Follow The Money

"Burning something to boil water to create steam is a really old-fashioned technology..." The Australia Institute has spent the hot summer days monitoring when gas and coal power plants trip, taking sometimes hundreds of megawatts of power from the grid at unpredictable times. In contrast, solar power is taking pressure of the grid by delaying peak demand by several hours on days of extreme heat. Read Mark Ogge's report Can't stand the heat.Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Affluenza is that strange desire we feel to spend money we don't have to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't know . . ." A truly modern affliction, affluenza is endemic in Western societies, encouraged by those who profit from a culture of exploitation and waste. So how do we cure ourselves? In today's episode Ebony talks to Chief Economist Richard Denniss about why we must distinguish between consumerism and materialism. Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

North Korean missile tests, resolving the South China Sea issues, ethnic cleansing in Myanmar - there is a lot happening in the defence and security policy space right, but are we engaged enough to tackle these problems in a smart way? Dr Andrew Carr of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the ANU has written a new report for the Australia Institute I'm here for the argument: why bipartisanship on security makes Australia less safe.  Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the Global Financial Crisis. In 2008 the banks in Australia wobbled, the economy stalled, unemployment rose and the Government acted. The GFC demonstrated a failure of trickle-down economics. Ten years later, with rising populism, it is clearer now more than ever that we need a replacement to the neo-liberal economic order. What are the lessons learned from the GFC that we can use to build a new economic agenda to address inequality and inclusive growth?Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia's young people have been unfairly targeted by policies that have loaded them up with uni debts, locked them out of housing market and crippled them on the 'flexible' job front, and any changes that might address this imbalance are 'grandfathered' in so that they don't affect anyone who is presently in a position of power, that's what our Chief Economist Richard Denniss argues in his essay for the June edition of The Monthly - calledSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The South Australian state government announced in late June 2017 that it was going to follow the Federal government and introduce a levy on the big banks. Episode 19 of Follow The Money, explains why the banks can absolutely afford the levy, why it's a good idea economically and just how small the levy really is compared to -- for example -- the salaries of the CEOs of the big 4 banks. Host: Deputy Director Ebony Bennett // @ebony_bennettSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight, as the Treasurer rose to give his Budget address in the house, our Deputy Director Ebony Bennett grabbed our Chief Economist Richard Denniss and Senior economist Matt Grudnoff for a chat about the Budget, straight after they emerged from the Budget lockup.  Thi podcast isn't a comprehensive discussion of the Budget, but we tried to touch on some of the main items, including:Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Housing Affordability is not only a massive policy failure, but is increasingly vying for the gold medal for the most spin and econobabble in Australian politics. Episode 18 of Follow The Money, takes on the vexed issue and tackles the latest bad idea that won't help housing affordability - raiding your super to pay for a deposit. Host: Deputy Director Ebony Bennett // @ebony_bennettSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 17 of Follow The Money, we tackle the current energy debate, including the South Australian blackouts, the war on renewables, what Christmas prawns have to do with baseload power and why the way we heat hot water offends our Chief Economist Richard Denniss.  Host: Deputy Director Ebony Bennett // @ebony_bennettSupport Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Follow The Money this week features former Republican Congressman for South Carolina, Bob Inglis on his Australian tour, hosted by The Australia Institute. Bob Inglis is a very rare bird indeed. He's a real conservative - Christian, Southern, 'small-government', you name it. But his greatest passion is tackling climate change. You heard right! Inglis has become a leading advocate on how to communicate with and convince conservatives that they can be leaders on this issue and there is no need to 'retreat into denialism'. Support Follow the Money: https://nb.australiainstitute.org.au/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.