On this episode of Democracy Sausage, inaugural chief executive of the Grattan Institute John Daley joins Mark Kenny to discuss why policy reform in Australia has come grinding to a halt, and what policymakers can do to get things moving again.

It’s said that the 1980s and 1990s were the ‘golden age’ of policy reform - but how productive were those years in reality? What impact is the corrosion of institutions like the public service and the swelling ranks of unaccountable ministerial advisers having on the reform process? And have recent governments been less willing to get out on the hustings and convince the public their reform proposals are worth supporting. John Daley, author of Gridlock: removing barriers to reform, joins Professor Mark Kenny to discuss good governance and ensuring policy reform doesn’t become a dying art.

John Daley was the inaugural Chief Executive Officer of the Grattan Institute and is one of Australia’s leading public policy thinkers.

Mark Kenny is a Professor in 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, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.

This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University.

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