Albanese's China trip

Defence & economic coercion

We tax wealth so badly that...

The Australian Government doesn’t allocate spending to health or education as a proportion of GDP. Why should defence be any different?

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Matt and Elinor discuss the Prime Minister’s China trip, why spending more on defence doesn’t necessarily make us safer, and the unusual situation whereby our biggest bank thinks we should tax wealth better.

You can sign our petition calling on the Australian Government to launch a parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS.

Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us by Richard Denniss is available for pre-order now via the Australia Institute website.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 17 July 2025.

Host: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @mattgrudnoff

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

Australia already spends a huge amount on defence by Matt Grudnoff, the Australia Institute (April 2025)

Wealth and inequality in Australia by David Richardson and Frank Stilwell, the Australia Institute (August 2024)

Theme music: 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.

The Australian Government doesn&rsquo;t allocate spending to health or education as a proportion of GDP. Why should defence be any different?
On this episode of Dollars &amp; Sense, Matt and Elinor discuss the Prime Minister&rsquo;s China trip, why spending more on defence doesn&rsquo;t necessarily make us safer, and the unusual situation whereby our biggest bank thinks we should tax wealth better.
You can <a href="https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/aukus_parliamentary_inquiry_now">sign our petition</a> calling on the Australian Government to launch a parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS.
Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us by Richard Denniss is <a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/store/dead-centre-vantage-point-issue-2">available for pre-order</a> now via the Australia Institute website.
This discussion was recorded on Thursday 17 July 2025.
Host:&nbsp;Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mattgrudnoff.bsky.social">@mattgrudnoff</a>
Host:&nbsp;Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/elinorjohnstonleek.bsky.social">@elinorjohnstonleek</a>
Show notes:
<a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/australia-already-spends-a-huge-amount-on-defence/">Australia already spends a huge amount on defence</a> by Matt Grudnoff, the Australia Institute (April 2025)
<a href="https://australiainstitute.org.au/report/wealth-and-inequality-in-australia/">Wealth and inequality in Australia</a> by David Richardson and Frank Stilwell, the Australia Institute (August 2024)
Theme music:&nbsp;Blue Dot Sessions
We&rsquo;d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to <a href="mailto:podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au">podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au</a>.

Economic data can tell us a lot about what's happening the economy and society, but it's easy to get lost in data. Dollars and Sense dives into the latest economic figures to explain how they impact you and what they tell us about the state of the Australian economy, with host Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia.

Economic data can tell us a lot about what's happening the economy and society, but it's easy to get lost in data. Dollars and Sense dives into the latest economic figures to explain how they impact you and what they tell us about the state of the Australian economy, with host Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work and popular columnist of Grogonomics with Guardian Australia.

Dollars & Sense

Dollars & Sense demystifies the latest economic figures, how they impact you and what they can tell us about the economy, with host with Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work, and author of Guardian Australia's Grogonomics column.  

Dollars &amp; Sense demystifies the latest economic figures, how they impact you and what they can tell us about the economy, with host with Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and Centre for Future Work, and author of Guardian Australia's Grogonomics column.

The Australian Government doesn’t allocate spending to health or education as a proportion of GDP. Why should defence be any different?

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