Cut Through

Campaigning has officially begun for the South Australia state election set for March 21. Peter Malinauskas’ already-dominant Labor government will be returned and increase their representation – the only question is how many more seats will they win?

Jo Dyer joins the podcast to give the political background to the election, including how the SA Liberals collapse differs from the federal Libs, and why they’ll be fighting off One Nation for their existing lower house seats. Plus, Dyer gives her hot tip for two independent challengers to watch.

Read more:
Malinauskas faces a landslide win in SA. But cracks are appearing in his ‘good-time agenda’
The Liberals face a drubbing at South Australia’s election next month. But what of One Nation?
A South Australian Handmaid’s Tale: Inside the room where a Trumpian abortion bill was narrowly defeated
South Australia is now the battleground for the forced-birth movement

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Palantir is in the business of data and surveillance. It is run by key members of the “tech right”, builds the technology that has powered violent and illegal ICE raids in the US, and is accused of providing the AI-assisted autonomous weapons the Israeli military deployed on Palestinians in Gaza.

So why does the Australian Future Fund hold a $100 million stake in Palantir? And how has the company secured multimillion-dollar contracts and top security clearance from government departments and agencies?

Associate editor Cam Wilson joins the podcast to unpack his reporting on the growing Australian footprint of “the world’s most controversial SaaS company”.

Read more:
Revealed: Australia’s $100 million investment in controversial tech giant Palantir
Defence signs biggest ever contract with Palantir for department’s ‘Cyber Warfare Division’
‘Effectively passive’: Future Fund says it didn’t choose to buy its $100m Palantir stake
From ICE to Coles: Controversial US tech company Palantir’s links to Australia spark backlash
As top AUKUS official joins Palantir, ethics watchdog warns of lobbying ‘risks’
Why do right-wing figures name their companies after Lord of the Rings?

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese continued to maintain this week that Israeli President Isaac Herzog was formally invited to Australia by the federal government to help foster “a greater sense of unity” and as a comfort to the Jewish community, still reeling from the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. But it was clear from the outset that there was also real anger from people — including Jewish people — over the government hosting an individual cited by the UN Commission as "directly and publicly incited the commission of genocide in contravention of Article III(c) of the Genocide Convention". Nationwide protests against Herzog’s presence kicked off in Sydney, with violent clashes between police and protesters making global headlines.

Crikey’s legal correspondent Michael Bradley joins the podcast to explain whether hosting Herzog is a breach of international law, why the Sydney protest was not “illegal”, and how instances of alleged police brutality connect to the special powers granted to NSW Police.

If the Albanese government’s goal is to calm public tensions — as he keeps insisting — did Herzog’s visit help or hurt?

Read more:
A view from the ground: As police argued with MPs, Sydney’s protest against Isaac Herzog descended into chaos
Nothing says cohesion like a punch in the head: Violence of Minns’ goons exposes the lie of ‘social cohesion’
Why people are protesting Israel’s head of state visiting Australia next week

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
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The latest drop of Epstein files totalled a whopping 3.5 million documents. Buried within it were remnants of conversations Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted paedophile and sex trafficker, had about Australian politics — and attempts to destabilise democratic elections made by people in his orbit.

Crystal Andrews and reporter-at-large Charlie Lewis discuss why Kevin Rudd and Clive Palmer appear in the Epstein files alongside the likes of Steve Bannon and Peter Mandelson; and why no one should be surprised about the intersection of the abuse of women and girls and the spreading of toxic politics worldwide.

Read more:
The Epstein files show that Australia, like many nations, is at the mercy of men like him
Here's how Epstein broke the internet
Epstein, Mandelson, and the conspiracy theories that turn out to be true

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
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Bonus episode: Our previous episode scrutinising One Nation’s surge upset made many of the party’s supporters. They took issue with describing what the data says about the archetypal One Nation voter: they tend to be older, live in regional Australia, and have lower levels of education and income.

Crystal Andrews and Bernard Keane return to debate whether it’s patronising to describe voters this way, or just stating the facts? And how can you discuss a political movement’s influence on Australia, if you can’t talk about who they are?

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Crikey’s independent journalism is supported by readers — 98% of our revenue comes from our subscribers. We’re not accountable to billionaires; we’re accountable to you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.