Follow The Money

The Australian government has been trying to placate Trump in order to secure the AUKUS submarine deal – and now we are seeing the results.

On this episode of Follow the Money and After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss the illegal US-Israel war in Iran, the implications of the conflict for the Middle East, and why Australian personnel were on board an American nuclear-powered submarine when it sank an Irania...

The far-right is benefitting from a failing status quo – but it doesn’t have to be this way.

On this episode of Follow the Money, author and economist Gary Stevenson joins Ebony Bennett to discuss wealth inequality, the global issue of housing unaffordability, why Australia should tax gas properly, and how many far-right parties have become the Steven Bradburys of global politics.

This episode was recorded on Thursday 2...

Shedding voters on the left and the right, is the Liberal Party heading for “oblivion”?

On this episode of Follow the Money, journalist and author Niki Savva and Australia Institute co-Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Denniss join Amy Remeikis to discuss how the Liberal Party ended up with their worst federal election result in modern history in 2025, why there’s no such thing as a safe seat in Australian politi...

Inequality creates insecurity and, as the United States is demonstrating right now, that insecurity can have devasting consequences for democracy.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Joseph Stiglitz joins Ebony Bennett and Dr Richard Denniss to discuss why Australia should get a better return for its natural resources, the power of corporations to mark up prices and push down wages, and why ...

With a leading role in this year’s United Nations climate conference, the Australian government has an opportunity to show genuine solidarity with its Pacific neighbours and climate-vulnerable communities at home.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Kumi Naidoo, South African human rights and climate advocate, joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the need for a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, why it’s past time for the...

With inflation driven by Christmas holidays and data centres for artificial intelligence, the RBA didn’t need to raise the interest rate this week, argues Matt Grudnoff.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Matt Grudnoff joins Ebony Bennett to discuss big economic reform opportunities facing the government and why the Reserve Bank of Australia is so cautious about cutting rates, yet so quick to hike them up.

Join economist, a...

The Australian government can’t keep its head in the sand and hope the chaos of the Trump administration will just go away.

Dr Emma Shortis and Greg Jericho join Glenn Connley to discuss how Australia can navigate what Canadian PM Mark Carney calls the Trump “rupture”.

A time for Bravery: what happens when Australia chooses courage is available now via Australia Institute Press. Use the code ‘POD5’ at ...

The government passed new gun control and hate speech legislation in a special parliamentary sitting, but what impact will they have on Australian democracy?

Amy Remeikis and Bill Browne join Ebony Bennett to discuss how having fewer guns in the community will make Australians safer. However, the complex anti-hate legislation that was rushed through at the same time could have serious consequences for Australian society.

A time for...

Richard Denniss discusses the government’s response to the Bondi terrorist attacks, the chaos of the Trump administration and how to protect Australia’s democracy.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Richard Denniss and Ebony Bennett discuss the political and policy response to devasting Bondi terrorist attacks, the cancellation of Adelaide Writers’ Week, Trump and the Australia-US alliance, and what to look out ...

What would it take to make the PALM scheme a genuine win-win for Australia and its neighbours?

In the fourth and final episode of PALMed Off, host Morgan Harrington canvases some of the proposed solutions to the problems facing the PALM scheme, including an amnesty for disengaged workers and ensuring that everyone working in Australia has the right to leave their employer.

PALMed Off is a special four-part series of Follow the Mon...

PALM visas holders do not get Medicare (outside of a trial limited to 200 people), so what happens when they are injured, get sick or fall pregnant?

In episode three of PALMed Off, host Morgan Harrington hears how a lack of affordable medical care can have dire consequences for PALM visa holders and discusses the problems faced by women who fall pregnant whilst working in Australia.

PALMed Off is a special four-part series of Foll...

Where do the thousands of people who have left the PALM scheme, but stayed in Australia, go? How do they survive without a valid visa and, more importantly, what does the future hold for them?

In episode two of PALMed Off, host Morgan Harrington travels to Leeton, New South Wales, a town that’s become a safe haven for some of the estimated 7,000 people who have ‘disengaged’ from the PALM scheme. We find out what ...

In this summer mini-series, we examine the Australian guestworker program that could be putting people from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste at risk of modern slavery.

In PALMed Off, a special Follow the Money mini-series, we explore the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme, a program that allows people from nine Pacific Island nations and Timor Leste to work in Australia on a special temporary visa. The Austr...

Rumours about America's role in the dismissal of Gough Whitlam have circulated for decades – but is there any truth to them? 

On this special episode of Follow the Money, Dr Emma Shortis explores the state of the Australia-United States relationship under the Whitlam government, the machinations at the time around the renewal of Pine Gap, and the previously untold account of Dr Liz Cham, former executive assistant in the...

Traditional custodians are fighting back against climate-destroying gas developments being rammed through by Canadian governments.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Hereditary Chief Na’Moks of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, Gwii Lok’im Gibuu Jesse Stoeppler of the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en Nations, and Kai Nagata from not-for-profit Dogwood tell us about their fight to stop gas giants including Woods...

These days, Aussie music is falling out of the charts, leaving local acts wondering if they’ll ever see your face again.

INXS. Kyle Minogue. Even the Wiggles. Australia has an incredible musical legacy, but with declining streaming numbers and revenues heading abroad, will the Aussie musician just become somebody we used to know? On this episode of Follow the Money, former Spotify Chief Economist Will Page and Australia Insti...

Australian scientific discoveries have improved people’s lives and made the economy more productive – so why is the CSIRO being forced to shed workers again?

On this episode of Follow the Money, Matt Grudnoff and Ebony Bennett discuss the latest job cuts at the CSIRO, why this is a missed opportunity as researchers leave the United States, and why science investment matters for productivity.

A time for Bravery: what hap...

With brave climate leadership, says former South Australian Premier Mike Rann, Anthony Albanese could leave a lasting legacy similar to Bob Hawke with Medicare, Paul Keating with compulsory superannuation and Kevin Rudd with the apology to the Stolen Generations.

On this episode of Follow the Money, Mike Rann addresses the fossil fuel industry’s tobacco-like tactics, South Australia’s leadership of progressive reform, a...