“On the brink of extinction”: Niki Savva on the modern Liberal Party

Shedding voters on the left and the right, is the Liberal Party heading for “oblivion”?

On this episode of Follow the Money, journalist and author Niki Savva and Australia Institute co-Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Denniss join Amy Remeikis to discuss how the Liberal Party ended up with their worst federal election result in modern history in 2025, why there’s no such thing as a safe seat in Australian politics anymore, and Nikki’s latest book, Earthquake: the election that shook Australia.

This episode was recorded live at the Australia Institute’s Politics in the Pub in Canberra on Wednesday 18 February 2026.

What we owe the water: It's time for a fossil fuel treaty by Kumi Naidoo is available now for just $19.95. Use the code 'PODVP' at checkout to get free shipping.

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Guest: Niki Savva, journalist, author and former political advisor

Guest: Richard Denniss, co-Chief Executive Officer, the Australia Institute // @richarddenniss

Host: Amy Remeikis, Chief Political Analyst, the Australia Institute // @amyremeikis

Show notes:

There is no such thing as a safe seat | Fact sheet, the Australia Institute (October 2024)

Polling – Dutton’s gas plans, the Australia Institute (April 2025)

Theme music: Pulse and Thrum; additional music by Blue Dot Sessions

We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.

Support Australia Matters: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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