Grattan Institute

With the recent release of data from the Australian Electoral Commission, political parties in Australia collectively received $168 million in income for the last financial year. Yet more than half of the funding for the major parties remains secret. In this week's podcast, Institutional Reform experts Kate Griffiths and Tom Crowley discuss where the money is going, what it does, and how to reform the political donations system.

5 Feb 202119min

Climate change policy is in for a rocky ride in 2021. And sometimes it’s hard to make sense of where Australia stands on climate change. How are emissions going? And what do our politicians need to do to get to net-zero emissions by 2050? Listen to Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, discuss the year ahead for climate policy in Australia, and his latest piece in the Griffith Review, titled Remaking the Balance: Accords and antagonisms: Making progress in the combat for climate policy. Hosted by Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications.

1 Feb 202116min

Listen to CEO Danielle Wood, in discussion with renowned journalist and broadcaster Geraldine Doogue, as we reveal our top six thought-provoking, diverse, and relevant books and articles from 2020. It’s been an extraordinary year, and these are extraordinary reads – not only for the Prime Minister, but for all Australians interested in public policy. Featuring an introduction by CEO of State Library Victoria, Kate Torney, and interviews with four of the featured authors, Alex Miller, Clare Wright, Evelyn Araluen, and Marian Wilkinson. Grattan’s 2020 list is: The Carbon Club, Marian Wilkinson, Allen & Unwin Fire Front: First Nations poetry and power today, edited by Alison Whittaker, UQP Good Economics for Hard Times, Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Public Affairs How the dark gets in, Clare Wright, Meanjin Max, Alex Miller, Allen & Unwin Men at Work: Australia’s Parenthood Trap, Annabel Crabb, Black Inc. You can read more about our list here: https://grattan.edu.au/news/announcing-grattan-institutes-annual-summer-recommended-reading-list-for-the-prime-minister/

20 Des 20201h 18min

2020 was an enormous year for Australia, but it's also been a big year for the Grattan Institute. We've seen bushfires, the coronavirus crisis, and the huge fiscal and societal effects of the pandemic. In a special podcast, Grattan Institute CEO, Danielle Wood, reflects on the year that was, the enormous impacts that Grattan has had on public policy, and the future of our research for 2021. To donate to Grattan, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/donate

18 Des 202021min

Australia is getting hotter, and Australians’ health is being harmed. Our health sector must do more to adapt to the reality of climate change. This podcast discusses Grattan's last report for the year, Climate change and health: preparing for the next disaster, with Will Mackey, Senior Associate, and Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/climate-change-and-health-preparing-for-the-next-disaster/

7 Des 202016min

In 2020, the out of sight, out of mind attitude to older Australians had deadly consequences. By the end of Australia’s second wave in October 2020, there had been about 2,000 COVID-19 cases and 680 deaths in residential aged care – mostly in Victoria – accounting for about 75 per cent of Australia’s COVID-19 death toll. This rate of deaths in residential care is much higher than many comparable countries. Back in October of this year, Anika Stobart, Associate, and Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communication, discussed the rights of older Australians on the podcast, and our proposed rights-based framework for reforming the aged care system. This time, they discuss Grattan's newest report: Reforming aged care: a practical plan for a rights-based system.

29 Nov 202020min

Last week the Victorian Government announced a $5.4 billion dollar Big Housing Build, billed as a ‘landmark investment in social housing.’ The plan will build more than 12, 000 new homes in Victoria, including more than 9300 new social housing properties, and upgrades to existing public housing facilities. Likewise Western Australia, Tasmania, and NSW have all announced social housing building projects as part of their economic recovery strategies. But why is building social housing both an economic and societal win? Listen to Brendan Coates, Household Finances Program Director, in conversation with Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, on why social housing is good stimulus.

22 Nov 202018min

Far from fuelling the recovery from the COVID recession, natural gas will inevitably decline as an energy source for industry and homes in Australia. Listen to Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, and Guy Dundas, Energy Fellow, bust the three biggest myths around a gas-led recovery in their latest report: Flame out: the future of natural gas in Australia. Hosted by Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications. You can read the report in discussion here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/flame-out-the-future-of-natural-gas

15 Nov 202020min