Keep the Bastards Honest

Elana conducts a wellness check on the United States. At the time of publishing this episode the US election is a week away, and to say that it’s one of the most consequential elections the world has ever seen is something of an understatement. Rather than trying to understand US politics through the lenses of either the US or Australian media, Elana asks an average American voter living in Trump country how it’s going. Show Notes: For context on the 1968 DNC, the ABC’s If You’re Listening podcast does a brilliant deep dive into this event, in podcast and video ...

The Prime Ministerial captain’s call on the 2026 census and the multiple excuses and backlfips required to ensure that the government ended up in almost the same position as they were in prior to Anthony Albanese’s intervention. You couldn’t make this up. Show Notes: The Daily Aus podcast on the Census backlash and backflip Sign the Equality Australia Count Us In petition to ensure everyone is represented in the 2026 CensusSupport Wear It Purple Laura Tingle reveals the Census questionsAlbanese vents his frustration in CabinetRoss Gittins on why Albanese tried to pre-empt a culture warHow this blew up in Albanese’s ...

In June Peter Dutton finally unveiled the Coalition’s widely spruiked and much anticipated policy on nuclear energy for Australia. But is it a feasible solution to Australia’s energy woes, or is it just a climate change denying fantasy? Steve and Elana review the Coalition’s plans against the current state of the energy transition, and the regulatory, technical, commercial and political hurdles that Dutton needs to overcome to realise his nuclear powered vision. Show Notes National Vice President Dr Grahame Elder’s drill down into SMRs, plus Elana’s podcast of the Drill, with added commentary and context An article on the estimated ...

Elana is back with an article she wrote in response to the recent decision by the National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC) not to open an investigation into the referrals made to it by the Robodebt Royal Commission of six officials involved in the Robodebt scheme. This story continued to unfold after our article was published, so Elana has additional updates and commentary on this story. Show Notes:Robodebt Officers off the Hook articleThe NACC’s decision on RobodebtThe NACC regulator’s decision to investigateGeoffrey Watson interviewed by Philip Adams on the NACC’s decisionThe Dutch child care rebate scandal

Rejoice budget nerds, it’s that time of year again! An episode in which Elana is cranky about what not’s in the budget, Leonie is in search of a narrative for the budget, Steve does a better job of selling the budget than Jim Chalmers did, and all three lament the budget’s missed opportunities. Show Notes Podcasts featured in this episode:Dollars and Sense: The Budget and Why Your Wages are Lagging 14 Years Behind7AM Podcast: The Jim Chalmers InterviewThe Guardian’s Politics Live: Jim Chalmers on his Budget Balancing Act Additional coverage:Dollars and Sense: Poverty is a Policy ChoiceFollow the Money: Jess ...

It took a little while for Heath, Leonie and the rest of the campaign team to crawl out from under all the life admin that piled up while they were contesting the Dunkley by election, but Elana managed to sit down with Heath and Leonie and have a chat about the results and their experiences on the campaign trail.

Are you wondering just what a small modular nuclear reactor is, and why we’re having a ‘debate’ on nuclear power? Dr Grahame Elder has you covered. He’s done the research so you don’t have to. In this first instalment of The Drill, Dr Elder does a deep dive into the questions of: what are small modular nuclear reactors, are SMRs being used successfully elsewhere, and if so, do they have a future in Australia’s energy transition and mix?  Host Elana Mitchell provides context and commentary as we drill into the issue of SMRs. Show Notes The Drill with all of ...

The by election in the Victorian electorate of Dunkley was triggered by the very sad passing of Labor MP Peta Murphy in December of 2023.  We pay our respects to Peta, and extend our condolences to her family and friends on what must be a devastating loss.  Our parliament, and Dunkley, are poorer for her absence. Heath McKenzie is a long time resident of Seaford, situated in the electorate of Dunkley.  He is a qualified landscape gardener, has managed a large client portfolio for a major paint manufacturer and is now a business development manager for a major producer of ...

Elana and Steve are back, with lots to catch up on as they look back at the year that was 2023, and look forward to the year that will be 2024. Show Notes Listen to Greg Jericho’s Dollars and Sense podcast, where he explains how the Australian economy works. Elana recommends his episode on the Reserve Bank

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One of the interesting stats that’s come out of the current referendum polling is that a surprisingly large number of Australians didn’t know that we even have a constitution, never mind what it is and why it’s important.  If you’re one of those Australians, or you’re not sure what the deal is with the constitution, that’s ok!  As I covered in our referendum explainer, it’s been quite a while since we had to look at amending the constitution, so if your civics education has been lacking, that’s not your fault.  But we’re here to help plug the gaps in your ...

This is a story about colonisation, racism, and genocide.  It’s a story about erasure, not just of a culture, but of an entire people.  But it’s also a story of survival.  And it’s a story about love.  It’s a story about a woman who abandons her people, flees her home, her ancestors, her culture, and her heritage, who denies her own identity, right down to her own name, in order to protect her child from the government of her own country, a government that had an official policy to erase her people. It’s also a story about her descendent. And ...

Too young to have never voted in a referendum before? Old enough that it’s been some time since the last time you voted in one? In this episode we explain what a referendum is, why changing the constitution shouldn’t be a big deal, and what you, as a voter, have to do on the big day. Show Notes Here’s all the references used to build this episode, with some useful links if you’re after more information on the 2023 referendum on an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice: Referendums and plebiscites – Parliamentary Education Office Chapter VIII: Alteration of the ...

It shouldn’t come as any surprise to our regular listeners that the official position of the Australian Democrats is to support the Voice to Parliament.  Part of the policy platform we took to the 2022 federal election on standing with First Nations people was whole hearted support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.  Since the Albanese government has chosen to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, starting with a Voice to Parliament enshrined in the Constitution, our National Executive officially endorsed support for this back in April 2023.   In the face of the increasingly ugly public ...

Women for Election is an organisation whose mission is to inspire, equip and sustain women to successfully stand for, and thrive in, public office in Australia. On this episode Elana ...

Listener questions answered! This is a new listener requested segment where we answer your questions about Australian politics, government or even the Australian Democrats that you really wanted to know ...

Chris Simpson is former builder and building project manager, who was part of the team that ran for the Senate in Queensland in 2022, and was our spokesperson on housing.  ...

It’s budget time again, and Elana Mitchell and Steve Baty are joined by Young Democrat Rhiannon Kernot (no relation) to discuss the budget. While this episode was delayed by events, ...

Governments use the budget process to establish spending priorities and identify revenues to pay for those activities. The size and scope of those decisions make the budget process one of ...

Join National Vice Presidents Elana Mitchell and Steve Baty as they discuss the challenges facing the Albanese Government in its first major (but technically second) budget, and their wish list ...