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Cut Through

Cut Through

Written by: Crikey
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About this listen

Cut Through is Crikey’s spin-free analysis of Australian news, politics and power. Each week we break down the biggest news stories, stripping away the noise to bring you the information that really matters. Join us every Friday to get your talking points delivered the Crikey way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Crikey
Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Australia’s gambling ad ban is here
    Apr 9 2026

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a surprise announcement before the Easter long weekend – the government’s long-awaited proposal for gambling advertising reform was finally ready and intended to come into effect from January 1, 2027. So, where will gambling ads be banned, and how?


    Crikey media reporter Daanyal Saeed joins the podcast to unpack the proposed gambling ad reforms, including three big recommendations from the Peta Murphy report that the government has ignored, and how “vested interests” from gambling companies, sporting codes and mainstream media broadcasters have slowed down the process.


    At the end of the day, a proposed bill will not pass without the support of non-Labor senators. Who will they negotiate with to get it through?


    Read more:

    • ‘Really disappointed’, ‘betrayal’, ‘bare minimum’: The reaction to Albanese’s long-awaited gambling advertising reforms
    • ‘It’s fucked … most people know that’: Sports podcasters speak out over gambling ad influence
    • Has Albanese done anything at all on sports betting ads?
    • Here’s how much gambling money is worth to Crikey, and why we won’t take it
    • ‘Lost in the product’: How the gambling industry creates problem gamblers
    • The gambling ad ban isn’t about gambling. It’s about the future of the media
    • What the media earns from gambling — and what it costs the rest of us

    Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter


    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.

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    34 mins
  • Left-Right politics in Australia is dead
    Apr 2 2026

    Originally labels for a person’s economic perspective, “left” and “right” have been transformed into social markers that are not only wielded as weapons in political discourse, but actually tell us very little about how someone will vote. In fact, most Australians prefer to call themselves “centrist” regardless of their beliefs. So does the left-right political spectrum still apply to Australian politics in 2026?


    That’s the question debated in today’s episode by Crikey politics editor Bernard Keane and RedBridge Senior Insights Adviser Alex Fein. We cover the generational divides, economic transformation and total erosion of trust that has almost all voters, from orange to blue to red, united against the “ruling class”.


    So, what’s the alternative? And does it even matter?


    N.B.: The quote at 44:36 is by Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Lucas.


    Read more:

    • Are ‘left’ and ‘right’ useful anymore or do we need a new political alignment?
    • Left and right, forward and back, in and out: labels for a new political world
    • The Political Compass
    • Alex Fein: Polarisation is a Myth

    Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter


    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.

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    49 mins
  • Do we actually need to panic about fuel?
    Mar 26 2026

    It’s been one month since the US began its war on Iran, which means one month that the critical oil passageway the Strait of Hormuz has been closed. As a result, the price of crude oil has shot up, taking the price of fuel with it. At petrol stations across Australia diesel is more than $3 per litre, with unleaded creeping up to $2.50 in metro areas and well beyond that in regional areas.


    Economics correspondent Jason Murphy joins the podcast to answer some crucial questions: is the rising cost due to price gouging? What can the government do to keep the price of essentials, like groceries, from spiralling out of control? And is Australia actually at risk of running out of fuel altogether?


    Read more:

    • Do we actually need to panic about fuel?
    • With petrol prices rising, so is Australia’s interest in EVs. We should strike while the iron is hot
    • The Iran War is costing a lot more than higher petrol prices
    • Painful as it is, the rate rise was the easy part. Trump has turned economic policy into a lottery


    Sign up to Crikey’s free newsletter: https://bit.ly/crikey-newsletter


    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.

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    33 mins
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