

Grattan Institute
Grattan Institute
Everything you need to know about Australian public policy.
Grattan Institute is dedicated to developing high quality public policy for Australia’s future. Our podcasts cover a range of public policy topics focusing on the main issues facing Australia.
Our podcasts concentrate on budget policy, economic growth, energy, health, institutional reform, household finances, school education, and disability policy.
Grattan Institute is dedicated to developing high quality public policy for Australia’s future. Our podcasts cover a range of public policy topics focusing on the main issues facing Australia.
Our podcasts concentrate on budget policy, economic growth, energy, health, institutional reform, household finances, school education, and disability policy.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 12, 2022 • 1h 27min
Prime Minister's Summer Reading List 2022 - Event Recording
Listen to Grattan CEO Danielle Wood in conversation with renowned journalist Eleanor Hall, as they discuss Grattan's top six thought-provoking, compelling, and relevant books from 2022. It’s been an extraordinary year, and these are extraordinary reads – not only for the Prime Minister, but for all Australians interested in public policy.
Danielle and Eleanor were introduced by the CEO of State Library Victoria, Paul Duldig, and joined by the authors of three of these wonderful books, Debra Dank, Sam Vincent, and Jessica Au.
The Grattan Institute 2022 Summer Reading List for the Prime Minister is:
Career & Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity – Claudia Goldin
We Come With This Place – Debra Dank
My Father and Other Animals – Sam Vincent
Cold Enough for Snow – Jessica Au
Buried Treasure – Jo Chandler (in the Griffith Review)
Healing: Our path from mental illness to mental health – Thomas Insel
Read more about the books: https://grattan.edu.au/news/announcing-grattan-institutes-2022-prime-ministers-summer-reading-list/
Purchase the books from Readings: https://www.readings.com.au/collections/grattan-institute-prime-ministers-summer-reading-list-2022#

Dec 8, 2022 • 18min
How to strengthen general practice in Australia
It’s hard to believe that Australia’s universal healthcare system, Medicare, is almost forty years old. Over that time, Australians’ health needs have changed significantly. We’ve got an ageing population, and mental illness and chronic disease are on the rise.
GPs’ work is more complex – and Medicare hasn’t kept up.
Our latest report, A new Medicare: Strengthening general practice, calls on Government to overhaul a system that is reaching a mid-life crisis.
Host Kat Clay is joined by the authors of the report, Health Program Director, Peter Breadon, and Visiting Fellow Danielle Romanes, to discuss how to strengthen general practice in Australia.

Nov 20, 2022 • 18min
What the new safeguard mechanism should do
The Safeguard Mechanism is a key policy in Australia’s fight against climate change, which caps emissions from big industrial facilities and other large polluters. Greenhouse gas emitters, from LNG platforms to mines to airlines, must keep their emissions below a baseline, or pay.
Now it faces reform, as the Albanese government has committed to amend the mechanism, to meet the 2030 target of cutting emissions to 43% below 2005 levels. But as ever, the devil is in the detail.
Host Kat Clay is joined by Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, and Esther Suckling, Associate, to discuss the Safeguard Mechanism design issues facing the government.
Read the Safeguard Mechanism reform paper: https://storage.googleapis.com/converlens-au-industry/industry/p/prj2135e8da0cf17d76c70fc/public_assets/Safeguard-Mechanism-consultation-paper.PDF
For more information, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/

Nov 13, 2022 • 21min
What is the motherhood penalty?
It won’t come as a surprise to the mums listening to this podcast, but there’s a price to pay for being a mother. Whether it’s the countless extra hours of unpaid labour, losing out on a promotion because you’ve got to pick the kids up from school, or even choosing to work part-time, this all has an enormous impact on lifetime earnings for Australian mothers.
In this podcast, Kat Clay interviews Natasha Bradshaw, co-author of a Treasury paper on children and the gender earnings gap, alongside Owain Emslie, Grattan senior associate, on his policy recommendations to reduce the motherhood penalty.
Read the Treasury paper: https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-10/p2022-325290-children-gender-gap.pdf
Read Dad Days: https://grattan.edu.au/report/dad-days/
Read Cheaper Childcare: https://grattan.edu.au/report/cheaper-childcare/
Donate to Grattan: https://grattan.edu.au/donate/

Nov 6, 2022 • 24min
How the National Housing Accord could ease the housing crisis
One of the biggest announcements of the October federal Budget was the National Housing Accord, with the goal to build one million new, well-located homes over five years from 2024. Host Kat Clay and Economic Policy Program Director, Brendan Coates, discuss this ambitious goal, and how it could ease the housing crisis.
For more information, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/

Oct 27, 2022 • 18min
Federal Budget 2022: costs, cuts, and consequences
Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down his first budget on Tuesday night, amid the usual fanfare of speculation, promises, posturing, and of course, photo ops.
In this special Grattan podcast episode, Danielle Wood, CEO, and Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, cut through the fanfare to the heart of this federal budget, and what it means for Australia's economic future.

Oct 21, 2022 • 27min
What just happened in the Victorian energy market?!
The Victorian Government’s announcement of the revival of the State Electricity Commission, alongside bold targets for climate change and renewables, is the most dramatic in the last 25 years of Australia’s energy system.
Tony Wood, Energy and Climate Change Program Director, and Alison Reeve, Deputy Program Director, break down this announcement and what it means for Australian policymakers, industry, and consumers.
Donate to Grattan: https://grattan.edu.au/donate/

Oct 16, 2022 • 20min
How to improve curriculum planning in schools
For teachers, deciding what to teach and how to teach it can be a big part of their job. Great teaching inside the classroom relies on great planning and preparation outside of the classroom and this takes time. But how do teachers find the time for this kind of curriculum and lesson planning?
For our latest report, Ending the lesson lottery: How to improve curriculum planning in schools, our staff surveyed more than 2,000 Australian teachers and school leaders, about curriculum planning practices in their schools and what help they need.
Listen to host Kat Clay in conversation with Senior Associate Amy Haywood, and Associate Nick Parkinson, on how to improve curriculum planning in Australian schools.
Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/ending-the-lesson-lottery-how-to-improve-curriculum-planning-in-schools/

Oct 9, 2022 • 18min
Spruik no more: depoliticising taxpayer-funded advertising
If you’ve been watching TV or reading the paper, chances are you’ve seen an ad spruiking the achievements of federal and state governments, from the next big transport project to how they’re reducing the cost of living.
While some of these ads are worthwhile—such as encouraging people to get vaccinated—others masquerade as subtle political ads on the taxpayer dime. So, what can be done to prevent such blatant misuse of taxpayer-funded advertising?
Join host Kat Clay, as she discusses the latest report in the New Politics series, with co-authors Kate Griffiths and Anika Stobart.
For more information, visit: https://grattan.edu.au/

Oct 2, 2022 • 18min
Is Australia headed for a recession?
The rumours are swirling. The US economy might be headed for a recession. And what happens in the international market significantly impacts Australia.
Many commentators are concerned that we too might be headed for a recession. But is this an accurate prediction, or are there ways Australia can weather the storm?
Host Kat Clay is joined by Trent Wiltshire, Deputy Program Director, Migration and Labour Markets, to see if the rumours are true.