"The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben Davison artwork

"The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben Davison

290 episodes - English - Latest episode: 4 months ago - ★★★★★ - 1 rating

Join notorious Guardian columnist Van Badham and her labour activist co-host (and partner!) Ben Davison. As they deep-dive into the big news themes of the week and provide fresh, irreverent analysis about what's really going on in Australia and around the world.

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Episodes

Weekend Wrap 3 December 2023: Employment services reforms, the grind of government and the media circus

December 03, 2023 01:18 - 33 minutes - 46.2 MB

Ben Davison returns to take a look at a week in parliament that saw the Closing Loopholes bill pass the lower house, the greens and coalition team up to block the new shared home equity scheme, the mess that Labor is trying to clean up from Dutton's unlawful immigration detention scheme and Julian Hill's inquiry into Employment services. The Employment services inquiry has found a huge amount of waste, an ideological system that punishes people and fails to actually help people get work. B...

Episode 157: Generational economic divide, Loopholes closer to closing & good news on renewables

November 22, 2023 03:50 - 1 hour - 82.9 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison give and update on the For Every Child public school funding campaign (www.foreverychild.au/postcard) , the Maritime Union campaign to stop wage theft in shipping and take a deeper dive into the progress on Closing the Loopholes for labour hire, casual and gig workers. it is Go Home on Time Day!  Workers are losing billions in unpaid overtime and through the corporate exploitation of loopholes. Van and Ben discuss how the union movement is tackling this problem an...

Weekend Wrap 19 November 2023: Profiteers cash in, school funding needs fix and why Albo went to APEC

November 19, 2023 05:26 - 31 minutes - 43.1 MB

Ben Davison returns with the weekend wrap to look at how corporate share buy backs are further evidence of profiteering driving inflation and why the Closing the Loopholes legislation is needed asap. You can join your union at www.australianunions.org.au/wow to add your voice to the millions calling for wage increases instead of profit payouts. The Australian Education Union has released new research that shows our public schools are underfunded by the almost the same amount as the share b...

Episode 156: Wages rise, Duttons dangerous disinformation, why school funding is a targeted use of the surplus and good news for stone workers

November 15, 2023 08:41 - 1 hour - 100 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison dig into the best wage rise numbers in more than 20 years, discuss why many people will still be going backwards and, as the ACTU Price Gouging Inquiry wraps up, what we can do to help stop the profiteering.  The union movement wins on minimum wage, awards, for aged care workers and improved collective agreements are lifting wages so if you want to see your pay get above the cost of living join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow  Peter Dutton is back on th...

Episode 155: Optus outage chaos, new RBA is just like the old RBA and good news from America

November 08, 2023 08:55 - 1 hour - 96 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison dish the latest on the Optus outage chaos that has swept across Australia - and argue why key national infrastructure should be in public hands. They discuss why another interest rate rise is yet another painful example of an economy outgrowing the neoliberal zealots who insist on running it, and they take a tour into the history of abusive welfare policy. The good news is from America - with key victories for Democrats (and the rights of women) in Ohio, Virginia a...

Episode 154: Corporates fight to keep loopholes, Be that teacher for every child, Medicare boost and good news about spiders

November 01, 2023 09:10 - 1 hour - 86.2 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison shine on a spotlight on the attempts by corporate giants BHP, Qantas and Doordash to keep the labour hire, forced casualisation and sham contracting loopholes open at this week's senate committee hearings. Van lays out what is wrong with capitalism in Australia and why being in your union, join at australianunions.org.au/wow, has never been more important with over $9,000,000,000 that could become wages if the loopholes close. Jason Clare, federal Education Minis...

Weekend Wrap 29 October 2023: Albo goes to Washington, Insiders misses context and the rules based order

October 29, 2023 03:22 - 35 minutes - 49.1 MB

Ben Davison gives a breakdown of Anthony Albanese's successful state visit to the United States and places it in the context of what has been happening in the US, the Biden administration demonstrating the "imperial presidency" while the Republican bicker over the speakership and some of the tangible positives for Australia. Insiders seemed unable to grasp how international politics and domestic politics actually interact so Ben explains what being a "middle power" actually means and why th...

Episode 153: Unions ban deadly dust, Profits fuel inflation pain, World Teachers Day and good battery news

October 25, 2023 07:20 - 1 hour - 86.9 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison are back with a new podcast episode that tackles why anyone would want to keep making a product that kills the workers who create it, how corporations have done just fine during high inflation and why they are spending millions to stop the government closing the loopholes that let them pay people less than their entitlements. The union movement has said it will ban the use and transport of engineered stone if the government does not act and it has called for stron...

Weekend Wrap 22 October 2023: Middle East, Fee free TAFE, Worker actions, Parental leave, state tax bonfire

October 22, 2023 01:58 - 36 minutes - 49.8 MB

Ben Davison takes a look at some of the stories form this week that Insiders missed given their focus on the Middle East.  While the situation in Israel and Gaza is horrendous, Ben gives a brief synopsis, there is lots happening in Australia. The new National Skills Agreement is a win for the Australian Education Union, workers and employers who will benefit from the $30 billion investment in TAFE including another 300,000 fee free places in 2024. 1,400 United Workers Union diary workers t...

Weekend Wrap 15 October 2023: Voice referendum lost, misinformation campaigning and workplace reforms

October 15, 2023 03:54 - 1 hour - 94 MB

Van Badham joins Ben Davison for this post referendum special edition of the Weekend Wrap.   Our co-hosts look at what the results of the referendum tell us so far, why there is such sadness, how we can respond and what it might mean for the future. The rise of misinformation in the referendum is examined, how electoral politics and referendums are different, why we need to be kind and how we can reengage with solidarity. Send your message of solidarity to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Isla...

Episode 152: Republicans implode, referendum prepoll opens, rates on hold and good news about bears

October 04, 2023 07:17 - 1 hour - 96.7 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison take a deep dive into the murky waters of American politics as the Republican Party conspires to unseat one of its own from the role of Speaker.  It is the first time in history that a Speaker of the House of Representatives has been deposed.  Van breaks down why it has happened, what it means for American politics and the kind of markers we need to watch for in our own political system. Prepoll voting has opened around Australia for the referendum with recent pol...

Weekend Wrap 1 October 2023:the No misinformation campaign, disability royal commission report, Pezzullo and public service

October 01, 2023 02:17 - 33 minutes - 45.9 MB

Ben Davison looks at the established research which shows the NO campaign is leveraging misinformation and a global network of disinformation campaigners.  In a shock admission Ben admits that he agrees with Phil Coorey and Chris Kenny that the No campaign has become a grab bag of grievances. The disability royal commission report has been handed down with 222 recommendations from over 10,000 submissions.  Ben looks at how it intersects with the current NDIS review and why reform will take ...

Episode 151: Dan departs as Allan ascends, a job for everyone who wants one, a referendum update and good news about kites

September 27, 2023 08:02 - 1 hour - 93.2 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison open by congratulating the workers who won their struggle with Inghams chicken, the artists in NSW who won restored funding and by sending international solidarity to the writers, screen actors and auto workers in the USA, who were joined on the picket line by Joe Biden.  Making Biden the first ever sitting President to join a picket.  You can win better pay, better conditions and better management by joining your union at australianunions.org.au/wow Dan Andrews d...

Weekend Wrap 24 September 2023: No rallies, price gouging inquiry, workers take action

September 24, 2023 01:27 - 20 minutes - 28.2 MB

Ben Davison RETURNS with his weekend wrap! Instead of breaking down Insiders he compares and contrasts the difference the Walk for YES last weekend and the far right rallies for NO this weekend. Ben also reads a message from a listener in Arnhem Land who is talking with local first nations people about the referendum. With less than three weeks until the referendum and a week until pre-poll Ben is urging people to get involved at yes23.com.au The Alan Fels price gouging inquiry kicked of...

Episode 150: Referendum disinformation, NSW budget, Victorian homes, worker rights and good news on seaweed

September 20, 2023 08:11 - 1 hour - 100 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison are BACK! Having, almost, recovered from their illnesses Van and Ben dissect the disinformation that is swamping the Voice referendum.  They break down what the Voice is, why the disinformation is happening, where it is coming from and what we can all do to make sure it doesn't taint our democracy. The Labor government in NSW has handed down its first budget following a range of wins by workers in unions there are pay increases, more teachers, more healthcare and ...

Weekend Wrap 10 September: Pearson makes YES case on Insiders, Dutton delays billions in wages, unions win for workers

September 10, 2023 03:53 - 38 minutes - 53 MB

Ben Davison takes a look at Noel Pearson's Insiders interview and how he managed to cut through the misinformation, fear mongering and misdirection to remind Australia that the referendum is an opportunity to accept the hand of friendship by recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as our first people and embrace the opportunity of reconciliation by guaranteeing an advisory body.  Nothing more, nothing less. The crossbench teamed up with Peter Dutton's Noalition to delay the closi...

Episode 149: Corporations fight secure work and better pay, Joyce leaves Qantas burning, economic growth and good news on solar glass

September 06, 2023 06:57 - 1 hour - 83.9 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison examine the government's bill to close the loopholes that are letting corporations take $9 billion from workers through forced casualisation, sham contracting, gig exploitation and legal chicanery. With $9 billion on the line corporations are fighting back with some of the weirdest and most easily disprovable lies imaginable.  Van and Ben breakdown why the corporate bosses are investing millions in ads to attack the improvements for workers. Workers are fighting ...

Weekend Wrap 3 September 2023: New rights for casuals, gig and labour hire workers, Qantas profiting from failure and you are the Voice

September 03, 2023 04:26 - 33 minutes - 45.6 MB

Ben Davison dives into the detail of the new workplace reforms that will give more rights to everyday working people who are casuals, gig workers or engaged as labour hire by setting some minimum standards. Tony Burke went on Insiders to explain how the new approach will work and David Speers still hasn't wrapped his mind around the idea that Labor is governing from a people first perspective as opposed to a corporate first approach. Qantas, the company that has unlawfully sacked workers, ...

Episode 148: The referendum is October 14, misogyny tars football and infects young men, inflation slows and good news about wind

August 30, 2023 11:26 - 1 hour - 94.7 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison discuss the official announcement of the Voice referendum date, October 14th, while taking a look at the campaigns, the messages and why Albo's message of hope has gained the support of such a broad cross section of Australia. The union movement is campaigning for YES and you can get involved with your union at australianunions.org.au/wow and the campaign at yes23.com.au  A listener wrote in with a question about Andrew Tate's influence over young men so Van and ...

Weekend Wrap 27 August 2023: Insiders review, intergeneration report and Dutton attacks democracy

August 27, 2023 01:17 - 33 minutes - 46.4 MB

Ben Davison is BACK from a week off with the latest Weekend Wrap.  Insiders discussed productivity, taxes, industrial relations and education with most of the debates missing the point. Ben breaks down how the points raised on Insiders show we need full funding for public schools, Qantas demonstrates the need for both workplace reforms and a focus on capital productivity and that if we want more skilled migrants following the lead of Belize and Somalia probably isn't the solution. The unio...

Episode 147: Naplan shows need for school funding, CPAC goes full racist, ACTU report a rip off wins government taskforce and good news about micro plastics

August 23, 2023 09:06 - 1 hour - 87.2 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison take a look at how the release of NAPLAN results highlights the need for our public schools to get the MINIMUM FUNDING that 98% of them are currently being denied. The Australia Education Union is running a campaign at foreverychild.au calling for every public school to get the funds they need for every child to get the education they deserve.   The American CPAC event was held in Sydney last weekend and Van Badham gives a breakdown of how this piece of American ...

Episode 146: Matildas mania, Trumps troubles, new deal on housing as wages reset plus wind in Wollongong

August 16, 2023 08:11 - 1 hour - 90.7 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison are all in with the Matildas, Till its done, so take a look at the cultural phenomena that has become the Australian Women's Football team, what it means for sport, our society and why their unionism is an inspiration for so many others to stand up for what's right. Join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow While Australia is having a sport led cultural moment the United States is again mired in the muck of its political system and the disgrace that is Donal...

Weekend Wrap 13 August 2023: Littleproud on Insiders exposes how much Coalition policy is driven by lobbyists

August 13, 2023 02:14 - 28 minutes - 38.5 MB

Ben Davison, voice croaky from celebrating the Matildas win, breaks down why the leader of the Nationals, and senior member of the Coalition, would go on Insiders and advocate for the most expensive, least safe, unproven energy technologies and for increasing the cost of medicines. The answer is the same reason why he, Peter Dutton and the Coalition oppose The Voice and Unions. Lobbyists. From mining and energy to pharmaceuticals, post offices and private education the Coalition is captur...

Episode 145: Matildas and billion dollar Barbie recasting the role of girls, ACTU price gauging inquiry, Dutton diverted community safety funds and good news about Quolls

August 09, 2023 08:45 - 1 hour - 86.1 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison discuss how the on and off-field success of The Matildas are making us rethink traditional limitations about the role of girls and how they behave.  Van and Ben discuss how the unionisation and professionalisation of the game is providing inspiration while at the same time the success of the billion dollar Barbie Movie is unifying women through a shared experience.  You can be like the Matildas and Barbie star Margot Robbie by joining you union at australianunions...

SPECIAL Weekend Wrap: Dutton’s Garma dishonesty, parliament wrap , bosses bemoan worker rights, teachers and truck drivers take a stand

August 06, 2023 02:26 - 1 hour - 101 MB

Van Badham joins Ben Davison for an extended Weekend Wrap to look at Dutton's dishonesty about Garma being exposed on Insiders, the bosses pamphlet (Australia Financial Review) confirming the Noalition views the referendum as a political opportunity to hurt Labor and why it is so important people get involved in their local YES campaign and join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow as your union takes action for the referendum. There's also a look at the policy action from parliament t...

Van Badham in conversation with Miles Taylor, former Trump National Security Advisor and author of Blowback

July 31, 2023 19:09 - 1 hour - 88.1 MB

Welcome to our first “The Week On Wednesday presents Van Badham in Conversation With…”. And it is A CORKER. Miles Taylor is a former national security adviser to the Trump administration - yes, you read that correctly, and he is absolutely a guest on our show. In 2018, as “Anonymous”, Taylor published an infamous op-ed in the New York Times entitled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" that shone a terrifying light on the chaos and dysfunction of Trumpism in power,...

Weekend Wrap 30 July 2023: Education, economic management, workplace reforms, housing, The Voice

July 30, 2023 02:04 - 38 minutes - 53.1 MB

Ben Davison is BACK after a two week break with a deep dive on the FIVE big issues that should be dominating the national debate. 98% of our public schools don't have the resources they need.  Ben reads out a message from a listener about how the failure to support every child has left class sizes too big, teachers overworked and kids missing out on the support they need. Inflation is coming down.  The spokesperson from the bosses pamphlet on Insiders continued to recite the neo-liberal ma...

Episode 144: Murdoch and the NO campaign, inflation falls as neo-liberalism fails, the end of forced casualisation and good news about trees

July 26, 2023 05:30 - 1 hour - 83.2 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison look at how actors, screen writers and even NRL players are getting organised because they need the power of standing together to get a fair deal.  Remember to join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow With the NO campaign in full swing the Murdoch Empire has clearly identified its target market.  Van and Ben discuss why a Royal Commission into the influence of the Murdoch Empire is a good idea, why it is NOT a "news" source and present examples of it pushing...

Episode 143: Dan says no to Commonwealth Games blow out, time to fund public schools, NO campaign avoids truth and good news about plastics

July 19, 2023 08:01 - 1 hour - 107 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison congratulate the aged care workers who, by standing together in union, are starting to see their pay increases flow from this week and discuss how there is a union for everyone whether you're in aged care, ice cream making, acting or professional sport. Join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow Dan Andrews has said no to the Commonwealth Games cost blow out so Van and Ben explore the reaction, what it means for the legacy infrastructure and just why billionai...

Episode 142: No campaign goes MAGA, Robodebt fallout for Fadden, Albo at NATO and good news about solar glass

July 13, 2023 08:30 - 1 hour - 90.8 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison start this special Thursday edition by tearing apart the ridiculous wage cutting ideologies of Jeff Kennet and exploring why a man who's devoted his life to cutting wages wanting to cut wages isn't news but it is bad for productivity, women and workers in general.  Which is why unions are campaigning for more flexibility to work from home and you can join them at australianunions.org.au/wow The Guardian has exposed that the NO campaign has been importing American...

Weekend Wrap July 9 2023: Robodebt Royal Commission exposes abuses of power, Health unions win better deal in NSW and teaching reforms but where’s the funding?

July 09, 2023 06:54 - 39 minutes - 53.7 MB

Ben Davison spends some time looking at the Robodebt Royal Commission report, the scathing rebuke of the Morrison government, the potential crimes of former ministers and the culture of cooperation between corporate and billionaire owned media and the Coalition of treating people in need as less than human. Ben explains why Robodebt was bad policy, how we avoid such policies in the future and why unions calling for a more secure public sector workforce are part of the solution. Join your u...

Episode 141: Faruqi vs Hanson as racism finds its voice, why a bigger surplus is good, NACC starts with a smorgasbord and good news about EV batteries

July 05, 2023 04:24 - 1 hour - 98.8 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison dive into the explosion of bots, trolls and online hate that is being targeted at YES campaigners and how Pauline Hanson is using her vile and inexcusable comments about Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi to eliminate protections against discrimination and open the flood gates on hate speech. The farm workers we reported on last episode won their strike and you can win better pay and conditions by joining your union at australianunions.org.au/wow Ben and Van look at w...

Weekend Wrap 2 July 2023: NAIDOC week kicks off YES campaign, Gladys is corrupt, NDIS turns 10 and the economy of Labor

July 02, 2023 05:44 - 37 minutes - 51.7 MB

Ben Davison, fresh from a Yes campaign launch event, talks about why he's voting YES at the referendum and how you can get involved through yes23.com.au or through your union at australianunions.org.au/wow to join and then follow the links. ICAC has found Gladys Berejiklian engaged in serious corrupt conduct.  Ben discusses why the bosses pamphlet was so very wrong about Glady's "saving Australia" and why corruption has no place in our democracy. The NDIS is turning 10 and the former minis...

Episode 140: Farm workers on strike, Greens housing fantasy, inflation falls, claytons mutiny in Russia and Victorias windy record

June 28, 2023 08:05 - 1 hour - 86.2 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison look at the context of the first farm strike in decades as United Workers Union member's stand firm against employer threats and take action for a decent pay rise, same job, same pay rules and the right to pick salads for Coles and Aldi under decent conditions. There's a union for everyone and if you've got a boss you should be a member of your union, join at australianunions.org.au/wow Van and Ben look at the latest in delusional thinking from the Greens politic...

Weekend Wrap 25 June 2023: Putins Wagner moment, Labor housing policy on Insiders and why working people are not so sympathetic to the Zuckerberg, Musk, Oceangate sagas

June 25, 2023 01:27 - 32 minutes - 44.9 MB

Ben Davison takes a look at the big stories coming out of Russia, the Musk/Zuckerberg cage match and the Oceangate tragedy and draws together the threads of how these sagas, created and caused by billionaires, usually involve the suffering and or exploitation of working people. And that maybe that's why there's a level of skepticism towards them. Ben also discusses the passing of the referendum bill, the decision by Lidia Thorpe to support the NO case and breaks down the three different, eq...

Episode 139: The RBA demands more unemployment, Greens delay action on housing, the referendum is coming and so is the dirt machine but The Voice is winning!

June 21, 2023 09:04 - 1 hour - 105 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison explore the broken philosophy of The RBA that denies profiteering is a problem until everyone else has said it is, continues to believe in a wage-price spiral that doesn't exist and both simultaneously says people should get more work but we need less people employed.   Of course the union movement was among the first to point out the fallacies of the RBA's ideology and continues to win better pay and conditions so join at australianunions.org.au/wow Ben and Van ...

Weekend Wrap 18 June 2023: Liberal at centre of misconduct allegations quits party, Labor delivers housing and we answer YOUR questions

June 18, 2023 02:21 - 42 minutes - 58.5 MB

Ben Davison takes a look at the horrendous week in federal parliament, the ABC's continued use of billionaire funded journalists on Insiders, the grim reality that women's safety in the workplace is a question of solidarity whether that's in parliament or in a factory. The Liberal's "flood the zone" strategy failed and has exposed, on Insiders, that the Coalition was aware they had a Senator who was subject to sexual misconduct allegations. Remember that, thanks to unions, every workplace ...

Episode 138 Brittany Higgins targeted as Liberals flood the zone, pay rises for CEOs but not so much for you and good news about waste reduction

June 14, 2023 08:07 - 1 hour - 99.3 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison look at what's happening in Canberra, how Brittany Higgins is again being targeted, why the Liberal's are "flooding the zone" and what it has to do with recent polls that show Labor is the most trusted party on economic management. Warning there is some discussion of violence and assault. Van and Ben discuss the recent data showing CEO's getting 15% pay rises while their lobby groups make ads, that are definitely classist and possibly racist, to argue against work...

Episode 137: Phil Lowe, The RBA and the ideology trying to keep the rich richer and the rest of us poorer, more Morrison era misery and Roger Cook is WA Premier

June 07, 2023 08:00 - 1 hour - 102 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison discuss the latest of Phil Lowe's interest rate rises and the Reserve Bank's total ideological capture.  We breakdown why they are happening, how ideological obsession is outweighing economic reality and wonder if Phil Lowe's own crisis about his position may be part of the reason that he gives wildly contradictory statements about the economy one day to the next. The union movement has achieved reforms to bargaining laws which will give workers more power to nego...

Weekend Wrap 4 June 2023: Minimum wage win, RBA gaffes, Green housing hocum and the Ben Roberts Smith verdict

June 04, 2023 03:20 - 39 minutes - 53.8 MB

Ben Davison gets under the hood of the minimum wage decision, the cuts the bosses wanted and how millions of Australian's will be better off as a result of the work of the Australian Union movement.  If you're not already a member join now at australianunions.org.au/wow because unions have won an 8.6% increase in the minimum wage, a 5.75% in award wages and unionised workers get paid an average of 26% more! The RBA governor said that we need more people to live in each "dwelling" during his...

Episode 136: Tackling sham contracting and forced casualisation, Aussie content on Aussie screens, The Voice a step closer and good news about hydrogen

May 31, 2023 07:21 - 1 hour - 98.9 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison are BACK and the struggle continues! Visy, Australia's largest private company, is still refusing to make a decent offer to workers after 20 weeks of action and bosses in the university sector are strategising together to cut pay and conditions while bosses unions are calling for cuts to the minimum wage and the right to keep exploiting sham contracting and labour hire loopholes. Van and Ben take a look at how sham contracting in the gig economy, labour hire acros...

Weekend Wrap 28 May 2023: Insiders opens gates for Murdoch, Liberals flail in senate, gig reform and Australia is Proud to be Public

May 28, 2023 02:20 - 39 minutes - 54 MB

Ben admits he couldn't bring himself to watch Insiders as he gives a scathing critique of the Murdoch infiltration of the ABC.  On a week where Stan Grant was hounded out of QandA by Murdoch's dogs, the Uluru statement from the Heart had its anniversary and The Australian admitted to doctoring a letter to the editor about Aboriginal leader Noel Pearson there was an Australian journalist on the Insiders panel.  Who didn't talk about ANY of those issues. Lidia Thorpe continues to not understa...

Weekend Wrap 21 May 2023: A year of Albanese Labor government, media obsesses on the negative and Liberals in disarray

May 21, 2023 01:39 - 38 minutes - 52.8 MB

Ben Davison looks at the first 12 months of the Albanese Labor government and some of the big changes ranging from the National Anti-Corruption Commission and Robo-debt royal commission to improvements in job security and wages to NDIS reforms and genuine action on climate change.  The first year of Labor at a national level has achieved a lot. The union movement has had successes on wages, women's participation in the workforce, job security, the energy transition authority and improvement...

Episode 135: Housing policy or why the Greens and Dutton are wrong, wages vs profit prices spirals and good news about national parks

May 17, 2023 06:52 - 1 hour - 87 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison take a closer look at Labor's proposed housing fund, why the Green opposition doesn't stack up and why the Dutton position remains the worst of all possible outcomes. With debate still raging about "the best" housing policies Labor's policy achieves some core outcomes.  More homes, a mechanism that Dutton can't easily scrap and an acknowledgement of the physical limitation imposed by supply chains and the availability of skilled workers. The Green "Build all the ...

Weekend Wrap 14 May 2023: Insiders lacks insight, we know who Dutton is and Greens blocking homes

May 14, 2023 01:13 - 26 minutes - 37.1 MB

Ben Davison takes apart Insiders for the lack of insight, the lack of economic understanding and the soft rehabilitation job on Peter Dutton. The budget this week was a step change towards Keynesian economic frameworks that support employment, wages growth and a social wage that keeps inflation under control and provides opportunity for people. The Insiders analysis and questions of Jim Chalmers showed a lack of understanding, an entrenchment in outdated Morrison-era politics and a commitm...

Episode 134: Labor’s big Keynesian budget and good news for the environment!

May 10, 2023 08:22 - 1 hour - 101 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison take a deep dive on the ideological frameworks that have crafted the first Commonwealth budget surplus in 15 years while also delivering increases to wages, Jobseeker, parenting payments, rent assistance and massive investments in health, Medicare and aged care. The budget doesn't deliver everything everyone wants and Ben and Van explain how and why some of the decisions, both popular and unpopular, have their roots in Keynesian economics which, after 40 years of ...

Weekend Wrap 7 May 2023: Budget preview, Angus ’Inflation’ Taylor on Insiders and the social wage

May 07, 2023 01:00 - 30 minutes - 42.1 MB

Ben Davison looks Angus "Inflation" Taylor's terrible Insiders performance, the increases to Jobseeker, gas company taxes, energy bill relief and why a surplus budget is needed when the RBA is obsessed with increasing interest rates. Ben also looks at how effective the union movement has been in securing pay increase for aged care workers, an energy transition authority and ended the sham contracting in the public sector that was costing $21,000,000,000 under Morrison.  You can join your un...

Episode 133: RBAs clumsy politics, budget leaks, worker news and good news on electric roads

May 03, 2023 09:53 - 1 hour - 90.3 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison discuss the Reserve Bank's guerrilla interest rate rise, budget leaks and what they might mean for you as well as the minimum wage and why unions are taking action against the people who'd pay you nothing if they could get away with it.  So join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow Ben breaks down the incoherence of the reserve banks ideological attack on working people and the government we all elected. Van looks at how targeted budget programs can improve ...

Weekend Wrap April 30 2023: Van Badham joins Ben to discuss Insiders, reforming jobseeker, YES on track to win and migration reforms

April 30, 2023 02:07 - 58 minutes - 80.6 MB

Van Badham joins Ben Davison for a special weekend wrap! They dissect David Speers' on defence policy, consider Insiders' decision to ignore reforms to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS), ask whether Albo attending the Sandilands wedding was either good or bad politics and the dangers of mistaking online abuse for a real-world movement. Our hosts discuss what real reforms to the social safety net would look like, and how media needs to be careful not to fall into the traps that right-...

Episode 132: Tucker taken down, Elon gives Twitter the blues, tackling the cost of living and good news about batteries

April 26, 2023 07:39 - 1 hour - 93.2 MB

Van Badham and Ben Davison look at the threads behind the rise and fall of Murdoch star, Tucker Carlson.  Why he was effective at what he did, why that wasn't making money, how the Murdoch empires remains focused on making money and how their political interference is just a means of more easily making money.  Despite his sacking Tucker Carlson was, and remains, very focused on promulgating his view of what is good and what is evil.  Spoiler: He would think we are evil. Van and Ben also loo...