Insiders

The Prime Minister on the global stage this week talking trade and what the return of Donald Trump means for the world. While here at home the government is preparing to push a raft of legislation through parliament in the last sitting fortnight of the year… as speculation mounts it could be the last before an election.Patricia Karvelas anchors Insiders from Canberra this week, while David Speers interviews the Prime Minister in Lima, Peru from the APEC security conference.Karvelas is joined by Annabel Crabb, Peter Hartcher and Katina Curtis on the couch.

The concern over big money having an outsized influence on Australia’s politics prompted the Government to promise electoral reform. This is expected to include caps on individual donations and campaign spending, as well as real-time disclosures of donations. Now - with limited time left in parliament before the next election - the pressure to reveal the plan is on. 

This town – Washington DC – has been thrown into a spin. Donald Trump has promised radical change on trade, climate change, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. The question now is – how far will he go? Many here and around the world are grappling for answers.David Speers is joined by Sarah Ferguson and Charles Croucher on the panel.This week’s guest is Charles Edel, Australia Chair for Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Donald Trump is back. Kamala Harris is promising a smooth transition. To say the US is in a different political universe to 4 years ago – is an understatement. How has this extraordinary comeback happened? Why has America returned to Trump? And what happens next?In Washington DC, David Speers talks to Lester Munson, a 25-year Capitol Hill veteran, most recently as Staff Director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, about how Trump stormed back into the White House. 

Insiders in Detroit, Michigan – one of the most important states that will decide one of the most important elections.The world is bracing to see whether working class voters in battleground states like this will make Kamala Harris the first female President of the United States – or return Donald Trump to power.We're going to explore how voters here are feeling – and what's at stake.David Speers is joined by Farrah Tomazin and Jade Macmillan.

Elections don’t come much closer than this. Nor do they tend to be as consequential. American voters are about to decide on the future direction of this country – indeed millions have already cast early ballots. And there are enormous ramifications for the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, relations with China, global trade and of course climate change. David Speers visits the state of Michigan – one of three states along with Wisconsin and Pennsylvania – that will largely determine the outcome, to speak to voters and community figures.

Queensland votes for change - after 9 years of Labor rule. It was a long night but the LNP will form a majority government. There were big swings against Labor in the regions and suburbs – and it was a bad night for the Greens. Plenty of lessons – and warning signs – ahead of the coming federal contest.David Speers is joined by Patricia Karvelas, Anthony Galloway, and Clare Armstrong. Casey Briggs runs the numbers in Queensland and looks ahead to the United States' election.Our guests are the outgoing Queensland Labor Deputy Premier Cameron Dick and Federal Nationals MP Keith Pitt.

Former British MP and one-time Minister Rory Stewart is touring Australia at the moment. He's a writer and co-host of the The Rest is Politics podcast of who's found an enormous following for his reflections on what works and what doesn't in modern democracies. Rory Stewart sat down with Insiders Host David Speers in Melbourne. 

The pre-election contest over fixing the housing crisis heats up. Peter Dutton unveils a new policy – the government says it's a cheap trick. While the Greens go after the Prime Minister for buying his own clifftop home.David Speers is joined by Raf Epstein, Paul Sakkal, and Sarah IsonOur guest is the Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt.

It’s something of a spring election season; Canberra voters go to the polls this weekend, while Queenslanders will cast their votes in a little over a week.  Federal politicians are watching closely for any indicators of the electoral mood.Queensland will be a key state in next year’s federal election and the state poll will be telling. Labor has been in power for nearly a decade and the relatively new Premier Steven Miles is seeking the ALP's fourth term in office. But all signs point to a defeat for Labor and Opposition Leader David Crisafulli leading the LNP back into government.Melissa Clarke, filling in for David Speers, speaks to Kos Samaras and Tony Barry from Redbridge Group about the mood in the electorate.