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Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

The Australian National University

Mark Kenny takes a weekly look at politics and public affairs with expert analysis and discussion from researchers at The Australian National University and beyond.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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23 episodes
weekly
Avg 54 min
English

Episodes 23

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Tuesday · 1 hr 1 min
Whose Side Are You On?
Is Australia's looming digital duty of care about censorship, as its critics claim, or about handing control back to the people whose attention is being sold to advertisers? With Meta's $18 billion US settlement still fresh and an exposure draft due out within hours, independent MP for Curtin Kate Chaney makes the case for a broad duty on tech platforms to prevent foreseeable harm — and why she thinks this fight has nothing to do with free speech at all. THEN: from Perth's outer suburbs to a state election in Germany, the populist right is romping home wherever voters are abandoning the major parties. So why isn't the same thing happening on the left? After One Nation's rout of Labor in the Secret Harbour by-election, the Australia Institute's Richard Dennis and the University of Sydney's Stewart Jackson join Mark and Marija to ask whether the Greens have got too clever by half, too comfortable inside parliament, and too reluctant to just say whose side they're on. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
September 1 · 1 hr
Three Shocks
For the first time since federation Australia's population is made up of a majority of migrants and their children, changing the electoral maths for our politicians - have our leaders caught up to the times or are they getting left behind? Labor has learned how to win an election, but does the Liberal party have what it takes to break their losing streak? As trust in both our allies and our key trade partners has waned will our past inform our future? Mark and Marija tease who we, as a nation, are becoming in the 21st century with the author of Three Shocks, George Megalogenis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 25 · 48 min
Hostile complexity
Why has David Farley's and Pauline Hanson's immigration number not matched up — and does it even matter to One Nation's supporters? What do focus groups really say when people explain why they're giving up on the major parties? If many disaffected voters want a left-wing agenda of "taking back what we own," why is it the populist right keeps cutting through? RedBridge's Alex Fein joins Democracy Sausage to talk about the confusion at the heart of One Nation's immigration pitch, the voters who feel failed by the political class, and why the simplest story is winning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 18 · 58 min
Insiders and Outsiders
Twenty-five years ago, Insiders went to air for the first time – the morning after the Aston by-election, before smartphones, before social media, and long before anyone had to explain what a fax machine was. So how much of what's changed in Australian politics since has really been about the politicians, and how much about the technology reshaping how they communicate and how we watch? Is the feminisation of politics and the press gallery a quarter-century story, or something that's only really happened in the last five years? And now that everyone gets their news from a different, algorithmically sorted feed, is there still such a thing as a shared public – or a shared set of facts – for a democracy to argue over? Historian Anna Clark, Professor of Public History at the University of Technology Sydney and author of Making Australian History, joins Democracy Sausage to mark Insiders' 25th anniversary and take the long view on how politics, the media and the public conversation between them have been transformed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 11 · 46 min
You win some, you lose more
Why has the government fallen so far short of the Murphy Report's recommendations despite around 80 per cent of Australians wanting gambling ads banned? How did an under-resourced Northern Territory regulator end up overseeing a $34 billion-a-year industry? Why do inducements — not just the eye-watering ones, but the humble "here's $100, have a punt" kind — count as predatory when someone's trying to quit? Gambling researcher Charles Livingston joins Democracy Sausage to unpack the politics behind the federal government's gambling reform package. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
August 4 · 49 min
Job (Un)Ready
Is a policy that students, staff and vice-chancellors all agree has failed still standing because no one in government wants to spend the political capital to fix it? Can universities rebuild trust and student voice after a string of governance crises, from the ICAC probe into the University of Wollongong and parliamentary inquiries? What does it say about the state of higher education when the queue for the student food pantry is more competitive than the queue for an expensive degree? National Union of Students President Felix Hughes and ANU Students' Association President Charley Ellwood join Democracy Sausage to unpack the fallout from the Job-Ready Graduates scheme, the mounting weight of student debt, and governance in the university sector. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 28 · 52 min
Command, Control and Conformity
How did a Prime Minister sitting on one of Labor's largest-ever majorities turn his national conference into a masterclass in silence — and what does that say about who's allowed to argue inside the party? Is Albanese's "command and control" PMO disciplined governance or a party too afraid of its own conscience? With One Nation polling above 25 per cent in a Victoria that's just lost its Premier — without an MP, candidate or policy to its name — and Pauline Hanson's blossoming friendship with billionaire Gina Rinehart raising questions about who bankrolls the populist right, can Labor's manufactured unity survive the volatility of 2028? The Saturday Paper's chief political correspondent Karen Barlow joins Mark and Marija to make sense of Labor's conference of conformity, the Pyongyang PMO, and the rise of One Nation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 21 · 58 min
The Cohesion Question
Why has social cohesion — a concept researchers still can't agree how to measure — become one of the most contested ideas in Australian politics? What separates the multiculturalism built by successive Australian governments from the harder, more exclusive boundaries being drawn by Pauline Hanson and Tony Abbott today? And with the political cost of saying the unsayable at an all-time low, can government and society rebuild trust before the fracture gets worse? Dr Michael Zekulin joins Mark and Marija to unpack why "social cohesion" has become the buzzword of the moment, as Pauline Hanson returns from a UK tour with Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage, and Barnaby Joyce warns against fraying community bonds. The Australian Political Book of the Year Award is launching a new University Essay Prize! Full details, including eligibility and how to submit, are at available their website: https://auspolbookaward.com.au/uni-prize/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 14 · 46 min
Antidote to the far right
Is the collapse in trust of Australia's institutions, the retreat of unionism from everyday working life, and the alliances forged in Victoria's Covid lockdowns and reactivated by the 2023 Voice referendum responsible for the rise of the far right? Is One Nation's surge a passing spike, or the tail end of a forty-year rupture in Australian political life? Could a revived, class-based union movement win back the "recent defectors" drifting from Labor to Pauline Hanson before it's too late? This week, Mark and Marija are joined by Oscar Kaspi-Crutchett, research organiser at the Victorian Trades Hall Council and author of the new report Antidote. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
July 7 · 52 min
Angertainment
Is social media now a more powerful force reshaping Australian democracy than any politician, party, or policy? Why has Pauline Hanson spent thirty years in the political wilderness only to emerge as the country's most potent electoral force in 2026? Can the anger-entertainment industrial complex explain everything from One Nation's surge to the Voice referendum's collapse — and if rage bait is more engaging than porn, what hope does civility, truth, and evidence have in the modern political arena? Ed Coper, author of Angertainment, joins Mark and Marija to unpack how social media algorithms have weaponised our ancient neurochemistry, why the internet's promise of a global village became a gladiatorial arena, and whether anyone can still win politics by appealing to hope. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 30 · 43 min
Two Teals, One Ticket
Have Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender just become the party they always swore they weren't? Can a "free vote" constitution and no party room really survive contact with a Senate seat? Does the donation and spending caps from the last parliament leave community independents with no real choice but to collectivise? And what happens to "putting community first" the moment a hung parliament forces a deal? Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender join Mark and Marija from Parliament House to discuss the launch of Community Strong Australia, the logic (and the irony) behind it, and whether teal voters will buy a party that insists it isn't one. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 23 · 1 hr 2 min
Broken Britain and the Burnham Moment
How did a Prime Minister who won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in British history find himself gone within two years — and what does his fate tell us about the limits of triangulation politics? Is Andy Burnham's victory a genuine realignment moment for British Labour, or is he inheriting a structurally broken state where no leader can succeed? With Reform UK on the march and the North-South divide wider than the gap between East and West Germany, can Burnham's vision of devolution, constitutional reform and a written constitution offer a way out — and what can Australian politics learn from Britain's decade of revolving-door prime ministers? Political scientist Pat Leslie joins Mark and Maria to make sense of the collapse of the Starmer government and the rise of Andy Burnham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 16 · 53 min
Race for the base
How long will the honeymoon last for One Nation? Can Pauline Hanson create a robust political party to be competitive at the next election? How do populist leaders like Trump, Farage, and Hanson convince the working class that their wealthy backers back them? With One Nation rising in the polls, Special Correspondent at the Saturday Paper, Jason Koutsoukis joins Mark and Marija to discuss the threats to Labor and the Liberals and what they need to do to arrest the decline in the polls. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 9 · 52 min
Contest for the populist vote
Does the experience in the US, Germany, and Brazil reflect the Australian experience? How have institutional structures insulated centrist parties against new political threats? Can the rise of anger captured by the populists be effectively tested, and has Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani shown the way? Dr Rüçhan Kaya joins Mark and Marija to discuss the drift towards populism and nationalism in liberal democratic countries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
June 2 · 38 min
China in the world
Can Australia manage the tensions between our strategic relationship with China and the alliance with the United States? Does membership of AUKUS and the Quad damage our China relationship? How significantly are societal and economic issues - such as the role of women in decision making, aging population, corruption and the household registration system - impacting cohesion? China expert, Graeme Smith joins Mark to discuss China, and our relationship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 28 · 1 hr 14 min
A Democracy Sausage for the Teacher
Have young voters lost faith in the major political parties and politics in general? Did the recent federal budget go far enough in addressing the generational wealth gap and what will it take for political parties to successfully engage young voters? In this special classroom edition of Democracy Sausage, Dr Jill Sheppard joins the DS team and heads back to school (literally) to discuss the growing distrust in politics amongst young voters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 22 · 57 min
Budget, Smudge-it: truth, details and the aspiration wars
Will the budget changes reconnect young and disaffected Australians to the benefits of the economy? Is Angus Taylor’s vision likely to arrest the decline in support to One Nation? Is the ALP open to creating a sovereign wealth fund as outlined by Pauline Hanson? Treasurer of Australia, Dr Jim Chalmers joins Marija and Mark to discuss last week’s budget, Angus Taylors’ reply and the challenges of ‘getting it right’ in today’s volatile political and economic landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 19 · 48 min
Budget fight
Has the social deficits of broken promises put the government 'on the ropes'? Could Labor have 'pulled their punches' in this budget? Does the zeitgeist allow governments to adjust the status quo? Join Mark and Marija from the 'ringside seats' as they analyse labors 'chin-leading' budget. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 12 · 57 min
By-election tea leaves
In the wake of a dominant political victory, what are the challenges for One Nation in navigating a path to opposition status in Australian politics? Does Angus Taylor have the political capital to survive the long road back to political relevance for the Liberal Party? Will One Nation’s uncompromising anti-immigration rhetoric backfire in urban seats and do they have the party discipline to grow into an effective alternate party government? Psephologist Ben Raue and Political scientist Dr Jill Sheppard join Democracy Sausage live in the Lowitja O’Donoghue Cultural Centre to dissect the Farrer by-election result and its implications, if any, on politics beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 5 · 55 min
Democracy and the fiscal paradox
What responsibilities should the government have? Can hypocrisy be ignored if the government's narrative is perceived as authentic? Does the lack of access to education help to explain the erosion of democratic ideals? Professor Nicholas Biddle joins Democracy Sausage to make sense of the paradoxical observations of Australian voters in this 'age of pessimism'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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