Politics Now
Hosted by ABC Australia
About this Show
The ABC's politics podcast, Politics Now, dives into the biggest political stories in Australia and around the world, giving you a balanced look inside the strategies and decisions behind the headlines. Whenever major news breaks, we'll be in your feed with coverage you can trust.
From Monday to Wednesday, Patricia Karvelas will chat to a rotating cast of the ABC's biggest political journalists about the latest news.
On Thursdays, 'The Party Room' with Patricia Karvelas and Fran Kelly will discuss the week's developments in depth with another journalist, and answer your questions.
On Saturdays, David Speers gets into the details of a major trend or issue with the help of an expert on 'Insiders On Background'.
Latest Episodes
Mathias Cormann’s prescription for tackling grievance politics
Former Finance Minister and now OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann says the cost-of-living crunch is fuelling frustration and pulling voters to populist parties.
Victoria: Messiahs and naughty boys
Victoria's political leaders are fessing up to drug taking and not paying for petrol. The major parties aren't banning abortion, but instead competing to make abortion free. Politics has changed. The tectonic plates of politics are shifting beneath our feet. Within weeks, Victor...
A kinder, gentler politics
The devastating alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines has sent shock waves through Australian politics across the week.Urgent questions about the safety of our elected representatives, and the state of political debate, are being asked. As Haines remains critically ill i...
How do we change the political tone?
How do you keep politicians safe without shutting the public out?Following the alleged attack on Helen Haines, calls for greater protection are growing, as MPs grapple with the threats that come with public life - while the motive behind the attack remains unknown.And as politic...
Has politics changed forever?
"This wasn't an accident. This was a deliberate act.”Stark words have been shared by the Prime Minister following a devastating alleged attack on Independent MP Helen Haines yesterday afternoon, who remains in a critical condition.As Australia learns more about what unfolded out...
An ugly internal Greens war
Tensions inside the Greens are boiling over.WA Senator Jordon Steele-John says rumours about his conduct are being weaponised for political purpose - allegations he strongly denies.Now he’s taken to social media to insist he’s “not on leave" - and accused his own party leader, D...
Is the government losing the trust of small business? | Insiders On Background
After prompting an intervention from the Prime Minister over the ATO's controversial credit card ban, ACCI chief executive Andrew McKellar unpacks the fallout and the government's impending trust tax changes.
Victoria! One Nation! A state election question bonanza
It’s Question Time - and not just any Question Time - a Victorian state election special!With one of the most consequential state elections of 2026 fast approaching, Victoria has been on your minds. So PK and Fran enlist friend of the podcast and Victorian political expert Raf E...
A sitting week with spooks and ghosts
It’s been a strange sitting week in Canberra, with the Albanese government trying to push through a packed legislative agenda - only to find itself repeatedly dragged onto political ground it hadn’t planned for.Labor was slow out of the blocks in responding to the Trump administ...
Got a problem? Just text the PM
Are the Prime Minister and his treasurer working together, or are they being played off against one other?Midway through a sitting week, the government has managed to put itself back in the firing line with small business over the ATO’s on-again, off-again credit card ban.That’s...
'Spicy' late night letters about an AI world
The political fight is moving more and more online.AI companies want to build, train and expand in Australia, but the welcome mat now comes with conditions - including from a bipartisan committee sending letters pushing for tougher rules and stronger protections for creators, an...
Is Josh Frydenberg back?
Parliament is back for another sitting week and Jacob Greber is back on the podcast!But as Jacob tells PK, it's already looking like a "tricky" week for the Albanese government, with no clear passage for their legislative agenda.And PK thinks new Greens leader David Shoebridge w...
Migration cuts: what's at stake for Australia's universities?
Professor Carolyn Evans is the Chair of Universities Australia and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.
The 'raw politics' of immigration
While the government faces criticism from all sides over its economic management after the latest RBA cash rate hike, the Coalition is pitching dramatic cuts to immigration as a way to ease voters' economic pain. But can either major party meet the expectations of a frustrated e...
Labor doesn't want a fight on immigration
Opposition leader Angus Taylor has undertaken a media blitz, as he tries to sell the Coalition's immigration policy.But he's already facing significant backlash from the business sector, who are warning of the implications for economic growth.Labor on the other hand have been gi...