$100k flights, uncomfortable truth about PM's wedding, and the social media ban fight

This week the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was on his honeymoon after his low-key Lodge wedding last weekend, while Senate estimates rolled on in Canberra, uncovering some interesting secrets. Notable was the head-scratching amount that Communications Minister Anika Wells spent on flights to Ne…

Barnaby defects, Hanson offends and Sussan Ley comes on the podcast

Well, Barnaby Joyce finally announced his resignation from the Nationals this week, paving his way to join One Nation, in a week where Pauline Hanson recycled a burqa stunt from 2017. And it’s amid this turmoil that we have a special guest with chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and Jacquel…

Albanese wants to protect Australia ‘as it is’. But is it good enough?

Recently on this podcast we have been highly fixated on the problems within the Liberal opposition and we have neglected the government somewhat. So this week we are going to focus on Labor, and to that end we have a real treat for listeners. Sean Kelly, a columnist for The Age and Sydney Morning H…

The Coalition’s net zero word salad, and Ley’s leadership ‘not safe’

This week in federal politics there was really only one show in town, and that was the compelling and 'can't look away' car crash that is the Liberal party's continued ructions on its net zero policy. They culminated, or maybe even concluded, on Thursday afternoon, when the Liberal Party met and f…

Jane Hume on rebranding net zero, and Hastie's abortion comments

It’s been a rather torrid week for the Coalition, with yet more messy fighting over whether it will dump its commitment to Australia achieving net zero emissions by 2050. This was followed by controversial comments by former frontbencher Andrew Hastie on late-term abortions. Today’s guest is Sena…

The inflation figures were bad, so why focus on Albanese’s T-shirt?

This week we're going to talk about the government's weaknesses, which might seem a little bit counter-intuitive, because Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been flying so high on the international stage, where he dined with US President Donald Trump at a dinner at ASEAN. But back on the domestic…

Albanese meets with Trump next week. Anything could happen

They said he couldn’t do it, but he’s doing it. In a few days, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, fresh from a week’s holiday, will be flying to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump.  And also, what really went on between the PM and his Treasurer over the super reforms that Jim Chalmers aban…

Tim Wilson on Hastie's exit, and bringing back that 'big Liberal energy'

The member for Goldstein, Tim Wilson, is a guest on the podcast this week during a very interesting time for the Liberal Party. Last week, home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie quit the front bench, followed by infighting and internal leaking. Wilson talks about his relationship with Hastie and the…

Can Albanese claim credit for Trump’s peace plan?

The prime minister has just returned from 10 days of high-wire diplomacy, initially at the United Nations in New York before swinging through London and stopping by Abu Dhabi on his way home. He’s claimed some credit for helping push along a potential peace plan for Gaza, spruiked Australia’s soci…

Albanese’s warning on tyranny, dictators, and his selfie with Trump

Today we are bringing you a special international episode of the pod. The prime minister has spent the week in New York addressing the United Nations, recognising Palestinian statehood and chasing Donald Trump around Manhattan trying to get a meeting. We talk about all these capers with host Jacqu…