The New Year Of Political Corruption And Solutions For Parliamentary Reform

The New Year Of Political Corruption And Solutions For Parliamentary Reform

Another year, another round of political corruption to deal with. Scott Morrison claimed "a miracle" caused him to win the 2019 election but, as with most claims of divine intervention, that old human frailty of vice and corruption proved to be the real answer. The Liberal–National Government had a cash splash fund of almost $500 million dollars to throw at marginal and Coalition-held seats – funding programs that had no guidelines, no application forms, little oversight, and a rorting scheme that Vladimir Putin could be proud of.

And if that wasn't enough, the Australian Federal Police dropped the forgery case against Angus Taylor: nothing to see here, please move along. It's obvious the Liberal–National Government is too close to the AFP – the AFP investigates the issues that are favourable to the government, but ignores the issues that are unfavourable to the government. It's not the way an open and democratic system should operate, and trust in government is plummeting even further.

So what can be done about this? We commence our series on solutions to a sick democracy, and make suggestions for how to improve accountability in the parliament: an independent speaker and ditching the Dorothy Dix questions. That would be a good start.

Episoder(312)

The Long-Read Essay: Albanese On Trial

The Long-Read Essay: Albanese On Trial

This long-read audio essay examines the vilification of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the Bondi Beach memorial, and how national mourning was turned into a partisan spectacle. It explores how ...

26 Des 202522min

The Long-Read Essay: Democracy, Power and Australia at the Crossroads

The Long-Read Essay: Democracy, Power and Australia at the Crossroads

2025 was the year the comforting myths finally fell away. In this long-read essay, we trace how democratic institutions – globally and in Australia – proved far more fragile than many assumed, as misi...

19 Des 202510min

The Review of 2025 Part 4: AUKUS, cancel culture and how Labor governs

The Review of 2025 Part 4: AUKUS, cancel culture and how Labor governs

Australia enters 2026 facing deep strategic uncertainty: AUKUS costs have blown out to $1.3 billion with little clarity about what Australia is actually buying, while fear-driven national-security pol...

12 Des 202538min

The Review of 2025 Part 3: All the way with the US forever

The Review of 2025 Part 3: All the way with the US forever

As the United States slides into institutional decay under Donald Trump’s return to the White House – with sweeping tariffs on global trade, mass deportations, rolled-back civil rights and an increasi...

11 Des 202510min

The Review of 2025 Part 2: A big Labor win, Liberal collapse and silencing Palestine

The Review of 2025 Part 2: A big Labor win, Liberal collapse and silencing Palestine

In our continuing review of the 2025 year in Australian federal politics, we discuss the federal election held in May, analysing one of the worst campaigns by a major political party in modern history...

5 Des 202545min

The Review of 2025 Part 1:  Culture wars, Treaty and the collapse of the politics of fear

The Review of 2025 Part 1: Culture wars, Treaty and the collapse of the politics of fear

To commence our review of the 2025 year in Australian federal politics, this bonus episode examines the continuing culture wars, the Australia Day and Invasion Day debate, and a federal election that ...

4 Des 202514min

The Seat Warmers: What Is The Purpose Behind Labor?

The Seat Warmers: What Is The Purpose Behind Labor?

In the final week of Parliament, New Politics asks a blunt question about Australian federal politics: what is the Albanese Labor government actually for? This episode turns its focus to Labor’s recor...

28 Nov 202553min

Hanson’s Burqa Stunt and the Political Nihilism of the Right

Hanson’s Burqa Stunt and the Political Nihilism of the Right

We look at the political theatre of the right, including Pauline Hanson’s latest burqa stunt in the Senate, the rise of One Nation in the polls, and the growing battle for reactionary votes between mi...

27 Nov 202511min

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