Politics With Michelle Grattan

In what promises to be one of the toughest contests at the election, former independent MP Tony Windsor will try to retake the seat of New England from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Windsor tells Michelle Grattan he believes the seat is winnable. “I’m not naive in politics, I know there will be an enormous amount of money thrown at this but my campaign will be based on people – and people power, if it gets positioned correctly, can actually do a tremendous amount,” he says. Windsor pitches his campaign as a policy battle to be fought on local issues that have national prominence: climate change, the NBN, and the Shenhua mine – to name a few. Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritari

Following recommendations from the joint standing committee on electoral matters, the government has amended its Senate reform bill to include provision for optional preferential voting “below the line” as well as “above the line”. Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann explains the details of the changes and says the bill “empowers the Australian people to determine what happens to their votes and their preferences”. “What it does is it will help ensure that the result at the next Senate election and any subsequent Senate election reflects the will of the people.” Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how

Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has accused Malcolm Turnbull of failing to live up to his promise to liaise closely with the Senate crossbenchers. As the "micro" players react furiously to the government's proposed Senate voting changes, Leyonhjelm tells Michelle Grattan he has not heard from Turnbull since his call in his first week as prime minister. Despite the "reservoir of goodwill" he enjoyed on taking over, Turnbull did not follow through. The Coalition government has been appallingly bad at negotiating with the crossbenchers, Leyonhjelm says. Unlike the Gillard government, which negotiated successfully with lower house crossbenchers, the Abbott and Turnbull governments never learnt how to do it. Leyonhjelm and the other "micro" Senate players have been invited to dinner at The Lodge this week. They are ready to vent their sense of grievance to Turnbull face-to-face.Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an Autoc

Soaring community outrage over the issue of child sexual abuse was this week fanned by a Tim Minchin song calling for Cardinal George Pell to return home to Australia to give evidence to the Royal Commission. Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth, Justice and Healing Council tells Michelle Grattan that his organisation supports the crowd-funded push to fly victims to Rome and describes Cardinal Pell as a lightning rod for discontent. “It’s a buildup of the angst, the anger, the hurt surrounding the whole issue of child sex abuse and the history of the Catholic Church, which has been a history of cover-up and a history of distrust,” he says. “In such a short time it’s raised so much money and it shows you the intense concentration in the community not only about this specific issue, but about the broader issue of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.” Sullivan also criticises the Turnbull government for appearing to wash its hands of a national redress scheme for victims, instead placing it in the hands of t

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill’s willingness to countenance an increase to the GST angered federal Labor colleagues. But Weatherill tells Michelle Grattan he has no regrets about his “circuit-breaker” intervention – although he also concedes an increase to the GST is not really a solution to the states' revenue problems. “It raises too much money in the early years and too little in the later years because GST is not growing at the rate of the growth of our health care expenditure,” he says. “Even if we were to get a 15% GST it would just kick the can down the road for another 10 or 15 years to be back talking about this problem,” he says. Weatherill explains why he has called for the states to receive a share of income tax revenue, the problems associated with raising land-based taxes and his disappointment in Malcolm Turnbull. “This sort of approach that we’re now getting from Malcolm Turnbull is the sort of thing that reminds us of Tony Abbott. The glib one-liners, what I have described as an infa

As the government considers a tax reform agenda without changing the GST, Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer discusses tax and superannuation with Michelle Grattan - and strongly defends the Business Council of Australia’s Jennifer Westacott against an attack by Victorian Liberal President Michael Kroger. Kelly also suggests the Liberal party tap talented women on the shoulder to get more female representation in Parliament. Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

At the start of a frenetic year for independent Nick Xenophon, the South Australian senator tells Michelle Grattan his new national political party, the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), will fill a vacuum. “People want a genuine choice from the political centre. I think they’re sick of the left and right skirmishes we see in politics - the red team, blue team approach where even if one side acknowledges that the other side has a good idea, it needs to tear it down,” he says. Xenophon talks about the preselection process for his candidates, the difficulty of operating on a “dental floss budget”, and his views on how to create a fairer senate voting system. Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritari

As the government turns up the heat over its Australian Building and Construction Commission legislation, Employment Michaelia Cash reveals to Michelle Grattan she is willing to agree to senator David Leyonhjelm’s call for a sunset clause. “David has raised that with me and … yes, I would accept an eight-year sunset clause,” she says. She says in that time the ABCC would demonstrably prove its worth in curbing lawlessness in the construction industry and improving productivity. In the aftermath of the trade union royal commission, Cash talks about a restored ABCC’s powers, proposed revamped registered organisations legislation and double dissolution triggers. Cash, also Minister for Women, outlines plans for promoting gender equality in the public service and calls on the Liberal Party across Australia to undertake “audits” on female participation.

In the first Politics Podcast for 2016, Michelle Grattan and shadow finance minister Tony Burke discuss the challenging gap between government revenue and spending, and what Labor would do to address the problem. Burke pitches Labor’s recent education announcements as being central to its economic vision, describing them as a “strategic economic investment” in what Australia will need post the mining boom. He also responds to the divisions in Labor over GST changes, and the need to ensure Australia maintains its triple A credit rating. Asked about Treasury Secretary John Fraser’s high profile speech last week, Burke is complimentary. Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From c

Michelle Grattan discusses the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook with shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh, gaging his thoughts on the savings measures announced by the government and how Labor would address the issue of budget repair.

Former Howard government minister Peter Reith, who has just released his recollections of the period in his book 'The Reith Papers', talks about the current challenges facing the Turnbull government including his view that Tony Abbott needs to keep his head down for a while, the pros and cons of increasing the GST and the predicament facing Mal Brough.  Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

Newly appointed chair of Innovation Australia, Bill Ferris, talks about his early experiences investing in start-ups in the 1970s, the need for Australia to bring its ideas and inventions to market, and the way to tackle a business culture that fears failure. Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

Michelle Grattan speaks with Education Minister Simon Birmingham about his negotiations for a new higher education package, efforts to crack down on rorting in the vocational educational sector and the government's overhaul of the childcare system. 

Michelle Grattan speaks with Minister for Social Services Christian Porter about the government's moves on domestic violence, his thinking on welfare reform and his support for making adoption easier. 

Australian Strategic Policy Institute executive director Peter Jennings has strongly criticised the decision to lease the Port of Darwin to a Chinese company, saying it is a deep strategic mistake after a flawed policy process. Speaking to Michelle Grattan, Jennings also canvasses the difficulties of co-ordinating Russian and American military action in the Syrian conflict, and warns Australia could ''in time'' get a request for more special forces assistance.

Former ACT chief minister Katy Gallagher, now a federal Labor Senator with new responsibilities in the shadow ministry, admits she has found the jump into the bigger political pool challenging - she has also had to do a pivot in her views on increasing the GST. Here she also talks about the issues of mental health, federal-state relations and Labor’s face-off against Malcolm Turnbull.Mentioned in this episode:The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025

Michelle Grattan discusses the new release book The Protest Years: The Official History of ASIO 1963-1975, with its author Dr John Blaxland. Among many controversies, they review the evidence supporting conspiracy theories surrounding the dismissal of the Whitlam government and the fractious relationship between the agency and Lionel Murphy, the Labor Attorney-General.

In this interview, Senator Hanson-Young calls upon the government to appoint an independent advocate to protect the interests of the Somali woman known as Abyan, who at the time of recording was being held in Nauru. Michelle also probes the Senator on the Greens electoral prospects following the ascension of Malcolm Turnbull to the prime ministership.  Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

In The Conversation's first live podcast, which took place in Canberra's Muse wine bar and bookstore, Labor's Sam Dastyari gives a candid insight into Labor's strategy to win back government, the threat of the Greens and much more. Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.

Minister for Cities and the Built Environment Jamie Briggs joins Michelle to talk about his new portfolio, the policy pivot away from just roads toward other infrastructure projects like public transport, the changes under new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the mistakes the government made about submarines in South Australia and much more. Mentioned in this episode:Your support mattersSupport non-profit journalism you can trust. Donations 2025The Making of an AutocratSearch: "The Conversation Weekly" for our new series. Is America watching its democracy unravel in real time? In The Making of an Autocrat from The Conversation, six of the world’s pre-eminant scholars reveal the recipe for authoritarian rule. From capturing a party, to controlling the military, Donald Trump is borrowing from the playbook of strongmen thoughout history. This is the story of how democracies falter — and what might happen next.