Episodes

  • The minister for veterans' affairs on Anzac Day, Ben Roberts-Smith and increased defence spending

    The minister for veterans' affairs on Anzac Day, Ben Roberts-Smith and increased defence spending
    Apr 24 2026
    Before his trip to Papua New Guinea for Anzac Day commemorations, the minister for veterans’ affairs and defence personnel, Matt Keogh, speaks with political editor Tom McIlroy. Keogh discusses the government’s progress after the royal commission into defence and veterans’ suicide, which handed its recommendations to government two years ago. The Perth MP also responds to the continued display of Ben Roberts-Smith’s military uniform and medals in the Australian War Memorial – despite the recent war crime charges of murder, which the former SAS soldier strongly denies
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    29 mins
  • Disability minister Mark Butler on the 'necessary' cuts to an NDIS under pressure

    Disability minister Mark Butler on the 'necessary' cuts to an NDIS under pressure
    Apr 23 2026
    Nearly 15 years after Julia Gillard introduced the national disability insurance scheme, the Albanese government announced the most significant reforms to the scheme on Wednesday. It’s expected that the billions of budget savings will mean at least 160,000 participants will no longer be able to access the scheme within the next four years. The minister for disability, health and ageing Mark Butler speaks to political editor Tom McIlroy about how the cost of the NDIS became ‘not sustainable’ and the material impact of the reforms on participants. Butler’s announcements have already been widely criticised, and he responds the government’s decision to announce sweeping cuts while also increasing defence spending considerably last week
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    29 mins
  • Ask me anything: the future of Aukus, sanctions on Israel and more ACT senators

    Ask me anything: the future of Aukus, sanctions on Israel and more ACT senators
    Apr 17 2026
    What’s the line in the sand for Albanese to rethink the multibillion-dollar Aukus agreement? Why won’t the government implement sanctions on the US and Israel – similar to those imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine? And should the Senate expand to better represent the needs of a growing population, such as in the ACT? Tom McIlroy, Dan Jervis-Bardy, Krishani Dhanji and Josh Butler from Guardian Australia’s politics team in Canberra answer questions from listeners and readers
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    30 mins
  • Gabrielle Chan on farmers managing fuel and fertiliser shortages during a war

    Gabrielle Chan on farmers managing fuel and fertiliser shortages during a war
    Apr 10 2026
    Journalist, author and farmer Gabrielle Chan speaks to Guardian Australia political editor Tom McIlroy about the experiences of rural and regional Australians whose work and everyday life have been upended by supply chain disruptions caused by the war in Iran. The former political reporter also talks about the rise in Pauline Hanson’s popularity ahead of the Farrer byelection, which is expected to be a strong contest between a One Nation and independent candidate
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    27 mins
  • Energy minister Chris Bowen on the impact of the fuel crisis

    Energy minister Chris Bowen on the impact of the fuel crisis
    Apr 2 2026
    The minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen, tells Guardian Australia’s political editor, Tom McIlroy, that despite shortages at petrol stations around Australia, there have so far been no disruptions to the country’s fuel supply. Bowen responds to criticisms about the Albanese government’s communication to the public, as the second month of the US-Israel war on Iran continues to send shockwaves around the world. The minister also argues that rationing fuel is not necessary for now, and that having a staged plan with the states is good government at work
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    25 mins
  • Guardian Essential report: Australians don’t want the war on Iran – Australian politics podcast

    Guardian Essential report: Australians don’t want the war on Iran – Australian politics podcast
    Mar 26 2026
    After Australia became one of the first countries to back the US’s war on Iran, this month’s poll shows voters are questioning Canberra’s relationship with the US and an increasingly unpredictable Donald Trump. Political reporter Josh Butler and the Essential Media executive director, Peter Lewis, discuss why Australians want the government to broaden our diplomatic relationships and if voters are blaming the government for being dragged along on Trump’s latest alarming intervention
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    28 mins
  • Andrew Hastie on Trump’s 'overconfident' Iran war and resurrecting the Liberals

    Andrew Hastie on Trump’s 'overconfident' Iran war and resurrecting the Liberals
    Mar 26 2026
    This week, as fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran continues, the fuel crisis hit Australian hip pockets harder than ever before. Meanwhile the Liberal party faces its own existential reckoning: voters moving further right towards One Nation. Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to the shadow minister for industry and sovereign capability, Andrew Hastie, about Australia’s response to the global fuel shock, why he thinks we need to reindustrialise and his vision for the Liberal party’s response to One Nation
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    29 mins
  • How the war on Iran is disrupting Australia’s national security and politics

    How the war on Iran is disrupting Australia’s national security and politics
    Mar 20 2026
    With the US and Israel’s war on Iran continuing to send waves of disruption around the world, Guardian Australia political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to two guests about the impact of the conflict on Australia. Jennifer Parker, a defence and national security expert who has served three times in the Middle East with the Australian navy, talks about the US strategy for the conflict and what the chokepoint in the strait of Hormuz means for Australia’s economic and defence stability. Phillip Coorey, the political editor of the Australian Financial Review, discusses the political challenge for Labor – as Jim Chalmers responds to this week’s rate hike by the Reserve Bank, while also managing predictions of economic shocks caused by the war
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    39 mins