Politics with Michelle Grattan

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Energy crisis has ‘badly damaged’ social licence of coal and gas

Australians are currently confronting a cost of living crisis that includes soaring energy prices. Ministers have been working for weeks on a strategy to contain the prices of coal and gas, driven up by the fallout from the Ukraine war.

It’s the toughest, most complicated policy issue so far faced by Anthony Albanese, and it’s involved some head-butting with the NSW and Queensland governments.

In this podcast, we talk with Professor Bruce Mountain, Director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre at Victoria University, about this energy policy conundrum, and the attempt to deal with it by price caps.

Mountain says: “One of the great difficulties in capping wholesale coal or gas prices is there’s no guarantee that that will impact the price of electricity. There’s a long chain to be followed between a wholesale cap on coal or gas and the price that the customer pays.”

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Niki Savva on her book Bulldozed, Scott Morrison and the Liberals’ woes

Six months after Scott Morrison was ousted, he remains a centre of attention, with parliament set to censure him on Wednesday over his multi-ministry power grab.

In exquisite timing, journalist Niki Savva’s book Bulldozed is released this week. It documents Morrison’s style, which eventually shocked even those closest to him in government.

“He’s a very secretive character. He’s distrustful. He’s a control freak. He’s a bully. He’s stubborn. He doesn’t listen to anyone,” Savva says. “And he was, as Alex Hawke [former minister and a Morrison numbers man] has said on the record, addicted to executive authority. He liked to be in absolute control, taking every decision but not taking responsibility for every decision.”

Savva says Hawke believed Morrison was frightened of a leadership challenge. “Alex Hawke […] believed Morrison was panic stricken by the thought that both left and right were out to get him. And although he was worried about Frydenberg, he was more worried about Dutton. He thought that there would be a move initiated by Frydenberg and then Dutton would come through the middle.”

Politics with Michelle Grattan: ’Teal’ Monique Ryan on the Victorian election and six months in parliament

The Australian National University Dictionary Centre has just announced its word of the year is “teal”.

Senior researcher Mark Gwynn described it as an “easy choice”. “The colour came to represent a movement of independent and strong female voices taking on the establishment.”

Monique Ryan, the member for the Melbourne seat of Kooyong, is the giant slayer of the movement, having defeated former treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

“It’s fascinating that the now the word ‘teals’ is now a noun that everyone recognises,” she says. “That was not the case a year ago.

 

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Tim Colebatch, Kos Samaras and Sumeyya Ilanbey on the Victorian Election

Victorians go to the polls on November 26, with the Andrews government seeking a third term.

Labor is the clear favourite, but it is under pressure in a number of seats.

The premier is a polarising figure, especially (although not only) as a result of the trials Melburnians endured with the prolonged harsh lockdowns during COVID.

Victoria will be a fresh test of what we saw in the federal poll – the disillusionment of many voters with the major parties.

 

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Karen Andrews on the Medibank hack, visa scams, and winning back women voters

Karen Andrews is the former home affairs minister and now shadows that portfolio, which includes cyber-security.

With Australians shocked by hackers starting to post Medibank data on the dark web, in this podcast Andrews calls on the health insurer to provide more information.

“There are some very serious questions that need to be put to Medibank about what it actually did.”

“They have sustained incredible reputational damage. The only way that I can see forward for them to be able to improve their public standing is to be very clear and open about what happened, why it happened, and what they are doing to assist their customers".

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Energy expert Bruce Mountain on what to do about the gas crisis

The aftermath of the Albanese government’s first budget has seen the political and policy debate turn sharply onto the spectre of households and businesses facing sky-high power prices over the next 18 months.

The government is now scrambling to craft a policy to bring the domestic price of gas down.

In this podcast, Michelle Grattan talks with Professor Bruce Mountain, Director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre at Victoria University, about this power price crisis, and the options available to deal with what he calls “a weeping sore”.

Mountain offers four key ways to address gas policy.

Politics with Michelle Grattan:Jim Chalmers, Angus Taylor and Danielle Wood on the budget

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says of his first budget: “Inflation is the dragon we need to slay”. Chalmers’ worry about inflation was reinforced by Wednesday’s release of the September quarter CPI, which showed inflation at 7.3%.

In this podcast, we talk to Chalmers, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor, and the head of the Grattan Institute Danielle Wood. Among the topics we canvass are the budget’s broad fiscal settings, the huge increases in power prices it forecasts, the pressures for tax and spending reforms in future budgets, the government’s housing initiative, and the implications of the childcare policy for women’s workforce participation.

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Rod Sims on tax reform and the gas price crisis

The government has flirted with, and now ruled out, changing the Stage 3 tax cut in the October 25 budget, which appears set to be dominated by some deep spending cuts. In the longer term, however, debate will continue over the need to reform Australia's tax system, as the calls on revenue to finance big programs increase. 

Meanwhile, the government is locked in a battle to get high domestic gas prices down, with its light touch policy towards the gas producers not having much impact.

In this podcast, Michelle Grattan talks with Rod Sims, former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and now a professor at the Australian National University's Crawford School for Public Policy, on tax, gas and privatisation.

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Bill Shorten on NDIS reform and the Optus fallout

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is a landmark reform of the last decade. But while delivering much benefit, it has operational problems and its cost has escalated dramatically – currently around $30 billion annually, there have been suggestions it could reach $60 billion. The scheme looms as one of the major pressures on the Albanese government’s budgets in coming years.

In this podcast, Michelle Grattan talks with Bill Shorten, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services about the issues around the scheme and the reforms needed to improve its operation and contain its cost.

Politics with Michelle Grattan: Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on the National Anti-Corruption Commission

The government has introduced its legislation for the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which has received the endorsement of opposition leader Peter Dutton and so is assured of passage through parliament.

But critics are unhappy that its public hearings will be limited to when there are “exceptional circumstances”. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus in this podcast strongly rejects the argument this is too high a hurdle.

The government has yet to nominate a head of the powerful new body, and Dreyfus says it is open to suggestions. Asked if he has anyone particularly in mind he says, “No I do not. […] We’re going to be trying to find someone who’s eminent, who has a real standing in the community.”

On the question of so-called “grey corruption”, notably misuse of ministerial discretion in grants schemes, Dreyfus stresses it will be completely up to the commission to decide what might justify investigation.