Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny
304 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsMark Kenny takes a weekly look at politics and public affairs with expert analysis and discussion from researchers at The Australian National University and beyond.
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Episodes
Reset with Ross Garnaut
April 20, 2021 05:16 - 53 minutes - 43.1 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, eminent economist Ross Garnaut joins Mark Kenny to discuss the choices facing Australian policymakers in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major shock to the Australian economy and, with the crisis dragging on, policymakers face key questions as they try to ensure continued prosperity. Would Australians benefit from the integration of the tax and social security systems? Should Australia rethink its skilled migration poli...
Malcolm Turnbull: Australia post-coal
April 14, 2021 06:58 - 56 minutes - 45.1 MBOn this special episode of Democracy Sausage, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull discusses the treatment of former Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate, the abandonment of the National Energy Guarantee, and special interests in Australian politics. Is Australia at risk of being seen as a ‘Trumpian government in exile’ because of its unwillingness to do more to reduce emissions? Are moderates in the Coalition being ‘held hostage’ on climate policy by the Murdoch media and thos...
Biden’s America with Matthew Knott
April 08, 2021 03:34 - 44 minutes - 40.4 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, North America correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Matthew Knott joins Mark Kenny to discuss President Joe Biden’s initiatives on climate, COVID-19, and infrastructure, and what this means for the political landscape in the United States. After a traumatic period in American politics, a tone of relative calm has returned to the United States. Now providing millions of vaccines a day, how is the country’s COVID-19 response tracking? Is...
Does Australia’s vaccine rollout need a shot in the arm?
April 06, 2021 07:04 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny is joined by epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws and head of ANU Australian Studies Institute Paul Pickering to discuss the pace of Australia’s vaccine rollout and how it can be improved. An international leader in infection control during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia now seems to be falling behind other nations in its vaccine rollout. Why isn’t Australia hitting its vaccination targets? Is a return to politics-as-usual ho...
Australia’s Cabinet reshuffle and women in politics
April 01, 2021 06:02 - 50 minutes - 40.8 MBOn this landmark episode of Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny is joined by Marija Taflaga, Chris Wallace, and Sarah Ison to discuss the reshuffle of the Australian Cabinet and women in parliament. Will the Cabinet reshuffle lead to better outcomes for women in Australia? Why hasn’t the government re-introduced gender budgeting? And will the Coalition look to introduce gender quotas? On the 150th episode of Democracy Sausage, Professor Mark Kenny chats with Associate Professor Chris Wallace from...
The tempest
March 30, 2021 05:53 - 46 minutes - 42.4 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, researchers Rebecca Colvin and Jamie Pittock join Mark Kenny to discuss Australian attitudes to climate change, how they influence people’s voting patterns, and Australia’s increasingly severe weather events. Was the so-called climate election of 2019 lost, or simply never fought? Will a shock event like the recent floods in New South Wales, or Australia’s Black Summer a little over a year ago, change the way people vote? And what will more frequent and...
Energy and integrity with Helen Haines
March 23, 2021 05:44 - 39 minutes - 36 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, Independent Member of Parliament Helen Haines joins Mark Kenny to discuss her plan for renewable energy in regional communities and integrity in Australia’s parliament. How can the Australian Government both harness and support the development of renewable energy for the benefit of regional communities? How can local communities be given a level of ownership over their energy supply? And what changes need to be made to ensure that Parliament House is a ...
Truth and treaty with Lidia Thorpe
March 18, 2021 05:24 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBOn this Democracy Sausage, Gunnai Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman and Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe joins Mark Kenny to discuss truth-telling, the right to self-determination, and the idea of a black caucus. What changes need to occur for Australia’s First People to achieve self-determination? Will the Yoo-rrook Justice Commission in Victoria put pressure on the Federal Government to begin a truth-telling process? And is Australia’s Parliament ready for a treaty? On this episode of Democra...
The Quad, geoeconomics, and Australia's place in the region
March 16, 2021 06:22 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBOn the new Democracy Sausage, the ‘airport economist’ Tim Harcourt and China scholar Jane Golley join Mark Kenny to discuss the Quad leaders meeting, geoeconomics, and what it all means for Australia. What does the first ever Quad leaders meeting indicate about President Biden’s approach to China? Are calls for exporters to diversify away from China realistic for smaller Australian producers who’ve spent decades building relationships in the country? And how should Australian leaders be res...
Vaccine victories and royal pains in Britain
March 11, 2021 05:39 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, Europe correspondent Bevan Shields and COO of Atalanta Elizabeth Ames join Mark Kenny to discuss the status of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, the unfolding royal family train wreck, and Mathias Cormann’s bid to become OECD head. With small freedoms set to return and the COVID-19 vaccine rollout well under way, the British Government has set 21 June as the earliest date the country will see all restrictions on social contact lifted. But is that timeline real...
Will Australia-China relations continue to spiral?
March 09, 2021 05:56 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny is joined by China experts Yun Jiang and Graeme Smith to discuss Chinese politics, and the country’s relationships with the United States and Australia. How will relations between China and the United States progress under the new Biden administration? Is the proposal by a Chinese company to build a new fishing hub in Papua New Guinea a security threat to Australia or a case of confirmation bias on the part of Australian commentators? What im...
Reducing unemployment for good with Peter Martin
March 04, 2021 06:57 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, Peter Martin joins Mark Kenny to discuss why the COVID-19 recession has presented Treasurer Josh Frydenberg with the chance to permanently reduce unemployment. Is it possible for Australia to permanently lower its unemployment rate to around 3.5 per cent? What can policymakers learn from the last recession, after which the country was able to dramatically reduce inflation? And how bold is Treasurer Josh Frydenberg willing to be in pursuit of what could be a ...
Efficacy, equity, and Australia’s vaccine rollout
March 02, 2021 07:42 - 51 minutes - 41 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, Quentin Grafton and Sharon Friel join Mark Kenny to discuss Australia’s vaccine rollout and dealing with the country’s ongoing healthcare challenges. While the COVID-19 vaccines approved in Australia are safe, will the government’s current plan provide the necessary herd immunity to allow borders to open? What public health policies will likely have to remain even after the vaccination rollout? And how can governments ensure there is greater equity in A...
Scarcity with Liz Allen
February 25, 2021 09:35 - 48 minutes - 44.6 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, Liz Allen joins us to discuss social security, living with scarcity, and whether Australia needs a reset in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. What impact does the ‘othering’ of people experiencing disadvantage have on Australia’s most vulnerable citizens? Why does Australians’ postcode have such an impact on their health outcomes? And what demographic changes is the COVID-19 pandemic bringing about around the world? On this week’s Democracy Sausage Extra...
Unfriending Australia
February 23, 2021 02:43 - 42 minutes - 38.6 MBLast week Australians woke up to a bizarre state of affairs - Facebook without any news. On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Shirley Leitch and Paul Pickering from ANU Australian Studies Institute join Mark Kenny to discuss the stoush between Facebook and the Australian Government. What does Facebook’s decision to restrict the ability of its users to post and read news in Australia mean for ordinary people and their participation in public debate? Is this a case of Australians being stuck...
Trumpism in Australia with Frank Bongiorno
February 18, 2021 05:04 - 46 minutes - 42.3 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, political historian Frank Bongiorno joins Mark Kenny to discuss whether it is Trumpism that has undermined Australian politics or whether Australia’s problems are primarily of its own making. Has Trumpism been the cause of a decline in Australian ministerial responsibility or has this degradation been a result of a longer-term trend? Are Australian political leaders a product of the Trump era, or do some just strategically employ Trump-like tactics? And...
Knowledge is power? Universities in the COVID-19 crisis
February 16, 2021 02:54 - 41 minutes - 33.6 MBOn this Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny discusses the state of Australia’s university sector with education policy expert Andrew Norton, head of Australia’s science and technology peak body Misha Schubert, and the father of Australia’s HECS system Bruce Chapman. While universities had a very tough 2020, what does the continued closure of international borders mean for the future of the sector? Will the government’s plan to produce more ‘job-ready’ graduates achieve the intended result? And wi...
Presidential trials and tribulations with Jennifer Hunt
February 11, 2021 05:34 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, Jennifer Hunt joins Mark Kenny to discuss the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump, the future of the Republican Party, and whether President Biden’s new cabinet is a case of ‘back to the future’. He is the only president to be impeached twice, but will Donald Trump be held to account in the wake of the riots at the Capitol building on 6 January? Will the Republican Party change course now Trump has been voted out of office? And will the new Biden a...
Climate, the coronavirus, and the costs of uncertainty
February 09, 2021 01:39 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MBAustralian policymakers may have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic effectively so far, but can they heed the lessons of this crisis in order to be ready for those still to come? Joining Mark Kenny on this episode of Democracy Sausage to discuss public policy in the wake of the pandemic are Helen Sullivan and Warwick McKibbin. Australia has managed the joint health and economic crises brought on by COVID-19 better than most countries. But with the pandemic far from over and the damages of cli...
The new pandemic playbook with Sanjaya Senanayake
February 03, 2021 22:41 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny is joined by infectious diseases expert Sanjaya Senanayake to discuss what we’ve learned about the disease. The COVID-19 pandemic caused over two million deaths worldwide and turned life on its head for billions more. While pandemics aren’t a new phenomenon, many governments were unprepared for the severity and scale of this new virus. So what have health experts and policymakers learned over the last year? What remains uncertain? And what im...
Climate change and Australia’s leadership vacuum
February 02, 2021 01:04 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBOn this Democracy Sausage, former Liberal Party leader John Hewson, health and policy expert Arnagretta Hunter, and physicist Kenneth Baldwin join us to discuss the need for political leadership and better policy to strengthen Australia’s efforts to tackle climate change. Despite the impacts of climate change becoming increasingly real for many Australians in the wake of the Black Summer, the country still lags behind many others on international commitments to reduce carbon emissions. Whil...
These days with Stan Grant
January 28, 2021 05:31 - 51 minutes - 46.9 MBOn the first episode of Democracy Sausage for 2021, journalist and author Stan Grant joins Mark Kenny to discuss whether President Joe Biden can address the serious challenges facing the United States, plus the trajectory of the Australia Day debate. It was meant to be a reset, but will 2021 actually be a year of reckoning in the United States, with the country struggling to address its deep divisions? Can Biden do what his predecessors couldn’t (or wouldn’t) and tackle entrenched inequalit...
The first (and possibly last) Annual Democracy Sausage Awards
December 17, 2020 02:17 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBDust off the tuxedo, bring out the ballgowns, and prepare your lengthy speeches. In the final Democracy Sausage for 2020, we reveal the winners of our first Annual Awards. Who were the big winners, and the biggest losers, of 2020? Our panel rip open envelopes and reveal all. Who performed the biggest political backflip of the year? What was the most risible explanation for a government failure? And what has been 2020’s maddest moment (outside of the Trump presidency)? They are all hotly-con...
Can democracy be mended?
December 14, 2020 06:09 - 58 minutes - 53.8 MBPolitics and policymaking can feel very distant from people’s everyday lives, and that disconnection can make individuals and communities feel powerless. So how are people helping to bridge this chasm and put the personal back into policy? From the community push to get an independent elected in the Victorian seat of Indi, to the knitting nannas of northern New South Wales challenging coal seam gas, citizens are finding new ways of connecting community to policy challenges. Are there lesson...
How to be a liberal with Ian Dunt
December 10, 2020 01:43 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, Ian Dunt - host of the Oh God, What Now? podcast and author of How to be a liberal - joins Mark Kenny to discuss the history of liberal thought, how it has shaped present day politics, and the origins of the ‘culture wars’. Have the culture wars emerged out of the failures of liberalism? Why haven’t contemporary political actors done more to protect people from prejudice and the tyranny of the majority? And is liberalism a natural corollary to democracy? On ...
Trade-offs and troubles in the Australia-China relationship
December 07, 2020 05:33 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBAustralia’s relationship with China continues to deteriorate, whether that’s through inflammatory tweets or trade troubles. And while there may be bipartisan support for Morrison’s response to the latest Twitter provocation, what is the government’s end game in its relationship with China? Australia’s relationship with China has been spiralling downwards, seemingly hitting new lows each week. So what are the strategies at play, and can the tensions be dialled back? Joining Professor Mark Ke...
Navigating Australia’s annus horribilis with David Speers
December 03, 2020 04:46 - 44 minutes - 36 MBWhat has 2020 taught us about Australia’s political leadership? From the devastating bushfires that affected so many in the early part of the year, to the states leading the charge on border closures to tackle the coronavirus, this year has seen dramatic challenges and some difficult choices from the country’s leaders. Insiders host David Speers joins Mark Kenny to take a look back at the year in politics. What started as a bad year for Prime Minister Scott Morrison – marked down by a poor ...
John Kerry and the changing global climate
November 30, 2020 05:03 - 1 hour - 48.6 MBJohn Kerry being appointed as President-elect Joe Biden’s special climate envoy has the potential to encourage much stronger action by the world’s nations to tackle climate change. But it comes at a time when the great powers of the US, China, and Russia are at loggerheads on a wide variety of issues. So how will the global climate change, and what does this mean for Australia? President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the US election, and his appointment of John Kerry as his special climate envoy...
Truth is trouble with Malcolm Knox
November 26, 2020 05:28 - 48 minutes - 38.8 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, award-winning journalist and author Malcolm Knox joins Mark Kenny to discuss the saga of Israel Folau - former star rugby union player sacked for sharing anti-LGBTQ views on social media - and how free speech got so complicated. The sacking of former star player Israel Folau by Rugby Australia for his comments on social media once again revealed faultlines which had recently been laid bare during Australia’s marriage equality plebiscite. So what did the saga...
Coronavirus backcasting and Britain’s omnishambles
November 23, 2020 05:27 - 1 hour - 50.6 MBA study released last week looked at the true numbers of COVID-19 infections based on mortality rates. In doing so, it painted a grim picture for a number of countries including the United Kingdom. On this Democracy Sausage, we hear from one of the authors of that report, Professor Quentin Grafton. Australia may have the coronavirus largely under control for now, but elsewhere in the world countries are still suffering staggeringly high numbers of infections and deaths. But a study publishe...
The best bits
November 18, 2020 23:31 - 1 hour - 48.3 MBFrom Brexit Britain to Trump’s obsession with the stock market, and from era-defining infections to ideology vs interests, this week on Democracy Sausage Extra we look back over some of our favourite bits of the podcast from the last 18 months. Why do some Brits have a ‘yearning for chaos’? Is it really ideology that drives government spending decisions? What do Donald Trump and stock market ‘day traders’ have in common? And how has disease defined human progress? These questions and many m...
Talk is cheap
November 16, 2020 05:46 - 55 minutes - 50.8 MBOn this Democracy Sausage, we discuss how policymakers get their messages right (and so badly wrong) with government media and communications experts Fiona Benson and Jannette Cotterell, plus pod regular Marija Taflaga. How can governments build public trust at a time when following public health directions is literally a matter of life and death? With COVID-19 vaccinations showing promising signs, how can governments convince citizens that it’s safe and beneficial in the midst of a vocal a...
'Don, it’s time to go' with Zoe Robinson
November 12, 2020 05:51 - 47 minutes - 37.9 MBDespite a clear result in the US election, Donald Trump is refusing to accept that his presidency will come to an end on 20 January. So will the Trump campaign's legal challenges achieve anything? On this Democracy Sausage Extra, Mark Kenny speaks with expert in judicial politics, Zoe Robinson. The United States presidential election has been called, but President Trump is refusing to accept the outcome. So will the president’s legal strategy work? Is the partisan nature of the United State...
And breathe…
November 09, 2020 05:50 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBAfter days of waiting the US finally has a new president. But while Donald Trump may have been comprehensively beaten, Trumpism, and Trump’s supporters, are far from defeated. So what comes next for this toxically-intensified partisan polity? Mark Kenny is joined by US analysts Jen Hunt and Charles Miller, as well as regular podleague Marija Taflaga. Arguably the most contentious election of our time has been concluded – pending legal cases – and Donald Trump has become a one-term president...
Riled Britannia with Bevan Shields and Elizabeth Ames
November 05, 2020 04:47 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBUK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new month-long lockdown as the country grapples with high COVID-19 infection rates and a stretched National Health Service. But will the British people and its politicians – so compliant and supportive of the threat first time around – be as willing to back the new measures? Mark Kenny talks to Democracy Sausage UK regulars Elizabeth Ames and Bevan Shields. In the face of staggeringly high infection rates, a track and trace system that has lon...
COVID-19 and climate change lessons
November 02, 2020 06:04 - 53 minutes - 43.1 MBThe bushfire royal commission report released last week put climate change at the front and centre of its analysis, if not its recommendations. But as Australia has achieved such success in using scientific advice to respond to COVID-19, can it also start following the advice of scientists on tackling climate change? Mark Kenny is joined by Arnagretta Hunter, Mark Howden, and Marija Taflaga to talk bushfires, state vs federal responses, and the roadmap for addressing climate risk. Last week...
It's the government, stupid
October 29, 2020 05:40 - 45 minutes - 36.5 MBFrom health concerns over obesity to drug dependency, governments have the power to creatively solve widespread societal problems. So why does the blame for these issues so often fall at the feet of individuals? Mark Kenny talks to Keith Dowding about his new book, It’s the Government, Stupid. While individuals can and do make bad decisions, governments have the power to influence behaviour and tackle widespread societal issues – from the health issues associated with obesity to problem gam...
Gone by Christmas?
October 26, 2020 06:30 - 51 minutes - 40.9 MBAustralia’s two most populous states – New South Wales and Victoria – are facing intense political leadership questions for very different reasons. So what does the future hold for Daniel Andrews and Gladys Berejiklian? Mark Kenny discusses ministerial judgement, controlling narratives, and asking the right questions with Kieran Gilbert, David Caldicott, and Marija Taflaga. In New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian still appears to have strong public support, but just how damaging will ...
Can Australia close the gap?
October 21, 2020 23:50 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, we talk to Indigenous experts Professor Ian Anderson AO and Dr Virginia Marshall about the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap, the importance of shared decision-making, and whether Australia is taking meaningful steps towards genuine reconciliation. Will the commitment of governments to sharing decision-making with Indigenous Australians through the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap be a turning point for Indigenous health and wellbeing? What ...
The opposition in residence
October 19, 2020 05:30 - 55 minutes - 44.2 MBThe elections in New Zealand and the Australian Capital Territory delivered strong results to incumbent governments. But with Jacinda Ardern poised to govern without needing to form a coalition, and with a rising Greens vote in Canberra, what challenges are ahead for the victors? Plus we look at accountability in government and why there is no federal version of ICAC. New Zealand’s election delivered a resounding victory to Jacinda Ardern, while in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) ...
Creating a future without poverty
October 15, 2020 01:29 - 59 minutes - 54.1 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra during Anti-Poverty Week, Mark Kenny discusses creating a future without poverty with three of the world’s leading voices on poverty measurement, research, and eradication – former United Nations Special Rapporteur Philip Alston, Oxford University’s Sabina Alkire, and Crawford School’s Sharon Bessell. How can policymakers better measure and understand poverty? Is ideology the main impediment to poverty alleviation? And are the Sustainable Development Goals in...
How to miss an open goal
October 12, 2020 04:56 - 49 minutes - 39.4 MBThe COVID-19 pandemic has given the government the chance to reshape the economy. But by slipping on the hi-vis of infrastructure spending and ‘real jobs’, has the government missed a golden opportunity? Mark Kenny talks tax, ‘credible’ women, and class-based values and priorities with Helen Sullivan, Robert Breunig, and Marija Taflaga. The Federal Budget shovelled vast sums of money out of the door of government and into the pockets of Australians. But with little in there for women, clima...
Opportunity lost? The cost of Australia’s new federal budget
October 08, 2020 05:10 - 45 minutes - 41.6 MBOn this post-budget episode of Democracy Sausage Extra, we’re joined by an outstanding panel of scholars - Liz Allen, Miranda Stewart, and Marija Taflaga - to examine the new federal budget, whether it does enough to help those struggling during the pandemic, and the demographic changes shaping the country’s future. While this budget may include massive spending, is it investing in making Australia fairer and more equitable? What does the document reveal about the government’s priorities, v...
The long cry of Indigenous peoples to be heard
October 04, 2020 23:56 - 1 hour - 56.5 MBIn this special episode of Democracy Sausage, recorded live at the National Press Club, Indigenous leader and activist Pat Turner AM discusses the struggle of Indigenous peoples in Australia to be heard and why 2020 is a defining moment for the nation. Why is Australia lagging behind other democratic nations in developing the institutions and structures that allow Indigenous peoples to be heard? Is the new National Agreement on Closing the Gap a turning point in terms of shared decision-mak...
When America stopped being great with Nick Bryant and Brian Schmidt
October 01, 2020 07:01 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, Mark Kenny speaks with BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant and Australian National University Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt about the first presidential debate, America's future, and its deep divisions. After a presidential debate that many found disheartening, even disturbing, what’s next for Joe Biden and Donald Trump with the election fast approaching? What role did the media play in Trump’s political rise? And with the country’s divisions going far de...
Policy shapeshifters and the upcoming federal budget
September 28, 2020 06:54 - 57 minutes - 53.1 MBOn this episode of Democracy Sausage, journalist Sarah Ison, political scientist John Warhurst, Marija Taflaga, and Mark Kenny discuss the federal budget and the return of ‘fibre to the premises’. After years of political battles over the National Broadband Network, why has the government now decided to build ‘fibre to the premises’? What lies ahead in next week’s federal budget, possibly one of the most important in Australia’s recent history? And is the federal opposition losing a fight f...
Low emissions technologies and Australia’s energy future with Kenneth Baldwin
September 24, 2020 07:24 - 52 minutes - 48.4 MBOn this Democracy Sausage Extra, Director of ANU Energy Change Institute Kenneth Baldwin joins Mark Kenny to discuss the five priority technologies in the government’s new Technology Investment Roadmap, and whether they will put Australia on the right track to quickly and effectively reduce emissions. This week, as part of its Technology Investment Roadmap, the Australian government revealed the five low-emission technologies it will prioritise for investment: clean hydrogen, energy storag...
Health inequity and energy power plays
September 21, 2020 07:14 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBOn this Democracy Sausage, Sharon Friel, Helen Sullivan, Meegan Fitzharris, and Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny at the hotplate to talk about improving health and wellbeing beyond the coronavirus crisis, and whether Scott Morrison’s gas plan is more than just hot air. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, more Australians are focused on health policy now than possibly at any point in the country’s contemporary history. But will this increased awareness during the crisis translate into long-ter...
Scott Morrison and pandemic politics with Katharine Murphy
September 17, 2020 04:14 - 1 hour - 48.8 MBOnce an outsider to win the last Australian federal election, Scott Morrison’s ‘miracle’ 2019 electoral victory put him at the helm during one of the most difficult years in the country’s contemporary history. So what has the COVID-19 crisis revealed about the prime minister, and Australian politics and society? Recorded live as part of the ANU/Canberra Times Meet the Author series, Guardian Australia’s political editor Katharine Murphy joins Mark Kenny on this Democracy Sausage Extra to dis...
The identity crisis of conservatism
September 14, 2020 05:34 - 55 minutes - 44.8 MBMark Kenny is joined by Arnagretta Hunter, Marija Taflaga and Frank Bongiorno to take a look at how conservatives have responded to the coronavirus crisis and how that compares to responses to the climate crisis. Conservative governments have had a mixed record on dealing with COVID-19, from Australia’s relatively effective response to public health disasters like in the UK, but underpinning strategies in both countries is the protection of the economy. But if conservatism is about preservi...