Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Peter Martin joins Mark Kenny to unpack the latest economic update to the nation, and challenges ahead for the Australian and global economy.

What do unemployment and inflation numbers actually tell us about the state of the economy? How do economists account for Australia’s most vulnerable people? And what does an independent review of the Reserve Bank of Australia say about the government'...

On this parliamentary sitting day after Australia’s “earthquake election”, Frank Bongiorno, Marija Taflaga and Mark Kenny discuss some of the challenges facing the new government and what kind of prime minister Anthony Albanese might be.

How will the new Labor government manage negotiations with the Greens and the independent members of the crossbench? How will the Liberal-National opposition manage the question of action on climate...

Host Mark Kenny discusses multiculturalism in the Australian political system with Sukhmani Khorana, Fan Yang, and Marija Taflaga on this episode of Democracy Sausage.

What did we learn about the make-up of Australian society from the national census? How have migrant voters engaged with, and sometimes been instrumentalised by, political parties? And is it time for political actors to stop thinking about migrant groups as ‘voting bl...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Elizabeth Ames and Sophia Gaston join Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to unpack the Conservative Party’s leadership spill and the legacy of Boris Johnson.

What will Boris Johnson’s political legacy be and how might it shape the future of the United Kingdom? How will the current economic crisis influence the policies and priorities of Britain’s Conservative Party into the future? And what q...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Jennifer Hunt joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to discuss recent events in the United States, including the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe v Wade, loosening gun control, and the Capitol riot hearings against the backdrop of the health of the country’s democracy.

Is former President Trump’s influence only now finding its full expression? Is the politicisation of the Supreme Court dimi...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Nicholas Biddle and Intifar Chowdhury join Mark Kenny to discuss what was important to Australian voters at the recent federal election.

How did voters’ priorities change throughout the election campaign? Did the COVID-19 pandemic lead to a rise in electoral empathy? And do younger Australians think about their vote differently to older age groups? Associate Director of the ANU Centre for Social...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Ed Coper joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to discuss how the teals’ disrupted the traditional media and political machine. 

What are the secrets behind the teals’ communication success? How does digital and creative messaging disrupt the media machine? And what can the major parties learn from the way teals’ candidates ran their campaigns? Communications strategist and a director at media ag...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, independent Senator Rex Patrick joins Mark Kenny and Marija Taflaga to discuss Australia’s “total policy failure” on submarines, solving issues in the gas market, and why this parliament must be more transparent than the last.

How did Australia get to a point of policy failure in its Future Submarine program? Despite producing “more gas than you can poke a stick at”, why is Australia experiencin...

On this episode, our panel of political scientists - Carolyn Hendriks, Shirley Leitch and Marija Taflaga - join Mark Kenny to discuss the unprecedented success of independent candidates in the federal election.

How important was grassroots community engagement to the success of independent candidates in the recent federal election? What might the future hold for regional candidates who, despite not being elected to parliament like m...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, acclaimed journalists Karen Middleton and Malcolm Farr join Mark Kenny to pick apart the Australian federal election result. 

After a massive election loss, how will the Liberal Party recover - and will it do so by stepping to the left or the right? Is the ‘teal wave’ likely to be temporary, or will a more varied electoral map become a permanent feature of Australian politics? And what impact wi...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, journalist Kieran Gilbert, author Judith Brett, and political scientist Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny fire up the barbecue one last time before Australians head to the polls. 

After months of anticipation, Australia’s political future is about to be decided. So how have Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese performed throughout the federal election campaign? What will the result on Saturday mean ...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Frank Bongiorno, Marija Taflaga and Mark Kenny fire up the barbecue for the sizzling penultimate episode before Australia's election day.

Will the second prime ministerial debate of this election campaign go down as the worst ever? What might the record numbers of voters pre-polling mean for the major parties’ chances of winning government? And what might the future hold for the Labor, Liber...

In this live Democracy Sausage and Policy Forum Pod crossover episode, Nicholas Biddle joins Sharon Bessell, Arnagretta Hunter and Mark Kenny to talk about what issues matter to voters and why good policy so often gets lost in translation in Australia’s political system.

How can political candidates and policymakers address long term, intergenerational issues like climate change? What do voters mean when they report being concerned ...

With political and economic storm clouds brewing across the globe, Mark Kenny, Marija Taflaga, and University of New South Wales economist Richard Holden discuss what these challenges mean for Australia and the federal election campaign.

How concerned should Australians be about the state of the global economy? What might these economic storm clouds mean for Australian politics? And how do the economic policy proposals put forward i...

On the 200th episode of Democracy Sausage, recorded live at The Australian National University, youth advocate Yasmin Poole, journalist Ross Solly, and political scientist Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny to discuss the first week of the election campaign and what it means for Australia.

How important are election campaigns, really? What surprises may emerge from women and young people voting? And should journalists be asking ‘gotcha’...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, the Australian Electoral Commission’s Evan Ekin-Smyth joins us to talk about the incredible logistical effort that’s going into this federal election, before political scientist Charles Miller joins Mark Kenny to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

How is the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) preparing for the country’s largest peacetime logistical exercise, the federal election? And what impact is ...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, historian Chris Wallace and political scientist Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny to discuss the imminent federal election campaign.

Did Prime Minister Scott Morrison miss an opportunity to call an election at the end of 2021? How important is approval of a prime minister or opposition leader for a party’s prospects at an election? And how will the internal turmoil in the Liberal Party that’s gone ...

Mark Kenny takes a look at the federal budget and pre-election politics with political scientists Marija Taflaga and Jill Sheppard and economist Leonora Risse on this episode of Democracy Sausage. 

Are the measures in the federal budget the right ones for Australia’s economic recovery? With factional battles holding up Liberal Party preselections in New South Wales, will Scott Morrison call the election this week or will he be force...

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Mark Kenny previews the federal budget with Business and Economy Editor of The Conversation Peter Martin and Marija Taflaga from The Australian National University.

What will the Morrison government’s recent attempts to deliver services, rather than leaving delivery to the states and territories, mean for it electorally? What can voters expect to come out of the upcoming federal budget? And will...