Inside Politics

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 capital gains tax and negative gearing.

But, as our guest and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright says, th...

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 signed it.

But, as Jacqueline Maley and Paul Sakkal discuss, this wasn't just about delicious foodstuffs from Europe, and indee...

This week we’re talking about the enormous global volatility the government is dealing with, courtesy of the US-Israel war on Iran, and whether we need to be worried about things like our fuel supplies.

Also, with this global instability and an interest rate rise this week, will Treasurer Jim Chalmers water down his budget ambitions, or press on with major changes to intergenerational equity and tax?

The Inside ...

This week, we talk about the incredible story of the Iranian women's soccer team, some of whom defected and were given asylum in Australia. It was a wonderful story, and a great public relations coup for the government. 

Plus, the legacy of outgoing Nationals leader David Littleproud, and we examine the somewhat controversial style of the incoming leader Matt Canavan.

Joining host Jacquline Maley is chief political corresponde...

Israel and the United States are at war with Iran in a rapidly escalating conflict that Australia seems to be trying to avoid as much as possible. Today, we'll talk about how viable it is to be neutral these days, and whether Australia is doing its duty as a middle power.

We'll also discuss the Liberal Party review that Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and others tried to keep it secret, only to have it leaked by none other than...

In this bonus episode of Inside Politics, we’re joined by the Nationals leader David Littleproud.
He’s a man under pressure – commentators, Liberal MPs and some of his own colleagues blamed January’s split on the 49-year-old from Chinchilla in regional Queensland.
Today, chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and Littleproud discuss the Coalition rupture and wha...

This week we had some not-so-great inflation figures and also reports that there'll be another interest rate rise right before the government hands down its federal budget in May.

Newly-minted shadow treasurer Tim Wilson, aka the "energiser bunny", accused Treasurer Jim Chalmers of pouring fuel on the economic flames, but what is the government saying about the situation?

Also in this episode, we discuss the extraordinary situation...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia's ISIS brides - the women trying to return home with their children from Syria - are not getting help from the government, but it seems there is more to the story.

Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is senior writer Michael Bachelard, who has followed the story for years, and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal.

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Tony Wright, the associate editor of The Age, has been writing for 50 years. He is the master of what we call the political sketch. Sketches are akin to a verbal cartoon, and when done well, capture a moment in politics.
Today, we bring you Wright's latest sketch, titled: 'Nation’s worst government? Jane Hume’s hyperbolic historical claim'.

Read Wright's columns, and sketches, by clicking here...

We're bringing you an extra episode of Inside Politics today because Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had an opening in his diary, and he's granted us an audience.

His interview comes off the back of a difficult week, with a state visit from Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Herzog's visit was welcomed by the victims of the Bondi terror attack and their families, but his presence in Australia also sparked protests with shocking clashe...

There’s a bit going on with the Liberal Party this week, but while that unfolds we are going to look at some bigger issues. 

Interest rates went up recently, for the first time in two years, and there’s a question as to whether government spending contributed to inflation.

So we're testing that today, with host Jacqueline Maley, senior economics correspondent Shane Wright and federal political correspondent Natassi...

Today on Inside Politics, we welcome back former opposition leader Bill Shorten, who is now the Vice Chancellor of the University of Canberra.
It's a timely moment to have Shorten on the podcast as he obliquely (very obliquely, we stress) came up in the Epstein files this week.
Strangely, in the massive dump of new documents from the files, there is a text message exchange between St...

The drama between the Liberals and the Nationals continued this week with what seems to be a total breakdown in the relationship between Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Nationals leader David Littleproud.

Meanwhile, Ley's leadership remains in mortal peril, and in a plot twist, Littleproud faces his own leadership challenge next week.

Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal joins Jacqueline Maley in today's episode.

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Tony Wright, the associate editor of The Age, has been writing for 50 years. He is the master of what we call the political sketch.
Sketches are akin to a verbal cartoon and, when done well, capture a moment in politics.
Today, in a bonus episode of Inside Politics, we bring you Wright's sketch on the disintegration of the Coalition, titled: It’s a mess of Titanic proportions on the...

One Nation is having a bit of a moment.

Pauline Hanson’s outfit, accused by both major parties of exploiting racial anxiety over her career, has faded into irrelevance at points since she burst onto the scene in the late 1990s.

But two new polls have recorded record-high primary votes for One Nation. One of them saw One Nation’s vote rise above the Coalition, which split in spectacular fashion this week, over new hate c...

We are back with a special episode of Inside Politics as a few things have happened this week – namely the break-up of the Coalition, a century-old political alliance.

Nationals leader David Littleproud announced the split on Thursday morning, blaming Liberal leader Sussan Ley in the process.

Federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos joins chief political correspondent Paul Sak...

Inside Politics is still on a break, but we’re set to return in two weeks.  

Today, we return to an episode released just after Anthony Albanese’s successful meeting with Donald Trump, and one in which we had a special guest -  former Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten.

Bill also has some advice for the opposition, and its leader Sussan Ley, before a slight diversion to discussing the dress sense of our...

We’re on a break over summer, our dear chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal is probably off to a yoga retreat somewhere in Bali, and we return at the end of January for another fun-filled year of Inside Politics.

Well, we can’t ignore the impact that Donald Trump had on domestic politics last year and for this episode, we return to a point in time when most of the press pack was obsessed with whether Anthony Albane...

Happy New Year.

We’re on a break over summer - lucky us - before we return at the end of January for another year of Inside Politics.

Today, we’re returning to an episode recorded in the wake of the divisive ‘March for Australia’ protests, which became the vehicle for a hodgepodge of causes, including immigration, an issue that would lead to Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s sacking from the frontbench.