Shows / Australia Matters
Episodes
Australia MattersCorrespondents' dinner attacked, MAGA confronts midterms
Violence is a feature of American democracy. On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis reflects on yet another appalling yet unsurprising act of…
Australia MattersEnding Australia's great gas giveaway
With the federal budget looming, a gas export tax would drive down prices and fund vital public services at a time when Australians are feeling the pinch. On…
Australia MattersDavid Pocock on getting a fair return for Australian gas
Australia is one of the largest exporters of gas in the world, yet beer drinkers pay more tax than the gas industry pays in Petroleum Resources Rent Tax. On…
- Australia Matters
Trump is fighting for a worse deal with Iran
After tearing up the Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Obama, Trump is trying to bomb his way to a better outcome and it’s failing…
- Australia Matters
Trump chaos driving bleak economic outlook
It reads like a dystopian sci-fi novel, but the latest IMF report on the global economy refuses to name the orange elephant in the room. On this episode of…
- Australia Matters
US allies reassess as Trump undermines global security
With President Trump spewing threats at friends and foes, the American government has gone off the rails. On this episode of Follow the Money, Dr Emma Shortis…
- Australia Matters
Vance joyless as US-Iran negotiations fall apart
The Trump administration’s failure to reach an agreement with Iran to end the war shouldn’t come as a surprise. On this episode of After America…
- Australia Matters
Will Trump send Australia into recession?
The US president is wreaking havoc in Iran and around the world. On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss Trump’s horrific threats…
- Australia Matters
Yanis Varoufakis on misogyny, resistance and why everything could be different
There is no reason our societies can’t change radically, to produce more of what we need and less of the things that are sowing the seeds of our own…
- Australia Matters
It’s time to tax gas properly
Until a 25% gas export tax is put in place, Australians are missing out on billions every year that could be used to support people through the living…
- Australia Matters
Prices skyrocket but major fuel shortages "very unlikely"
Petrol and diesel prices are sky high because of the illegal US-Israel war on Iran, but major fuel shortages in Australia are very unlikely. Matt Grudnoff and…
- Australia Matters
The US has left itself with no good options in Iran
The United States and Israel’s war on Iran has been disastrous. On this episode of After America, Dr Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the…
- Australia Matters
Fuel price gouging is…legal?!
Despite big talk from the government about punishing any fuel retailers profiteering from the global energy crisis, many forms of price gouging remain…
- Australia Matters
How a gas export tax could transform Australia
A 25% gas export tax would drive down gas prices for Australians and collect billions of dollars that can be used to provide better, cheaper health and…
- Australia Matters
Trump nixes Xi summit as Iran war escalates
Far from winding down, tit-for-tat threats on civilian energy infrastructure suggest the US-Israel war on Iran may enter a new spiral of violence. On this…
- Australia Matters
Double pain for Australians as interest rate and oil price hikes bite
Australians are already paying a price for the illegal US-Israel war on Iran, so why did the Reserve Bank double down and raise rates again? On this episode of…
- Australia Matters
Australia’s fossil fuel subsidies are out of control
Now costing Australian governments $31,020 per minute, fossil fuel subsidies are growing faster than spending on the NDIS. On this episode of Follow the Money…
- Australia Matters
“No plan” and no end in sight for Trump’s “little excursion” in Iran
The Trump administration’s war on Iran is the most “incompetent, incoherent” war the United States has fought in a century, according to one…
- Australia Matters
FFS: fossil fuel subsidies cost Australia $30,000 a minute
You’re meant to tax things you want less of and subsidise things you want more of – yet Australian governments are handing out $16.3 billion in…
- Australia Matters
AUKUS drags Australia towards US-Israel war on Iran
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…
- Australia Matters
Born to rule: Trump’s economy and the State of the Union
In the MAGAverse, it’s white men who are born to rule – at home and abroad. On this episode of After America, Elizabeth Pancotti from Washington…
- Australia Matters
Future uncertain as US says war on Iran has ‘only just begun'
The joint US-Israel war on Iran could have serious, lasting impacts on the global economy. On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Skye discuss the…
- Australia Matters
Gary Stevenson on wealth inequality and the rise of the far-right
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…
- Australia Matters
The US and Israel attack Iran, foment chaos
The ‘president of peace’ has started another war with Iran, with no apparent regard for the consequences. On this episode of After America, Allan…
- Australia Matters
Why the wealthiest don’t need another tax cut
Australia is a low taxing nation, but Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson still seems to want the highest earners to pay less. On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg…
- Australia Matters
“On the brink of extinction”: Niki Savva on the modern Liberal Party
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…
- Australia Matters
The Mar-a-Lago model: how Trump is trying to dominate global governance
The ‘president of peace’ is at it again: threatening Iran again and boasting that his ‘board of peace’ will look over the United…
- Australia Matters
Real wages are down, but apparently inflation is all your fault
Wages aren’t driving higher inflation, so why do workers always seem to cop the blame? On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Angus discuss why…
- Australia Matters
Joseph Stiglitz on super profits, capital gains and why corporate tax is good for democracy
Inequality creates insecurity and, as the United States is demonstrating right now, that insecurity can have devasting consequences for democracy. On this…
- Australia Matters
The “president of peace” is helping revive the nuclear arms race
By removing guardrails around nuclear weapons, the Trump administration is making the world a far more dangerous place. On this episode of After America, Jon B…
- Australia Matters
Are record property prices on the way (again)?
On the back of ongoing tax concessions primarily benefitting the wealthiest and the government’s five per cent deposit scheme for first home buyers…
- Australia Matters
Australia’s climate crossroads
With a leading role in this year’s United Nations climate conference, the Australian government has an opportunity to show genuine solidarity with its…
- Australia Matters
Democracy “dies in darkness” and Trump is trying to turn out the lights
As American democracy teeters, the Australian government is trying to pretend everything is just fine. On this episode of After America, Ben Doherty, Guardian…
- Australia Matters
How Australian high schools became the most expensive in the developed world
The privatisation of Australian high school education, originally led by the Howard government, has caused prices to soar. On this episode of Dollars & Sense…
- Australia Matters
"They rushed this": why the Reserve Bank got it wrong by raising rates
With inflation driven by Christmas holidays and data centres for artificial intelligence, the RBA didn’t need to raise the interest rate this week…
- Australia Matters
Why MAGA is here to stay with Don Watson
With each passing day, the Make America Great Again movement is becoming more battle-hardened and less likely to disappear once Trump leaves office (whenever…
- Australia Matters
BONUS EPISODE | Stephen Miller, the architect
Autocrats cannot rise to power by themselves. On this bonus episode, Dr Emma Shortis speaks to Justin Bergman, The Conversation’s International Affairs…
- Australia Matters
BREAKING: Australia's housing market still cooked
Even the Mathias Cormann-led OECD says the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing are a problem. On the first episode of Dollars & Sense for 2026…
- Australia Matters
How Australia can chart its own course in an uncertain world
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…
- Australia Matters
“Living within a lie”: Carney’s eulogy to the international order
The Trump administration may have killed what remained of the post-war international order, but last week Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered its…
- Australia Matters
Does the government understand its own hate laws?
The government passed new gun control and hate speech legislation in a special parliamentary sitting, but what impact will they have on Australian democracy?…
- Australia Matters
US extorts Europe in effort to acquire Greenland
American alliances aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. On this episode of After America, Matt Duss joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss the…
- Australia Matters
"Chaotic cruelty": Trump administration escalating violence at home and abroad
From Minnesota to Greenland, the Trump administration is bulldozing guardrails meant to protect human life and dignity. On this episode of After America…
- Australia Matters
Parliament returning early to debate new anti-hate & gun laws
Richard Denniss discusses the government’s response to the Bondi terrorist attacks, the chaos of the Trump administration and how to protect…
- Australia Matters
US invades Venezuela, threatens Greenland while ICE wreaks havoc
The Trump administration’s imperial march is gathering pace. On this episode of After America, Emma Shortis and Angus Blackman discuss the kidnapping of…
- Australia Matters
What can be done to fix the PALM scheme? | PALMed Off, Episode 4
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…
- Australia Matters
Is Australia failing its duty of care? | PALMed Off, Episode 3
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…
- Australia Matters
Workers are people, not commodities | PALMed Off, Episode 2
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…
- Australia Matters
Modern slavery in Australia? | PALMed Off, Episode 1
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…
- Australia Matters
Summer Special | Did the US play a role in the Whitlam dismissal?
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…
- Australia Matters
Our shared humanity
If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via their website, www.lifeline.org.au.Support Australia Matters…
- Australia Matters
Look after yourselves and each other
If you or anyone you know needs help, you can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via their website, www.lifeline.org.au.Support Australia Matters…
- Australia Matters
It's a time for bravery
Big economic reform probably isn’t as hard as governments think. On the final episode of Dollars & Sense for 2025, Greg and Elinor discuss why it’s…
- Australia Matters
Will Canada follow Australia’s disastrous path on gas?
Traditional custodians are fighting back against climate-destroying gas developments being rammed through by Canadian governments. On this episode of Follow…
- Australia Matters
“Maximum lethality”: the US military under the Trump administration
Defense Secretary Hegseth doesn’t want the US military to fight with “stupid rules of engagement”. On this episode of After America, Allan…
- Australia Matters
Is this growth...good?!
Rooftop solar and data centres are drivers of Australia’s economic growth, but do they really bring the same value to Australian society? On this episode…
- Australia Matters
Highway to hell? Reversing the decline of Australian music
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…
- Australia Matters
The nuclear option
Trump’s statements about resuming American nuclear testing left administration officials scrambling. On this episode of After America, Dr Ruth Mitchell…
- Australia Matters
This inequality isn't inevitable
By offering generous tax concessions to property investors and making it nearly impossible to live on JobSeeker, Australian governments have being making…
- Australia Matters
What have the scientists ever done for us?
Australian scientific discoveries have improved people’s lives and made the economy more productive – so why is the CSIRO being forced to shed…