Pidgin Politics

Losing control: the House, Dastyari and donations | Wednesday 7 September 2016

We’re back for the first sitting week of the new parliament. Paula was unavailable, so this week Margo and Wes are joined by Dale Clisby, who mixes and edits the podcast each week and is also one of the co-hosts on Pidgin’s ‘A Troublesome Thought.’ We start by taking in what the government proposes to pass in the next few weeks, namely the $6.5 omnibus bill that springs from its as yet unconsummated budget. Will Labor give it the rubber stamp, or are there some things - like the ARENA cuts or clean energy supplement for welfare recipients - that might hold the whole process up? What’s in a mandate? The government has been claiming they have one since before the result was even confirmed in their favour… but is this just grandstanding? We wonder at whether anyone can claim a mandate if they can’t pass policy, and with the ABCC legislation - which was the alleged drive for the double dissolution election - potentially unlikely to pass, can a government with one majority lean on the opposition to pass its bills? And finally, we turn again to the plebiscite, which now looks unlikely to pass both houses given both the Nick Xenophon Team and the Greens will block it, along with a cautious Labor. Should, as some commentators have argued, those in favour of same sex marriage allow it to pass so we actually see a change within the next three years, or is the argument likely to be too damaging to those in the LGBTQI who are supposed to be the beneficiaries of a “yes” vote? And why would Labor be hedging its bets on confirming it will block the legislation? Remember to follow @pidginpolitics on twitter so you can respond to our call-out for questions each week. And subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher to get the podcast fresh in your listening stream every week.

Omnibuses, Plebiscites and Mandates; a boring new world | Tuesday 30 August

After a short post-election break, Wes, Paula and Margo return to unpack the new government and shadows ministries, Turnbull's rebuke of Rudd's UN pitch, the state of the juvenile detention in the NT and the already bungled Royal Commission into it, and the rise of Pauline Hanson in the wake of the SBS documentary "Please Explain".

Two new cabinets, RC in NT and saying no to Rudd; Please Explain? | Wednesday 3 August 2016

We’re back for our final of this special election series of Pidgin Politics. We start by counting the votes to find that just as we started to record the government hit its majority. But Bill Shorten had already conceded and Malcolm Turnbull has found himself back in government, but narrowly. So why would the independents agree to supply and confidence without a little bit of wheeling and dealing on the side? Is it all in the name of stability or do we imagine we might have seen (and might still see) a bit of pork being thrown their way in the new parliament? We then turn to the makeup of the new parliament… Malcolm Turnbull has called for stability, but how easy will it be for the government to pass anything in the 45th parliament, with an increased and more diverse crossbench in both houses and a reinforced ALP? And then, of course, the major thing we’re wondering about for the upper house - how will the One Nation vote be won and how volatile will that be for Malcolm Turnbull? Remember to follow @pidginpolitics on twitter so you can respond to our call-out for questions each week. And subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher to get the podcast fresh in your listening stream every week.

I for one welcome our new narrow majority government | Tuesday 12 July

A lack of results, covering the coverage and the rise of the minors | Wednesday 6 July 2016

Pidgin Politics is back for the final week of the election campaign! As we enter that final week Margo, Paula and Wes unpack the Coalition “rally” that saw the party finally launch its official campaign - just six days from the actual polling day in an 8 week campaign. There were policies on offer, but the intrigue for many was the elephant in the room - Tony Abbott - and the new slogan that seems to have emerged post-Brexit chaos: “stick to the plan”. We stay on Brexit to discuss what impact we think the referendum in the UK - and its subsequent resignations, recriminations, calls for Irish unity and Scottish freedom - will have on our own upcoming vote. Is it a good thing for the incumbents or will the future the Labor party is putting forward look like a good alternative to the similar conservative/liberal infighting that seems to typify the Turnbull leadership? The Labor party released their costings on Sunday, which saw a projection for higher deficits in the short-term but projections that somehow surplus will still be reached within the same period as the Coalition government. Polices targeting so-called “junk” private health insurance that only covers people for public hospital coverage and putting a cap on the amount individuals can claim on managing their taxes were also announced, but is this the silver bullet Labor needs to kill the argument put forward by the Coalition that it will never be capable of good economic management. Finally, with the election finally within our sights, we put forward our own predictions for how we imagine the polls might play out and give our forecasts for the future upper and lower houses. You’ll have to listen to hear how we see the chips falling. Remember to follow @pidginpolitics on twitter so you can respond to our call-out for questions each week. And subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher to get the podcast fresh in your listening stream every week.

Predictions: Will we stick to the Liberal plan now the UK will Brexit stage left and has Labor costed itself out of a victory? | Tuesday 28 June 2016

As we enter the penultimate week of the campaign, Paula, Margo and Wes get together to unpack the big events defining the playing field as pre-poll votes already begin to flow in. We start with the Facebook Leaders debate, which saw Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull head to what host Joe Hildebrand called the “Facebook bunker” to answer questions from within the room and online, as punters evaluated their responses via “reactions”. It seemed like the loosest we’ve seen both leaders but did the format add anything new? Next we turn to the Labor launch, which saw famous past leaders (with the notable exception of Kevin Rudd) sit down with current party faithful to finally officially launch the campaign. Bill Shorten gave the pep talk of his career but is it enough to put gas in the tank for the final few weeks? With twitter and news sites abuzz about an ad featuring an allegedly fake trade (who, as it turns out, is not fake) we turn to a wrap up of an analysis of the ads that defined the week. Has wheeling out Bob Hawke and getting interviewed by his wife helped Bill’s prospects? And will a Wolf Creek turn help Bob Katter’s prospects? Finally, we have a bit of biffo over the allegations from the Labor party that a Turnbull government is (or was) planning to sell Medicare. Is there anything in it? And if not, is this the ALP running on a lie or just slightly stretched half-truth? Remember to follow @pidginpolitics on twitter so you can respond to our call-out for questions each week. And subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher to get the podcast fresh in your listening stream every week.

Facebook arguments, launching the good ship Labor, #faketradie and other ads | Tuesday 21 June 2016

This week on Pidgin Politics Paula, Margo and Wes try to follow the flow on preferences, which - after weeks of scolding the Greens for allegedly planning to do the same - saw the ALP make a deal with the Liberal party which would see Labor preferences above the Greens in all seats for the low, low price of preferencing the Libs above the Nats in some regional seats that are sure to cause ructions in the Coalition. Why is it okay for Labor to do deals but not the Greens? And what’s going on in the Coalition? Does it matter if the Greens get Labor preferences in the end? We then turn to the revelation that Liberal party MPs have been using their tax-payer funded electorate allowances to pay for “feedback” software - which tracks voters’ comments and intentions - from a company that has donated significantly to the party in recent years. And apparently electorate office staffers have been doing free work for Parakeelia, the company that provides the software, too. Finally we talk NBN - the Labor party is bringing it back to the table for the election, albeit in a hobbled form. In the context of a tight budget argument that playing out at this election, is this the right time to propose more costs? Or if you’re going to back a popular policy should you aim to hit it out of the park and damn the costs? Remember to follow @pidginpolitics on twitter so you can respond to our call-out for questions each week.  And subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher to get the podcast fresh in your listening stream every week.

Following the preferences, tracking Parakeelia's cash flow and downgrading NBN policy | Tuesday 14 June 2016

Malcolm has a dad, a vote for chaos, and child care on the agenda | Wednesday 8 June 2016

Wes, Paula and Margo are back this week for week four of the campaign, still puzzling over what parts of the week were gaffes and what was actual strategy. We start by analysing both of the major debates hosted at the National Press Club by Chris Uhlmann. First the Treasurers’ debate, which saw Treasurer Scott Morrison and his shadow, Chris Bowen, debate who had spotted the biggest black hole, and secondly the Leaders’ Debate on Sunday, which saw both Bill Shorten and Malcolm Turnbull struggle to convey who they actually are. We then turn to the media coverage of the election thus far - why are we still seeing the photos of the bus, the pre-arranged grabs and the pressers we can all get from the wires when we have veteran journalists on the trail? Why aren’t we seeing more seat specific coverage? Who cares if the PM faved your tweet? In our policy section we discuss Labor’s backflips this week which saw both the school kid’s bonus and opposition to the assets test on pensions axed as the Shorten team’s bluff was called and they had to account for their savings. Isn’t this conservative financial tactic 101? Why didn’t Labor plan for this announcement? Finally we turn to our reader question, which is this week from @pauldarcey who asked: @margokingston1 @pidginpolitics How about, Is it time we moved away from a 2-party system to a more multi-party parliament? Remember to follow @pidginpolitics on twitter so you can respond to the call out next week. And subscribe to us on iTunes or Stitcher to get the podcast fresh in your listening stream every week.

All of the debates, pressing the press gallery and it's the economy, stupid | Tuesday 31 May

It’s the third week of what has become an incredibly contentious campaign and Paula, Margo and Wes are back again this week to unpack just what is going on in between the raids and gaffes. We start by examining Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s call on Peter Murray’s Sky News show that increasing the refugee intake to 50,000 people would open the doors to “illiterate and innumerate” refugees who would both steal our dole and our jobs. Was it a gaffe or was it a little bit more calculated? We then turn to the AFP raids of the offices of former Labor communications minister Stephen Conroy and other Labor staffers last Thursday night. Was this politically motivated or just very bad timing? And does it even matter, politically, in the grand scheme of things? For our weekly look at policy we open up the hood on the ALP’s bid to unfreeze the indexation of the MBS and why this might just be a vote winner. In light of the 4 Corners special on political donations we talk about what a better system might look like, whether we should be annoyed that it takes up to two years to actually see who influences our elections and why some unlikely characters are coming out in favour of greater transparency, as Bill Shorten pushes Malcolm Turnbull to meet his pledge of making all donations over $1,000 declarable. Finally, we address a listener question from @redrabbleroz, who declared: “PEFO is worth a mention & what economic + fiscal constraints will be placed on whoever wins" Remember to follow @pidginpolitics on twitter so you can respond to the call out next week.

AFP raids, illiterate and innumerate dead cats and political donations | Tuesday 24 May 2016

Paula, Margo and Wes are back for week two of the election campaign, wiping their brows after a slog of a week that somehow included a leaders debate, a national press club appearance from the shadow treasurer and a week’s worth of media coverage of a single question on Q&A. First up we go over the entrails of the People’s Forum: the first debate of the campaign and an open forum for 100 (allegedly) undecided voters to ask questions of the two leaders. The room called it for Bill Shorten, and we tend to agree, but what about the mechanics of the debate itself? And where were the Greens?   Staying on the Greens, as their numbers across both the lower and upper houses increase, isn’t it about time we started to see them at events like this? We talk about the cut-through the Greens are getting despite this seeming oversight and ask whether it’s actually playing into their hands to omit them from the discussion.   Asylum seeker policy caused quite the headache for Bill Shorten in an otherwise stellar opening week of the campaign, with Labor candidate for Melbourne Sophie Ismail making a public statement that it’s time for offshore processing to cease, calling into question Labor’s policy on asylum seeker processing. Margo thinks that disunity might be death on this issue, but Paula says their might be something else going on in a tight Greens/Labor fight in inner city seats. And Wes? Wes is just angry about offshore detention.   Finally, we asked for questions from our twitter audience and got a doozy from Francis Oblomov (@francisd62) who asked:   Murdoch extremism was ignored in Qld election. How much power will it have in this?   Remember to follow @PidginPolitics on twitter so you can answer the callout for next week’s podcast or find us on Facebook.

The People's Forum, Greens envy, and at sea on asylum seeker policy | Tuesday 17 May 2016

Pidgin Politics is back for a special election series to take you through right up to the closing of the polls. New panelists Margo Kingston (@margokingston1)and Paula Matthewson (@Drag0nista) join host Wes Mountain (@therevmountain ) this week to talk about the state of play for Labor, the Coalition, the Greens and the new senate micro-parties following Malcolm Turnbull calling the election on Sunday 8 May, what we can expect in the coming weeks and where our own personal biases and preferences may lie. So join us each week as we take you through the policy announcements, the tactics and give the parties some much needed - but perhaps unwanted - advice about what we’d like to see them do to win over the hearts of the electorate.

Turnbull calls the 2016 Election and we call the odds

A little late for this week due to some significant technical issues (thank you copper network - a topic for another week!). Wes and Ed take the reigns for Tim and look this week at the proposed GST changes which have state support but in the end, it seems no support from the government. Why put it up? Why not? Is there another solution to our revenue problem? Next we look at political donations and ask why it takes so long to get our hands on this data in Australia and what it means to have a political system funded on obscured donations. Is it just par for the course in democracy or, as Ed suggests, is there an alternative? Next we look to Iowa and speak to Professor Anthony Gaughan who was on the ground at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, as the caucuses occured to find out the ins-and-outs.  And, of course, bits and pieces.

Inflating and deflating the GST, political donations and the Iowa Caucus |

We're back! After what seems like ages, Tim and Wes are back to give you some auditory political stimulation. However the status quo only remains for about 13 seconds as Ed Butler joins the gang this week, and will be doing so for the next six months while Tim turns his hands to other Pidgin-y projects.  In actual substance, the boys deal with the ensuing period between the last show and this one, and turn their hands to predicting the future both in Australia and abroad.  Links can be found at pidgin.net.au

Cleaning Up the Mess, Predicting the Future

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