Weekend Wrap 27 August 2023: Insiders review, intergeneration report and Dutton attacks democracy
"The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben DavisonShow Notes
Ben Davison is BACK from a week off with the latest Weekend Wrap. Insiders discussed productivity, taxes, industrial relations and education with most of the debates missing the point. Ben breaks down how the points raised on Insiders show we need full funding for public schools, Qantas demonstrates the need for both workplace reforms and a focus on capital productivity and that if we want more skilled migrants following the lead of Belize and Somalia probably isn't the solution. The union movement is working for better job security, higher wages and safer workplaces for all so join your union at australianunions.org.au/wow The intergenerational report shows a changing Australia will continue to change but that there are some clear policy priorities around workforce participation, supporting superannuation and accepting higher levels of debt (which will still be lower than most countries have now) if we want to have the standard of living we have now. Finally Ben discusses Dutton's latest attack on democracy. The sad swipe on behalf of the No case against the Australia Electoral Commission. Dutton continues to show himself to be either ignorant or lazy when it comes to doing the job of opposition leader.
More from "The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben Davison
This week on The Week on Wednesday, Van Badham engages a lively and timely discussion about modern British politics and its resonance for Australia with recently elected councillor and UK Labour activist, Peter Marshall. Together, they pick through the wreckage of a smashed and unpopular local conservative movement and examine how billionaire money, chutzpah and social media manipulation have been weaponised to drag a right-wing, fringe-dwelling opportunist into the centre of national political life. SOUNDS A BIT FAMILIAR, DOESN’T IT? Van and Peter examine how economic powerlessness is converted into culture-war rage, why Keir Starmer’s substantial achievements could not protect him from algorithmically cultivated hatred… and what ordinary people can still do when the plutocrats get to play politics on easy. In a wide-ranging conversation that visits Billy Bragg, Barnaby Joyce, a man arguing with a bin and the democratic necessity of talking to your neighbours, they include some very important advice about helping thirsty bees. Enjoy!
Van Badham is joined this week by Australian Writers’ Guild CEO Claire Pullen for a SPECIAL EPISODE on the artificial intelligence invasion. Who owns AI? Who profits from it? Who gets to write the rules? From the challenge of copyright theft to the transformative impact of new technology on your job, my job and everyone’s job, Van and Claire go deep into sovereign capability, workplace automation and the political power of The Worst People in the World. They explore why the fight over AI is really a fight over democracy, grappling with the implications for future of work and the basic viability of human creativity. Along the way, they celebrate Australia’s scepticism, argue that the robots should be doing the laundry instead of writing TV… and finish with some super good news about puffins off the Isle of Man. Happy Week on Wednesday!
Van Badham reunites with Emma Dawson of the Chifley Research Centre to discuss the sudden poll dive of the not-so-inevitable One Nation Party, and they speculate on its causes. Are Australians just fickle? Are we fiercely proud of our multiculturalism? Just bigger fans of Paul Hogan than Karl Stefanovic? Or does the Australian citizen expect more from a political party than an "economic policy" that consists of a nine-minute YouTube clip of That Time the Leader Went on Sky? (I swear, I am not making this up).Emma and Van rightly take the organised movement of orange-flavoured pretenders to task, extending their analysis beyond the immediate fantasies of "monoculture" and launching at the destructive neoliberal economic beliefs they're designed to shield and carry. They also swing at the NEFARIOUS INTERNET SHENANIGANS in service to the "right wing populist" project, because Van just cannot help herself. Then they have a lovely talk about trees. If you enjoy this episode of The Week on Wednesday, please do share it with someone who likes their politics, economics and DEEP CULTURAL ANALYSIS with evidence, context, history... because those are cool and useful things, we really should have more of them.xx
Van Badham and Ben Davison rip into Pauline Hanson’s National Press Club appearance, stripping the grievance from the reality that no, actually, one-in-five Australians DO NOT eat from bins. In this emotionally-charged episode, they unravel the politics of migration, housing, wages, economic anxiety and national identity woven into One Nation's well-funded magic carpet, while exploring why Hanson’s brand of populism remains politically potent despite repeatedly colliding with the facts. There's a wade through the puddle of trickle-down economics in Australian celebrity culture, a discussion of who really benefits from Australia’s economic settings and a reminder that being loudly confident is not the same thing as being right. Bonus content includes an unexpected history lesson on language wars in Francoist Spain, and unusually subdued dog... and if you’ve ever wanted a practical guide to answering Hanson-style talking points at the family barbecue, HERE IT IS. Enjoy!
Van Badham is reunited with Ben Davison for an episode tackling the politics of inflation, the failures of Australia’s regime of "mutual obligations" and the economic challenges posed by an Australian economy organised around extraction rather than participation. Pluckily, our pair unpick the ideological legacy of trickle-down economics, lambast housing speculation, explore labour market distortions and decry the punitive culture surrounding unemployment... before closing with an unexpectedly hopeful environmental story from the Yangtze River in China. Bonus content includes Germanicus the dachshund licking the microphone, accidental lessons in audio engineering and at least one attempt to explain why “a sudden outbreak of laziness” is not a thing. The Week on Wednesday is BACK, baby! Enjoy it!