New Politics podcast, host David Lewis unpacks Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) – once dismissed as fringe but now at the centre of global economic debate. We explore its intellectual roots, from Georg Friedrich Knapp and Abba Lerner to modern voices like Warren Mosler, Bill Mitchell, L. Randall Wray and Stephanie Kelton, and examine how MMT shapes today’s policy battles over climate change, unemployment and inequality. From Japan’s record debt levels to US COVID stimulus, Canada’s healthcare experiments and China’s infrastructure spending, real-world tests are mounting, sparking fierce clashes between advocates who see MMT as a tool for resilience and critics who warn of runaway inflation. Is it the future of economic management or a dangerous illusion?

#ModernMonetaryTheory #MMTExplained #EconomicsPodcast #FiscalPolicy2025 #GreenNewDeal #GlobalEconomy

Reading list:

1. Kelton, S. (2020). The deficit myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the birth of the people’s economy. PublicAffairs.
2. Knapp, G. F. (1905). The state theory of money. Macmillan.
3. Lerner, A. P. (1943). Functional finance and the federal debt. Social Research, 10(1), 38–51.
4. Levy Economics Institute. (2025). The rise of the modern monetary system (Working Paper No. 1234). Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. https://www.levyinstitute.org/publications/the-rise-of-the-modern-monetary-system
5. Mitchell, W. (2025, August 8). The failure of austerity and the construction slowdown in the UK [Blog post]. Bill Mitchell – Modern Monetary Theory. https://billmitchell.org/blog/?p=62704
6. Mitchell, W., Wray, L. R., & Watts, M. (2019). Macroeconomics. Red Globe Press.
7. Murphy, R. P. (2025). MMT: Dead wrong [Audio podcast episode]. Mises Institute Podcast. Mises Institute. https://mises.org/library/mmt-dead-wrong
8. Palley, T. I. (2019). Modern Monetary Theory (MMT): A policy polemic for depressed times. Real-World Economics Review, 89, 147–160. http://www.paecon.net/PAEReview/issue89/Palley89.pdf
9. Phys.org. (2025, May 15). Economist: Modern Monetary Theory could benefit Canada. Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-modern-monetary-theory-economist-canada.html
10. Tcherneva, P. R. (2020). The case for a job guarantee. Polity Press.
11. Wray, L. R. (2015). Modern Monetary Theory: A primer on macroeconomics for sovereign monetary systems (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.

This week, we expose Australia’s latest media hysteria: Xi Jinping’s speech to commemorate defeating fascism in 1945 mistranslated into a China scare campaign, recycled “Dictator Dan” attacks on Daniel Andrews, Jacinta Price’s divisive immigration comments sparking outrage and more Liberal Party chaos, the Zionist intimidation at Bondi Beach, Lachlan Murdoch’s takeover of News Corporation, and Victoria’s historic Indigenous Treaty.  
#AusPol #ChinaRelations #JacintaPrice #LiberalParty #FreePalestine #MurdochMedia #VictoriaTreaty #NewPoliticsPodcast  

Support New Politics, just $5 per week.  

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics
• Substack: https://newpolitics.substack.com  

Song listing:

1. ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’, A 440 VS U2 instrumental remix.
2. ‘Arion [Nothing Changes Under The Sun]’, Blue States.
3. ‘A Stranger In Moscow’, Tame Impala.
4. ‘Kya Kyana’, Flewnt.
5. ‘Sign O’ The Times’, Prince, remix by Michael Saxom.

The “March for Australia” rallies claimed to be about housing and migration, but quickly exposed themselves as platforms for white nationalism, racism, and neo-Nazi activity. We break down how politicians, right-wing media, and even the Prime Minister’s weak response helped legitimise extremism, while also exposing the pro-Israel propaganda behind the Gold Coast Mayors Summit and Labor’s growing secrecy on FOI, asylum seekers, and whistleblower protections. What kind of democracy does Australia really want?

Support New Politics, just $5 per month:

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/newpolitics
• Substack: https://newpolitics.substack.com  

#auspol #MarchForAustralia

Song listing:   

1. ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’, A 440 VS U2 instrumental remix.
2. ‘Global Reach’, Alec Williams & Chieli Minucci.
3. ‘All Along The Watchtower’, Afterhere (Bob Dylan cover).
4. ‘Get Back’, The Beatles (remix).