Most people don’t have trusts, or multiple houses: Bill Shorten on the budget’s tax changes

We’re officially in our budget backlash era, with claims of death taxes, of aspirations killed, and the outraged cries of crypto bros across the nation. Not to mention, of course, the genuine anxiety from regular small business owners and shareholders who are unsure of how all of these changes will…

Does a broken promise matter in a broken system, and Angus Taylor’s migrant plan

The federal budget was pitched as a big moment for a progressive government that wants to equalise wealth and home ownership. And one of the main attacks from the opposition is that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has had to break a promise in order to get there. So will the broken promise line r…

‘Popcorn out’ for Farrer by-election, plus the RBA’s pointed comments on government spending

The electorate of Farrer is holding a by-election this weekend and we’re expecting the contest will be a good one. The NSW seat, which hugs the border with Victoria, belonged to former opposition leader Sussan Ley for 25 years. Now, it’s a microcosm of the pressures the Coalition is under from ind…

Why young people are so angry about housing, and whether this budget will fix it

Inflation figures were out this week, and it wasn’t good news. Next week’s interest rates figures from the Reserve Bank aren't looking crash hot either. So how do these results impact Jim Chalmers’ impending budget and what are the chances the treasurer will press ahead with changes to taxes and ho…

Mark Butler on the NDIS, private health and vaccine hesitancy 

When the National Disability Insurance Scheme was created in 2013, it was proof that a rich society could find the money to help people living with a disability. This was social democracy at work. Twelve years on, it has turned into a $62 billion behemoth, on track to cost more than the age pensio…

Labor’s baby a ‘honeypot of fraud’ and the gas tax’s viral moment

Today, we are talking about one of the federal budget’s trickiest customers - the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Labor was once like a proud parent of the NDIS, but now even the minister in charge, Mark Butler, is describing the scheme as a honeypot for organised crime. Also this week, an …

No ‘drill baby drill’ moment: Chris Bowen on oil shock’s impact on green Australia

A fire at a Geelong oil refinery - one of two refineries left in Australia - has heightened anxiety around fuel supply. Energy Minister Chris Bowen joins the Inside Politics podcast today to address the impact of this fire and the scramble for petrol and diesel imports as the nation grapples with …

Matt Canavan on his love of EVs, and calling out Pauline Hanson

The new leader of the Nationals, Matt Canavan, is a former Marxist from the suburbs who was once a Productivity Commission economist and then, a firebrand right-wing senator. Canavan joins Inside Politics today with chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal at a time when the Nationals are battlin…

A national address, nailing down the budget, and Hastie’s ‘striking’ interview

This week we debate the merits of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s national address before getting stuck into what’s happening with the budget. With the world in a bit of a shambles, we found it interesting that the PM hasn’t totally killed off the idea of reforms in the budget to things such as c…

The EU trade deal, and One Nation’s South Australian election

This week, while we were all freaking out about the oil crisis – and rightly so – European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen visited to finalise a trade deal between Australia and the EU. Negotiations for this have been on and off for eight years, so it was not a moment too soon that we sig…