Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

Historian and author Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage to discuss the year that was, a landslide federal election victory, the rise of Teal and independent politicians and the split in the conservative Coalition.

Will Labour grasp the reform ‘nettle’ and tackle complex structural issues facing Australia or will Albo take a small C approach to governing? Can the Liberal party survive in a new political landscape and are Aus...

Political journalist and author Sean Kelly joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his Quarterly Essay examining the Albanese government and asks what today's Labor actually stands for.

Why has Labor become a graveyard of lost futures, discarding reform policies after political failures? Can Anthony Albanese's vision of 'kindness' translate into material policy? And has Labor's 94-member caucus become toxically obedient, failing to p...

Independent ACT Senator David Pocock joins Democracy Sausage to challenge both major parties on climate policy, gambling reform and political transparency.

Have gas companies captured both major parties on energy policy? Why won't Labor ban gambling advertising when 80% of Australians support it? And why do universities have governance structures that lack basic accountability mechanisms found in well-run companies?

Senator D...

In this special live recording from the 2025 Whitlam Symposium, Mark hosts a star-studded panel discussing the 50th anniversary of the Dismissal.

Was Sir John Kerr's decision to dismiss Gough Whitlam constitutionally correct but politically catastrophic? Did Malcolm Fraser's blocking of supply in the Senate represent an abuse of power, or legitimate opposition tactics? And has the Dismissal left lasting scars on Australia's publ...

Political journalist and author Troy Bramston joins Democracy Sausage to discuss his new biography of Gough Whitlam and asks how a government could be so transformative yet so chaotic.

How did Whitlam's government profoundly change Australia in less than three years despite being shambolic and scandal-prone? Could Whitlam have avoided the Dismissal if he'd passed supply in the House of Reps? And did the hostile media environment...

Jason Koutsoukis joins Democracy Sausage to examine Barnaby Joyce's political future and asks whether One Nation is really a viable option for the former Nationals leader.

Will Barnaby Joyce defect to Pauline Hanson's One Nation party? Why did David Littleproud allegedly tell Joyce he wasn't wanted in Parliament? And is Sussan Ley's Coalition giving Labor too easy a ride on AUKUS and foreign policy?

Jason Koutsoukis is a...

Political scientist Feo Snagovsky joins Democracy Sausage to explore the uncanny valley between Canadian and Australian politics and ask whether Mark Carney can govern while sleeping next to an 'elephant on meth'.

How did Trump's annexation threats unite Canadians like never before? Why does Alberta want to hold a separation referendum while sitting in the middle of Canada? And what happens when your conservative leader loses hi...

Political scientists Jill Sheppard and Pat Leslie join Democracy Sausage to ask whether the Albanese government is strategically waiting or simply drifting through its second term.

Why did Labor walk back its modest superannuation tax reform after winning 94 seats? How has Nigel Farage's Reform party overtaken the UK Conservatives with 250,000 members? And what happens when governing parties become so grey and joyless that voter...

Former ambassador Bob Bowker joins Democracy Sausage to assess the Middle East two years after October 7 and asks whether the prospect of a Palestinian state has been obliterated forever.

Why did Hamas's military wing launch an attack they knew would unleash catastrophic retaliation? How has Australia's recognition of Palestine exposed an 'iceberg adrift' in our society? And why does Trump's 20-point peace plan have even less ch...

Author Virginia Haussegger joins Democracy Sausage to discuss her new book tracing fifty years of Australian feminism and ask why the revolution that began in 1975 remains unfinished.

What role did a Canberra house party have in selecting the world's first women's advisor to a Prime Minister? Why did ASIO surveil women's liberation meetings and photograph their knitting bags? And what does the UN Secretary-General mean when he w...

Columnist Jenna Price and economist Sinclair Davidson join Democracy Sausage to dissect the crisis engulfing Australia's university sector and ask whether it can be fixed before it's too late.

Why are students being taught by academics on 13-week contracts who can't get home loans? How did universities end up with 55% of staff in administration while gutting teaching? And should prospective students skip university entirely unti...

Historian Frank Bongiorno joins Democracy Sausage to dissect the Liberal Party's existential crisis and asks whether Australia's 'natural party of government' is heading for collapse.

Is the Liberal Party becoming ideologically pure but electorally toxic? Why are Liberal MPs losing control of their branches to Sky After Dark viewers? And what happens when a political party holds just one in ten metropolitan seats but refuses to ...

Former senior Australian diplomat Jane Hardy joins Democracy Sausage to examine the new alliances emerging from Beijing's recent military parade and what they mean for global security.

What does it mean when India's Modi holds hands with Putin while Trump imposes punishing tariffs on supposed allies? How has North Korea quietly amassed enough material for 50 nuclear warheads? And is the West's post-war alliance system finally cr...

Political scientist Kate Crowley and election analyst Ben Raue join Democracy Sausage to examine Tasmania's political crisis and what it reveals about Australia's democratic future.

Is Tasmania ungovernable or just badly governed? Why do the major parties keep pretending they have mandates when voters have abandoned them? And what does Tasmania's experience with minority governments tell us about where Australian democracy is he...

What does the government's reluctance to partner with the Greens reveal about its reform agenda? What do the Liberal Party's internal battles over net-zero mean for the future of conservative politics in Australia? And where does Labor sit on Mark's freshly coined 'reform-courage' spectrum?

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Professor Mark Kenny is joined by Jason Koutsoukis and Dr Stewart Jackson to talk about whether th...

Can we fix the tax system? 

What is good economic growth vs bad economic growth? 

And, as the government's productivity roundtable begins, how do we become more productive as a nation?

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Marija Taflaga enlists tax policy specialists Robert Breunig and Kristen Sobeck to help chart a productive future for Australia.

Professor Robert Breunig is the...

Economist Richard Denniss joins Democracy Sausage and argues policies suffer because of our need to find the centre in any debate. 

What does pragmatism really mean for Australian politics? How do attempts at unity constrain political debate? And how do evidence, position and politics interact in policymaking? 

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Dr Richard Denniss and Professor Mark Kenny talk about t...

Political scientist Jill Sheppard joins Democracy Sausage to talk about the upcoming productivity roundtables, protests on starvation in Palestine and having the courage to act.

What is a mandate and how should Labor interpret its victory? Will the upcoming productivity roundtable act as a stepping stone for action or a delegation of decision-making? And how can our politicians start to build their political and moral ...

Political scientists Mark Riboldi and Pandanus Petter join Democracy Sausage to discuss housing policy, safety nets and the fair go. 

How do politicians talk about housing, and does it impact policy? Who are the villains (or scapegoats) in the Australian housing narrative? And what does living with dignity mean in our current society; is it universal basic income? 

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, ...