Democracy Sausage: Command, Control and Conformity
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.
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? And 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?
Karen Barlow is the chief political correspondent of The Saturday Paper and a public interest, long form journalist in the federal parliamentary press gallery.
Dr Marija Taflaga is the Director of the ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Lecturer at the ANU School of Politics and International Relations.
Mark Kenny is the Director of the Australian Studies Institute. He came to the Australian National University after a high-profile journalistic career culminating in 6 years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.
Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on YouTube, 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 on the lands of the Ngunnawal, Ngambri and the Ngarigu peoples.
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/.
Top image: Mick Tsikas/AAP
You may also like
Help where you can: Professor Kamalini Lokuge on why research must serve humanity
From the Ebola outbreak to the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Kamalini Lokuge has been driven to provide humanitarian health care wherever in the world it may be needed.
Democracy Sausage: Antidote to the far right
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.
Democracy Sausage: Angertainment
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.