Grattan Institute

Some people love it, some people hate it. But whatever you feel about gas, Australia urgently needs a gas strategy. Listen to our energy experts Alison Reeve and Tony Wood discuss the highly contested role of gas as Australia strives for net zero.

The NDIS is a vital part of Australia’s social fabric, but the scheme has grown too big, too fast.  Grattan’s new report, Saving the NDIS: How to rebalance disability services to get better results, presents a four-step plan to make the NDIS sustainable. In this podcast, report authors Sam Bennett, Mia Jessurun, and Hannah Orban are joined by Senior Fellow Alastair McEwin to discuss how to rein in costs while ensuring disabled Australians get the support they need. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/saving-the-ndis/ Full podcast transcription: https://grattan.edu.au/news/how-to-save-the-ndis/

Over decades of compulsory contributions, Australians have amassed $4 trillion in retirement savings. But behind this headline success lies a range of unresolved policy problems. The promise was a more comfortable retirement. The reality is a taxpayer-subsidised inheritance scheme. Listen to our CEO Aruna Sathanapally in conversation with Grattan’s superannuation policy experts, Brendan Coates and Joey Moloney, as they critique a system that needs reform. For more information, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/

No one looks forward to seeing a specialist—whether it’s a cardiologist, paediatrician, or psychiatrist. A referral often signals your GP is concerned about a serious health problem: a suspicious lump, a complex condition, or a health issue that needs specialised attention. For many Australians, it can be a worrying time. And those worries only get worse when faced with high specialist fees and long wait times. In this episode, Senior Associate Elizabeth Baldwin is joined by co-authors Peter Breadon and Dominic Jones to unpack the findings of Grattan Institute’s latest report, Special treatment: Improving Australians' access to specialist care. Together, they explore why specialist care is so hard to access—and what can be done to fix it. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/special-treatment-improving-australians-access-to-specialist-care/

Australia has a maths problem: one in three Australian school students fail to achieve proficiency in maths. When maths is taught well, children and the nation benefit. But taught poorly, students are robbed of a core life skill. Adults with weaker maths skills have worse job prospects and are more likely to struggle with routine tasks such as managing budgets and understanding health guidance. Join Amy Hayward, Education Deputy Program Director, in conversation with co-authors Nick Parkinson and Dan Petrie, about how to boost students' maths proficiency in primary schools. Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/maths-guarantee/

Whether it’s increasing rent or mortgage repayments, the surging cost of buying a house or simply finding a secure place to live, Australians are struggling more than ever with housing costs. And with a federal election around the corner, cost-of-living is one of the biggest issues facing voters. Labor is spruiking the housing policies that it legislated over its first term, including the newly expanded Help to Buy scheme. The Coalition is promising to allow first home buyers to use their super to help purchase their home. Both parties are proposing a two-year ban on foreign residents purchasing existing homes. But do the policies on offer from the major parties go far enough to help make housing more affordable for more Australians? In this podcast, two Grattan experts, Brendan Coates and Matthew Bowes, evaluate the housing policies on offer – and suggest that whoever wins the election should pursue more comprehensive reforms. Read the 2025 Orange Book: https://grattan.edu.au/report/orange-book-2025/

Is the 2025 federal Budget right for these economic times? In this special pre-election Grattan podcast, our experts give their verdict. Host Kate Griffiths is joined by Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally and health policy expert Peter Breadon to analyse what was good in the Budget, what was missing, and what the next government – whether Labor or Coalition, majority or minority – should do to build a better Australia.

As Australia prepares for the 2025 federal election, our new Orange Book identifies the big reforms needed to set Australia on a more prosperous path. Find out what policies should be on the agenda of whoever wins the election – whether Labor or Coalition, majority or minority – on our latest podcast, with Aruna Sathanapally, Tony Wood, and host Kate Griffiths. Read the Orange Book: https://grattan.edu.au/report/orange-book-2025/

For decades, Australia has been a global leader in child immunization efforts. Vaccination has protected millions of children from preventable diseases like diphtheria, measles and whooping cough. But after child vaccination rates peaked in 2020 at around 95%, we're now seeing an alarming decline. In this podcast, health policy experts Peter Breadon and Wendy Hu discuss these concerning trends and what governments can do to boost vaccination rates in Australia. Hosted by Kat Clay. Relevant research - Child vaccination in Australia is falling - The Conversation (https://grattan.edu.au/news/child-vaccination-in-australia-is-falling/) - Falling vaccination rates endanger us all - The Sydney Morning Herald (https://grattan.edu.au/news/falling-vaccination-rates-endanger-us-all/)

Last Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia delivered its first rate cut in over four years. For many, the tumultuous years of rate rises have felt like a cost-of-living gauntlet. Inflation has driven up the cost of household bills, groceries and housing, with families slashing their spending to make ends meet. Despite the RBA’s independence from government, the rate cut falls under the shadow of a looming election, and both major parties are using the decision to pitch policies that ease the cost-of-living crisis. On this podcast, host Kat Clay interviews Grattan experts Trent Wiltshire and Jessica Geraghty, on the RBA’s decision, what it means for the election, and Australia’s economic outlook. Helpful links: Statement by the Reserve Bank Board: Monetary Policy Decision https://www.rba.gov.au/media-releases/2025/mr-25-03.html Australia's Productivity Pitch: https://engage.pc.gov.au/projects/productivity-pitch/surveys/idea/survey/your-idea#submissions