Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

Latest Episodes:

Crossbench compromise and ending the climate wars Mar 28, 2023

Show notes

This week on Democracy Sausage, we discuss negotiations between the government and the Greens over the ‘safeguard mechanism’ and the findings of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report with experts Mark Howden and Arnagretta Hunter.

Having reached an agreement with the Greens over its signature climate policy, is the government finally putting to bed Australia’s so-called ‘climate wars’? What role will the expanded crossbench play in climate policy negotiations throughout this term? And what does the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis report show about the world’s ability to prevent the worst impacts of climate change? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, The Australian National University’s Professor Mark Howden, Dr Arnagretta Hunter and Dr Marija Taflaga join Professor Mark Kenny to discuss climate change and the importance of hope in the policy debate.

Mark Howden is the Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions and a Vice Chair of the IPCC.

Arnagretta Hunter is a cardiologist, physician and the Human Futures Fellow in the ANU College of Health and Medicine.

Marija Taflaga is the Director of the ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the University after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to democracysausage@anu.edu.au.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AUKUS and the US alliance with Hugh White Mar 18, 2023

Show notes

Strategic studies expert Hugh White argues that the AUKUS submarines arrangement is a deeply flawed deal that ties Australia to the United States in the event of a major armed conflict in Asia.

Are nuclear-powered submarines the most cost-effective and strategically sound option for Australia? Is Australia paying for the Virginia-class submarines with a portion of its sovereignty as well as a very large sum of money? And is the Australian government basing its decision-making on flawed assumptions about the United States’ ongoing pre-eminence in Asia? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Emeritus Professor Hugh White from The Australian National University (ANU) discusses the AUKUS deal with Professor Mark Kenny.

Hugh White is an Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robodebt and Australia’s ‘rotten’ public service Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Senior Reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton joins the show to discuss what the Robodebt royal commission hearings uncovered and the dire state of Australia’s policymaking apparatus.

How was the Robodebt scheme, which illegally and inaccurately used income averaging to calculate welfare debt, allowed to become policy and wreak havoc on some of Australia’s most vulnerable citizens? What did the royal commission hearings, which concluded just last week, reveal about the culture of the Australian public service and its relationship with the former government? And what needs to change so that a policy failure of this magnitude doesn’t happen again? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Senior Reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton joins Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga to discuss the Robodebt royal commission.

Rick Morton is a Senior Reporter for The Saturday Paper and author ‘Robodebt and the empathy bypass’, a new essay in The Monthly about the Robodebt scandal.

Marija Taflaga is the Director of the ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via http://www.lifeline.org.au/ or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36 or via https://www.beyondblue.org.au/.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to democracysausage@anu.edu.au.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One rule for some Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

Historian Frank Bongiorno joins us to discuss superannuation reforms, Robodebt and the state of policy debate in Australian politics on this episode of Democracy Sausage.

Why has the backlash to the government’s superannuation changes been so fervent, despite an overwhelming majority of Australians supporting the move? What did the illegal Robodebt scheme reveal about the exercise of power in Australian politics and society? And what lessons can the Prime Minister and his cabinet learn from past governments if it wants to have a serious, effective conversation about economic reform? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, The Australian National University’s Professor Frank Bongiorno, Dr Marija Taflaga and Professor Mark Kenny discuss policymaking and reform in a febrile - even hostile - media environment.

Frank Bongiorno AM is an Australian labour, political and cultural historian and Professor of History at The Australian National University (ANU).

Marija Taflaga is the Director of the ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Democracy under attack (in 280 characters or less) Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Social media expert Jennifer Stromer-Galley joins us to discuss social media, echo chambers and the erosion of democratic institutions on this episode of Democracy Sausage.

Effective policymaking depends on people coming together to find common ground, but is that still possible in the increasingly caustic political atmosphere in the United States? What role has social media - particularly Twitter - played in undermining democratic institutions? And what, if anything, can be done to reverse these worrying trends? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Dr Jennifer Stromer-Galley, from Syracuse University in the United States, joins Dr Marija Taflaga and Professor Mark Kenny to discuss the search for common ground in politics in the age of social media.

Jennifer Stromer-Galley is a social media expert, author of Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age and Professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University.

Marija Taflaga is the Director of the ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As long as it takes Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

International relations scholar Charlie Miller joins the show to discuss Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine and the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

Will United States President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to Kyiv influence Russia’s strategic calculus in Ukraine? Is a decisive Ukrainian victory on the battlefield possible in the second year of Russia’s invasion, or is the current stalemate likely to continue? And how can lasting peace be achieved? On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Dr Charles Miller from ANU School of Politics and International Relations joins Dr Marija Taflaga and Professor Mark Kenny to discuss the conflict in Ukraine as Russia’s invasion enters its second year.

Dr Charles Miller is a Lecturer at ANU School of Politics and International Relations with a focus on military conflict.

Marija Taflaga is the Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The powers that be Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

Journalist Hamish Macdonald joins Mark Kenny to get under the skin of some of the world’s most prominent political leaders.

How did Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin make their way to the top of their respective political systems? What does the leadership of Giorgia Meloni suggest about how Italy has grappled with its past? And how does Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s power extend around the world, including into Australia? In this episode of Democracy Sausage, Walkley Award-winning journalist Hamish Macdonald joins Professor Mark Kenny to discuss what makes political leaders tick and his new podcast series, Take Me To Your Leader.

Hamish Macdonald is a journalist, broadcaster, and host of the new ABC podcast, Take Me To Your Leader.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the University after a high profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What goes up… Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

Sophia Gaston and Mark Kenny discuss balloons in the United States, tanks in Ukraine, and railways in the United Kingdom on this episode of Democracy Sausage.

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s a 200-foot-high Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the northern United States (allegedly)! On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Head of Foreign Policy and UK Resilience at British think tank Policy Exchange, Sophia Gaston, joins Professor Mark Kenny to discuss whether the discovery of said inflatable has yet again let the air out of US-China relations. The pair also talk through the major European powers’ role in supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion, and whether British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer can pull off the improbable and win the next election.

Sophia Gaston is Head of Foreign Policy and UK Resilience at Policy Exchange, one of the United Kingdom’s leading think tanks.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can Australia get to ‘yes’? Jan 31, 2023

Show notes

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, former Chair of the Australian Republican Movement Greg Barns joins Mark Kenny to discuss the Voice referendum and the challenges of running a ‘yes’ campaign.

What lessons can the ‘yes’ campaign in the upcoming Voice to Parliament referendum learn from the failed republican campaign in 1999? How much is too much when it comes to detail ahead of the vote? And how significant is it that Anthony Albanese and the premiers are supportive of the ‘yes’ vote this time, whereas former prime minister John Howard was staunchly opposed to Australia becoming a republic? Greg Barns SC shares his campaign experience as a former head of the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) with Professor Mark Kenny on this episode of Democracy Sausage.

Greg Barns SC is a barrister at Republic Chambers. He was the political campaign director for the ARM ahead of the 1999 republic referendum, before taking over as Chair in 2000.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia’s big chance with Jim Chalmers Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

Treasurer of Australia Jim Chalmers joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to discuss the future of Australia’s economy and society on the first episode of Democracy Sausage for 2023.

Despite the simultaneous and interconnected crises ravaging the global economy, can Australia find a way forward that leaves the country stronger? How can the economy support a more robust and inclusive democracy? And what legacy does the new treasurer want to leave? On this first episode of Democracy Sausage for 2023, the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP joins Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga to discuss Australia’s economic future and his forthcoming essay in The Monthly, ‘Capitalism after the crises’.

The Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP is Treasurer of Australia and Member for Rankin.

Dr Marija Taflaga is the Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.