Insiders

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Every Sunday morning, the ABC's national political lead David Speers unpacks the major stories shaping Australia's future. Each episode includes a major interview with an Australian politician and an extensive discussion with a panel of the country's best journalists. This show will help you understand the major factors behind the decisions and debates driving a national conversation.

ABC News


    • Sep 13, 2026 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 33m AVG DURATION
    • 235 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Insiders

    Anika Wells open to changes to powers in digital duty of care bill

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2026 54:46


    The debate on online harm and what government can do to better protect Australian's has dominated this sitting week in Parliament, but division remains on what is the best way to do so.

    Government takes aim at the algorithm

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2026 55:04


    Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonno Duniam joins David Speers with Niki Savva, James Campbell and Karen Middleton on the couch.

    Analysis: Pauline Hanson risks accusations she's using a security issue for political points

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2026 5:00


    By speaking publicly about the threats she's facing, the One Nation leader has shone a light on a growing problem facing our democracy but pinning them on routine political rhetoric risks accusations of political point-scoring.

    Govt considers social media changes as sexual violence rises

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2026 54:31


    Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek joins David Speers with Anna Henderson, Waleed Aly and Ashleigh Raper on the couch.

    Analysis: Behind the energy brawl leaders want the data centre boom

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2026 5:00


    As is so often the case in Australia, the politics came down to a fight over energy. Should the data centre boom be powered by renewables or fossil fuels?

    Bipartisan breakthroughs, as the migration debate simmers

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 22, 2026 54:06


    Analysis: Labor has made the most of its cooperation with the Coalition

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2026 5:00


    Fights over immigration, superannuation, housing, tobacco excise and data centre rules will continue and intensify. But this was a week for cooperation.

    Parliament returns, as PM's podcast saga continues

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 15, 2026


    Analysis: Taylor marks six months in the job with a detour

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 5:00


    Behind the scenes, Angus Taylor and Anthony Albanese have been engaged in a rare level of cooperation this week but in public the opposition leader is using the melon saga to mount an all-out assault on the prime minister's character. 

    How has politics changed in the last 25 years?

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2026 61:00


    25 years of Insiders - it's been quite a journey!We look back at the 25 years of the show with some special guests, including founding host Barrie Cassidy.

    Analysis: Labor has one big political test on migration

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2026 6:00


    If stopping asylum seeker boats was the great immigration challenge in decades past, achieving a lower Net Overseas Migration (NOM) figure has become the new political test.

    Party power plays, as integrity questions simmer

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2026 54:17


    Deputy Opposition Leader Jane Hume joins David Speers with James Campbell, Jacqueline Maley and Tom Crowley on the couch.

    Analysis: Why Jim Chalmers is cautious but upbeat

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 5:30


    After delivering a pre-election prediction that "the worst of the inflation challenge is behind us", only to see inflation then steadily rise, Treasurer Jim Chalmers is now more cautious.

    Labor's show of unity, US tariffs, and Barnaby Joyce's barking dog

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2026 55:03


    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joins David Speers with Ashleigh Raper, Rafael Epstein and Greg Brown on the couch.

    PM tries to map out Aussie AI future, as Pauline Hanson goes global 

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2026 56:16


    Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg joins Patricia Karvelas, with Annabel Crabb, Paul Sakkal and Katina Curtis on the couch. 

    Australia strengthens regional ties, as China pushes the boundaries

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2026 55:05


    Political deadlock, as the mid winter break begins

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2026 54:34


    Analysis: Albanese and Chalmers see reform as an antidote to populism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2026 5:30


    The slight recovery in Labor's polling shifts assumptions about what's in store for the remainder of this parliamentary term.

    Government's ongoing budget pains, as Taylor muddles up multiculturalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2026 55:33


    Will Labor's broken budget promise haunt them all the way to the next election? And how does Opposition Leader, Angus Taylor recover from the mess he's made on multiculturalism?

    Fuel relief to wind down as oil shock and budget battle loom

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2026 56:27


    Duniam exit rocks Coalition as Labor fights surging One Nation

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2026 54:11


    Analysis: Albanese's frustration with Trump is becoming harder to hide

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 5:30


    The Albanese government is paying an economic and political toll for an ongoing and deeply unpopular war. 

    Budget fate rests with the Greens as Labor faces internal AUKUS pressure

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2026 56:07


    It is up to the Greens to decide whether they will pass tax changes or join the Coalition in an unlikely alliance. The minor party is also among those expressing AUKUS concerns. 

    Will house prices tumble under tax changes?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2026 54:55


    Tax changes, interest rate hikes, wars and volatility have created the perfect housing market storm. So will prices tumble and what will happen to supply?

    Analysis: Battery boom marks a new political chapter in Australia's energy wars

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2026 5:00


    Within the government, there's quiet confidence the battery boom will continue to gather pace and help shield Australia from both global shocks and domestic demand surges, driving prices even lower.

    Push to change CGT rules tests Labor's reform courage

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2026 55:45


    It was a tough week for the government after entrepreneurs and business owners took to social media to vent their outrage over proposed capital gains tax changes.

    Analysis: Labor burns political capital as tax reform backlash grows

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2026 5:00


    In an already difficult post-budget week, Labor isn't being helped by some of its "friends". But it has won an important endorsement from one powerful voice.

    Reform back in fashion amid rising global populism

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2026 55:04


    Labor has gone after negative gearing, capital gains tax and trusts while the Coalition has promised to end bracket creep by indexing tax thresholds. 

    One Nation makes history in Farrer

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2026 56:08


    After crushing the Coalition in its regional heartland, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is on a high and dreaming big. 

    Analysis: The federal budget isn't banking on Trump's promises

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2026 6:30


    It's clear that whatever this unpredictable US president says, the Albanese government isn't expecting a return to normal oil flows any time soon.

    Grief, anger and a demand for change in the country's red centre

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2026 55:08


    The death of Kumanjayi Little Baby prompts calls for urgent action to confront systemic failures in remote indigenous communities.Nationals Leader Matt Canavan joins David Speers, with Paul Sakkal, Anna Henderson and Daniel James on the couch. 

    Government's NDIS shakeup and Coalition leaves door ajar on property tax breaks

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2026 54:34


    The government is spending some political capital. They've announced plans to rein in the NDIS and are inching closer to revealing changes to property tax breaks. But will the opposition get on board? Opposition Leader Angus Taylor joins David Speers, with Lenore Taylor, Tom Crowley and Katina Curtis on the couch. 

    Analysis: Are NDIS cuts the exception or the template?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2026 6:00


    As far as tough budget decisions go, we haven't seen anything on this scale since Joe Hockey's ill-fated 2014 effort.

    Analysis: Albanese government's frustration rises alongside fuel prices

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2026 6:00


    Fuel prices and inflation aren't the only metrics climbing as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut. The Albanese government's level of frustration is rising just as fast.

    Make or break US-Iran peace talks, amid ongoing global fuel crisis

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2026 59:05


    The Middle East war enters its second month, as the fuel crisis bites harder

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2026 55:42


    But the big question remains: Does Donald Trump have a strategy to end the Middle East war?

    A Labor landslide in SA, as the fuel crisis deepens

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2026 57:30


    It was a double whammy for Australian households this week: an interest rate rise and climbing fuel prices amid the ongoing war in the Middle East. Energy Minister, Chris Bowen is our guest. Meanwhile in South Australia a Labor landslide has seen Peter Malinauskas returned as Premier. He joins us from Adelaide following his election victory.  Paul Sakkal, Greg Brown and Clare Armstrong join David Speers on the couch. 

    Three more Iranian football members leave Aus, as Joyce regrets not securing fuel supply

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2026 54:24


    Another three members of the Iranian women's football team have decided to return home, days after being granted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia.Meanwhile our guest, former Deputy Prime Minister and One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce says he regrets not doing more to secure Australia's fuel supply when he was in government. David Speers is joined by Matthew Knott, Jane Norman and Jason Koutsoukis. 

    A week of war in the Middle East

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2026 54:27


    Donald Trump is now demanding Iran's unconditional surrender – and a say in who runs the country.

    Trump announces Iran's Supreme Leader dead, following US-Israel strikes

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2026 66:00


    A fresh Middle East conflict is underway, as Donald Trump announces the death of Iran's Supreme Leader.

    Analysis: Threat against PM is not a bizarre outlier

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2026 5:00


    It's tempting to treat the evacuation of the prime minister from the Lodge this week as a bizarre outlier but that would miss the point.

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