Policy Forum Pod

This week on Policy Forum Pod, the ANU Energy Change Institute’s Thomas Longden and RegNet’s Lee White join Sharon Bessell and Arnagretta Hunter to discuss the importance of equitable energy policies and survey the terrain ahead for Australia’s energy policymakers.

As Australia grapples with transitioning to renewable energy, how is the country integrating affordable, reliable, and clean power sources into its energy system? What ro...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, David Lindenmayer joins us to discuss Australia’s dire biodiversity trajectory and what policymakers need to achieve in the five years until the next State of the Environment Report.

Why is environmental monitoring so important? How effective are biodiversity offsets in Australia and around the world? And what could the next State of the Environment Report look like in 2026 if Australia changes its tra...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, Mark Howden joins Arnagretta Hunter and Sharon Bessell to discuss the recent state of the environment report and the growing strain on the most important system of all - the planet. 

With a general public demanding action on climate change, how can the government start delivering on its targets? Just how much leadership, and what legislative and policy responses will be enough to protect our environmen...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, John Falzon, Sharon Bessell and Arnagretta Hunter discuss the serious impact inequality has on Australians, especially children, and how policymakers can reverse the marginalisation and demonisation of people experiencing poverty.

What does the experience of living with poverty mean for the lives of Australian children? Is the new government’s move to create a ‘wellbeing budget’ a step in the rig...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, Sharon Friel joins Arnagretta Hunter and Sharon Bessell to look at the health impacts of the cost of living acrisis.

How is the current cost of living crisis impacting the health and wellbeing of Australians? How do the social determinants of health play out in the community? And how might policymakers respond to future socio-economic crises without compromising people’s health? On this episode of Poli...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, Vice-President First Nations at The Australian National University Peter Yu joins us in the second episode in our new mini-series on the social impacts of rising costs of living and the inflation crisis.

What would an economic self-determination framework look like in Australia? What can we learn from First Nations’ experiences around the world, particularly from New Zealand and Canada? And can our cur...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, Warwick McKibbin and Kristen Sobeck join us in the first episode in our new mini-series on the social impacts of rising costs of living and the inflation crisis.

What global and local factors have contributed to the rising cost of living and inflation? What is the role of the Reserve Bank in managing monetary policy? And what should policymakers consider when addressing these complex issues? On this ep...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, Virginia Marshall joins us to discuss the Uluru Statement from the Heart and Australia’s pathway towards healing. 

How can Australia place kindness and care at the centre of its policy-making? What do First Nations’ knowledge systems tell us about protecting the land, waterways, and environment? And can implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart spark the truth-telling and healing Australia needs?...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, Professor of Economics and Convenor of the Water Justice Hub Quentin Grafton joins us to discuss the environmental challenges and policy opportunities to ensure food, water and energy for all. 

How does climate change impact our relationship to food, water and energy? How can truth-telling support a more equitable and sustainable approach to managing resources? And how do we need to think about global ...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, youth advocate Yasmin Poole and expert on gender-sensitive parliaments Sonia Palmieri join us to discuss Australia’s most diverse parliament in history and what it might mean for gender sensitive policy-making in the future.

What should the major parties learn from the election outcome about gender diversity and intersectionality? What must the new government do to ensure women are safe in parliamentar...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, George Carter and Siobhan McDonnell join us to talk about Australia’s diplomacy in the Pacific, and if the new Australian government can become the region’s “partner of choice”. 

How important is strong action on climate change to Australia’s security relationships in the Pacific? What lessons does China’s failure to strike a multilateral security and trade agreement with Pacific Island countries...

This week on Policy Forum Pod, public policy experts Helen Sullivan and Sara Bice join us to discuss the outcome of the federal election and what it might mean for Australia’s policy future.

Last Saturday, Australia elected a new government, emphatically voting out the Liberal-National coalition that had been in power since 2013. In his victory speech, new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted a number of policy changes, inclu...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, economist at King’s College London Alfredo Saad-Filho joins us to talk about neoliberalism, its impact on care and community, and the prospect of a new economic and social paradigm in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is neoliberalism, and how has it come to shape policy and politics? Is it possible to eliminate poverty in a neoliberal society? And how can communities begin to reshape polit...

On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, physician and researcher James Trauer and Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association Kylie Woolcock join us to talk about the future of healthcare in Australia.

Since early 2020, health policy-making has been in the spotlight like never before, as Australian governments scrambled to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. But with Australia moving to an endemic...

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 ...

On the fourth episode in our mini-series on care, Diane Gibson and Kasia Bail from the University of Canberra join us to discuss what policymakers can do to fix the systemic issues that have plagued Australia's aged care sector.

Will this federal election campaign lead to change the way aged care is valued in Australia? How do ageism, sexism, and racism intersect and influence the sector? And how can policymakers translate the p...

Newly-appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur Dr Ian Fry joins us to discuss the human rights impacts of climate change.

How has climate diplomacy evolved in recent decades, especially in the Pacific? In the face of increasingly frequent and severe disasters, how can people’s human rights be protected? And what implications might climate displacement have on cultural identity? In the third episode of our mini-series on care, Dr ...

On the second episode in our new mini-series, John Falzon from Per Capita and Kasy Chambers from Anglicare Australia join us to look at the Australian federal budget through the lens of care.

Did this federal budget provide real assistance for people in the face of the climbing cost-of-living pressures, or was it too focused on one-off sugar hits? What should the Australian Government be doing in terms of structural change to ensure...

Millie Rooney joins Sharon Bessell and Arnagretta Hunter on the 250th episode of Policy Forum Pod to discuss rethinking the public good and to launch our new mini-series on care.

How can valuing care enhance policy outcomes? Do policymakers need to expand the way they think about infrastructure to include social benefits rather than just roads and bridges? And how do the public want governments to play a role in protecting public go...