Tag: Social Policy

Is child care working in Australia? [S2-10]

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 15, 2026

Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at the history of child care in Australia and ask why you might want people to be qualified to look after your children. It won’t surprise anyone that we disagree that mothers should just be made to stay home to look after their children (not least because it means a lot of women just won’t have them). We also look at how child care is funded and delivered and make the case for a public option, and how to design incentives for the industry to focus on the welfare of children rather than the welfare of shareholders.

What's the government trying to do with the National Disability Insurance Scheme and is it going to work? [S2-09]

Posted on Wednesday, Jul 8, 2026

Janaline and Luke are joined by special guest and disability advocate Andy Shim, a member of the National Autism Strategy Oversight Council, to discuss the government’s proposed changes to the NDIS. Why are they so controversial and are they actually going to work?

Government spending: why can't they just balance the budget? [S2-03]

Posted on Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Janaline, Glenn, and Luke examine the major spending items in the 2026 budget and discuss why governments can’t just balance their budgets.

Housing and cost of rent [S1-15]

Posted on Monday, Mar 9, 2026

Janaline and William examine the pros and cons of rent freezes as a cost of living measure and the broader issues of housing affordability.

Australia's new hate speech laws [S1-13]

Posted on Monday, Feb 9, 2026

Janaline and William examine hate speech legislation enacted by parliament following the Bondi attack, assess whether such measures were warranted, and consider alternative approaches to addressing antisemitism.

Gambling reform [S1-08]

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 19, 2025

Callum and Janaline examine why the federal Labor government is not implementing more ambitious reform to the regulation of gambling and gambling advertising. Spoiler alert — we think they are being lame.