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Australia’s budgets are under pressure. Debt is rising, interest bills are climbing, and the costs of an ageing population and climate change are getting bigger. So how did we get here? And what would it take to fix it? The biggest challenges now sit in state budgets, and the GST is no longer doing the job it was designed to do. In this podcast, Grattan Economic Prosperity Deputy Program Director Erin-Lea Brown talks to Senior Associate Matthew Bowes about our report, Budget reboot: How to fund Australia’s future, which sets out a plan to repair budgets through stronger fiscal rules, a bigger and broader GST, and a new deal between federal and state governments. Read our report: grattan.edu.au/report/budget-reboot-how-to-fund-australias-future/ Thanks for listening to the Grattan Podcast. Our research, reports and analysis are freely available thanks to the donations of listeners like you. Please consider making a regular or one-off donation at grattan.edu.au/donate. You can follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter on our website to stay up to date with Grattan’s news. Thanks again for listening. Instagram: www.instagram.com/grattaninstitute/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grattan-institute/

Political parties spent almost half a billion dollars in the year leading up to the 2025 federal election. Big-money campaigns mean politicians spend more time chasing donations, and risk giving major donors more influence over policy. From next year, new rules will finally put a ceiling on money in Australian politics — but that ceiling is set far too high. In our latest podcast, Grattan researcher Thomas Shortridge talks to our democracy expert Kate Griffiths about her policy brief, 'Decoupling money from power: Getting electoral expenditure caps right', and what a better cap on election spending would look like. Read the policy brief: https://grattan.edu.au/news/decoupling-money-from-power/

Every night, thousands of car spaces across Australia’s cities sit empty. This is the result of state and local governments requiring new housing projects to include off-street parking at rates much higher than residents want or need. In this podcast, Grattan housing expert Matthew Bowes talks to co-author Ashleigh Chang about our report, ‘Wasted space: Axe car-parking rules to ease the housing crisis’, and how can we better manage parking in our cities and get more homes built for less. Read our report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/wasted-space-axe-car-parking-rules-to-ease-the-housing-crisis/ Thanks for listening to the Grattan Podcast. Our research, reports, and analysis are freely available thanks to the donations of listeners like you. Please consider making a regular or one-off donation at grattan.edu.au/donate. You can follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter on our website to stay up to date with Grattan's news. Thanks again for listening. Instagram: www.instagram.com/grattaninstitute/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grattan-institute/ 7f2a6740-b0c4-11f1-b1b1-8106510378ab

Paid work can be a pathway to independence, purpose, and connection — but Australians with disability are far less likely to be employed than everyone else, especially those with high support needs. Many who do work are paid well below the minimum wage, some as little as $3.31 an hour. How do we build a system for disabled workers that opens up better jobs and fairer wages? In this podcast, Grattan Associate Ben Jefferson talks to Grattan Disability Program Director Sam Bennett and Senior Associate Owain Emslie about our report, Opening doors: Better jobs and fairer wages for disabled workers, which sets out a pragmatic path to better employment outcomes for disabled people with high support needs — while ensuring no one is left behind. Read our report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/opening-doors-better-jobs-and-fairer-wages-for-disabled-workers/ Thanks for listening to the Grattan Podcast. Our research, reports and analysis are freely available thanks to the donations of listeners like you. Please consider making a regular or one-off donation at grattan.edu.au/donate. You can follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter on our website to stay up to date with Grattan's news. Thanks again for listening. Instagram: www.instagram.com/grattaninstitute/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grattan-institute/

Australians visit the pharmacy more than any other health service. But what's happening behind the scenes? How does the price you pay at the counter get set? How's the pharmacy sector funded? For years, decisions about pharmacy policy have been made through closed-door negotiations. In this podcast, Grattan Associate Reilly Polaschek talks to Grattan Health Program Director Peter Breadon about our report, Future pharmacy: A better deal for patients and taxpayers which charts a path to a fairer, more efficient pharmacy sector. Read our report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/future-pharmacy-a-better-deal-for-patients-and-taxpayers/ Thanks for listening to the Grattan Podcast. Our research, reports and analysis are freely available thanks to the donations of listeners like you. Please consider making a regular or one-off donation at grattan.edu.au/donate. You can follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter on our website to stay up to date with Grattan's news. Thanks again for listening. Instagram: www.instagram.com/grattaninstitute/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grattan-institute/

The NDIS is one of the central fiscal bets of the federal budget. In this podcast, our disability experts discuss what the government's proposed reforms will really cost — and what needs to change. In this podcast, Grattan Senior Associate Hannah Orban talks to Grattan Disability Program Director Sam Bennett and Grattan Associate Reilly Polaschek about the NDIS reform bill and the Senate inquiry extension. Read our submission to the Senate Inquiry:https://grattan.edu.au/news/saving-the-ndis/ Read our Disability research: https://grattan.edu.au/disability/ Thanks for listening to the Grattan Podcast. Our research, reports and analysis are freely available thanks to the donations of listeners like you. Please consider making a regular or one-off donation at grattan.edu.au/donate. You can follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter on our website to stay up to date with Grattan's news. Thanks again for listening. Instagram: www.instagram.com/grattaninstitute/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grattan-institute/

The Grattan energy team is back with a new podcast on their latest report, Out of gas: Managing the decline of gas in Australia. In this episode, our energy experts dig into the detail of their longest report yet. Joining the conversation are report authors Alison Reeve, Program Director; Hamish McKenzie, Deputy Program Director; and Associate Ben Jefferson. Read the report: grattan.edu.au/report/out-of-gas…gas-in-australia/ Thanks for listening to the Grattan Podcast. Our research, reports and analysis are freely available thanks to the donations of listeners like you. Please consider making a regular or one-off donation at grattan.edu.au/donate. You can follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter on our website to stay up to date with Grattan's news. Thanks again for listening. Instagram: www.instagram.com/grattaninstitute/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/grattan-institute/

Managing the decline of gas in Australia is a multi-decade challenge. In this podcast, our energy experts detail the the tough decisions Australia has to make. In this podcast, Grattan Associate Molly Chapman talks to Grattan Energy Program Director Alison Reeve about our report, Out of gas: Managing the decline of gas in Australia. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/out-of-gas-managing-the-decline-of-gas-in-australia/ Thanks for listening to the Grattan Podcast. Our research, reports and analysis are freely available thanks to the donations of listeners like you. Please consider making a regular or one-off donation at grattan.edu.au/donate. You can follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, and sign up to our newsletter on our website to stay up to date with Grattan's news. Thanks again for listening. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/grattaninstitute/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/grattan-institute/

On Tuesday, 12th of May, Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down his fifth budget under the Albanese government. What did Grattan's experts make of this year's Budget, and what was left on the cutting room floor? The Grattan Podcast is produced by the Grattan Institute, an independent think tank focused on Australian public policy. Subscribe for expert analysis on the issues shaping Australia's future.

With the 2026 federal budget just two weeks away, Grattan Institute CEO Dr. Aruna Sathanapally joins Deputy Program Director of Energy and Climate Change Hamish McKenzie to unpack what could be one of the most consequential budgets in a generation. Against a backdrop of war, a global energy crisis, and rising inflation, the government faces a set of colliding imperatives: steady the ship or seize the moment for long-overdue reform. With a thumping majority and an opposition in disarray, the Albanese government has a window for change. But will it take it? Read Aruna's article in The Australian Financial Review here: https://grattan.edu.au/news/we-need-restraint-not-a-razor The Grattan Podcast is produced by the Grattan Institute, an independent think tank focused on Australian public policy. Subscribe for expert analysis on the issues shaping Australia's future.

Australians cannot take the future strength and resilience of our democracy for granted. Grattan Institute's new report ‘For the people: Future-proofing Australia’s democracy’, shows that democracy is backsliding globally, and the world order in which Australia has flourished is being seriously tested. Our investigation exposes warning signs for Australia, and underscores that it will take work to ensure our democracy is fit for these turbulent times. Reforms that show that those in power are willing to tackle our big challenges will not only deliver a better economy and society, they will build trust in our democratic system to deliver for the people. Grattan democracy experts and report co-authors Kate Griffiths and Matthew Bowes take you through the findings from the report, and the five priority areas identified for making Australia's democracy better and more resilient . Dive deeper by reading the full report here: https://grattan.edu.au/report/for-the-people-future-proofing-australias-democracy/

On 11 December, we celebrated the official launch of Grattan Institute’s 2025 Prime Minister's Summer Reading List at State Library Victoria. Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally was joined by ABC politics and economics journalist Tom Crowley and acclaimed author Cordelia Fine for a lively discussion, as we unveiled our selection of six of the most thought-provoking, compelling, and relevant books of 2025. It was an extraordinary year, and these are extraordinary reads – not just for the Prime Minister, but for anyone passionate about public policy and Australia’s future. Explore the full list: https://grattan.edu.au/news/prime-ministers-summer-reading-list-2025/

On a typical school day in Australia, about 11% of students who should be at school are absent. These absences add up quickly. Missing one day of school a fortnight is the equivalent of missing four weeks a year – and missing a whole year between the first day of school and the end of Year 10. On our latest podcast, education experts Amy Haywood and Molly Chapman discuss how to improve school attendance, with host Kat Clay. Read the Policy Brief: https://grattan.edu.au/news/every-day-matters-improving-school-attendance-in-australia/

Australia is failing more than 130,000 people with significant psychosocial disability – despite spending billions every year on the NDIS. This gap is fuelling a growing problem. People without adequate supports are more likely to experience homelessness, be hospitalized, or have their needs escalate, putting pressure on systems that are already under strain. In this podcast, Sam Bennett, Mia Jessurun, and Reilly Polaschek, discuss the latest Grattan report, Bridging the Gap: Meeting the needs of Australians with psychosocial disability. In the report, they outline a plan to build a fairer and more effective system of psychosocial supports. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/bridging-the-gap-meeting-the-needs-of-australians-with-psychosocial-disability/

Spending on Australia’s public hospitals has increased by an average of $3 billion every year in the past decade. Yet hospitals are still under strain. Ambulances are ramping outside emergency departments, waits for surgery are getting longer, and staff say they’re burning out. And demand will only grow as Australians gets older and sicker. There’s no doubt governments will have to spend more - but with ever more pressure on budgets, they’re going to need to be smarter about spending. On this podcast, health experts Peter Breadon and Elizabeth Baldwin discuss their new report, Smarter spending: Getting better care for every hospital dollar, and how to fix hospital funding in Australia. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/smarter-spending-getting-better-care-for-every-hospital-dollar/