On this episode of The Grapevine, Kulja and Dylan get on the line with journalist and author, George Megalogenis to shed some light on the federal budget in the context of the current state of the economy and Australia's reliance on WA's mineral trade with China. And then author and journalist Margaret Simons calls in to discuss the role that Independent candidates may play in the imminent federal election. Simmons explores the influence of the cross-bench in detail in her piece in The Monthly, 'Independants and the balance of power'.