Democracy Sausage: A non-aligned movement

Are Labor’s factions helping or hindering the party’s ability to attract young members? Why is factional power at an all-time high in the party?

And how can ‘total factionalism’ be prevented in an era of professional politics and strict party discipline?

On this episode of Democracy Sausage, Dr Andrew Leigh MP joins Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga to discuss the risks of an ongoing factional ‘duopoly’ in the Australian Labor Party.

Andrew Leigh is the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury and the Labor Member for Fenner.

Marija Taflaga is the Director of the ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Senior Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.

Mark Kenny is a Professor at the ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the University after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to democracysausage@anu.edu.au.

This podcast is produced by The Australian National University.