Cis Podcast

We welcome Jordan Williams, executive director and co-founder of the New Zealand Tax Payer's Alliance. Buoyed by the support of the vast majority of voters, New Zealand had managed to shield itself from Covid-19, but what lies ahead for an isolated New Zealand? With a housing crisis playing out, an imminent interest rate rise and excessive government spending on vanity projects, how is the Ardern Government faring?

We welcome William Coleman, Reader at the Research School of Economics at ANU. He is the prize-winning author, or co-author, of eight books including recently, Their Firery Cross of Union; A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation (Connor Court). Recently writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, Chris Uhlmann wrote 'Scott Morrison now cannot travel through the country he governs. The Prime Minister is a prisoner in Canberra and his political fortunes in the run-up to the next election will rise and fall on the whims of premiers and chief ministers.' Until recently, Australians were seemingly indifferent or even unaware of some of the powers that states hold. COVID has changed that. With domestic borders closed, restrictions and avail of our liberties, are we seeing the fracture of the Federation?

We welcome Scott Prasser, senior policy advisor and CIS scholar. In his recent book, Scott argues hardly a day passes in Australia without a public inquiry or royal commission being appointed, a report being released, or someone calling for an inquiry to be appointed. Since federation, the Commonwealth alone has appointed nearly 140 royal commissions and some 500 other public inquiries. Some inquiries last for years and cost over $300million – others are more focused and economical. So what do all these commissions really do? What are their powers, and importantly what are their impacts?. Scott's recent book, Royal Commissions and Public Inquiries in Australia (LexisNexis) can be purchased here: https://store.lexisnexis.com.au/categories/practice-area/jurisdiction-827/royal-commissions-and-public-inquiries-in-australia-2nd-edition-skuroyal_commissions_and_public_inquiries_in_australia_2nd_edition

We welcome Bridget McKenzie, Nationals Senator for Victoria since 2011. Senator McKenzie has held ministerial office in the Turnbull and Morrison Governments and has served as her party's Senate leader since 2019. In late 2020, McKenzie authored 'John McEwen: right man, right place, right time' (Connor Court), in this book she argues that his policies, known as ‘McEwenism,’ forged the nation’s post Second World War economic boom ushering in an era of unprecedented full employment and prosperity for all Australians. Does McEwenism, derided by the Right and dismantled by the Left have any relevance today.

Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani fled the country over the weekend, leading to a complete collapse in government administration and a rapid Taliban takeover of the entire country. A one-time Abu Dhabi based correspondent for CNN and former anchor for Al Jazeera in Doha, Australia's own Stan Grant brings a depth of in-region experience to the analysis of Afghan affairs. Today we ask Grant how the Taliban were able to sweep to power so rapidly, who was responsible for the collapse of American influence in Kabul, what the return of the Taliban means for Afghanistan -- and the world. We'll also be asking Grant how identity has shaped politics in Afghanistan, seeking to learn lessons from Afghanistan that might teach us about Australian society and our own senses of belonging

On the show this Wednesday, we welcome Ehud Yaari visiting expert at the Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and one of Israel's leading public affairs commentators. This episode will focus on the recently sworn in Bennett–Lapid Israeli Government, the Biden Administration's actions in the Middle East six months on from his inauguration, as well as a geopolitical overview of the region. Israel’s status as the only liberal, democratic nation amidst a vast expanse of autocratic and illiberal states is remarkable. So, after Benjamin Netanyahu's 12 years as Prime Minister, what will the new coalition government bring? Can they really hold together with such a slim majority? and how will geopolitical pressures including the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action impact the State? Ehud Yaari a Middle East commentator for Israeli television since 1975 and won awards for his coverage of the peace process with Egypt, the Lebanon War, and the First Gulf War. Yaari's articles have appeared in respected newspapers

This episode focuses on Afghanistan’s future prospects given Australia’s recent closure of its embassy in Kabul, and the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan after 20 years. We'll discuss the implications of the US withdrawal, the ‘peace process’ that was supposed to flow from the US-Taliban agreement, and what scenarios could play out should the Taliban regain control.

We welcome podcast host, Bitcoin maximalist and co-founder of Ministry of Nodes, Stephan Liveria. This episode will focus on cryptocurrency and decentralised finance. Bitcoin started the year at an all-time high. Then, there was controversy after Elon Musk criticised the cryptocurrency for its allegedly damaging impact on the environment. Now, El Salvador has made Bitcoin one of its official currencies.

We welcome French Consul (Commercial), Armelle Rebuffet. We'll discuss how BusinessFrance works to strengthen Franco-Australian relations, how covid-19 has impacted the way French companies view and engage with Australia and the main barriers and obstacles for Australian businesses looking to move. BusinessFrance works connecting French and Australian companies and how they assist Australian companies to settle and invest in France.

As Sydney starts another round of lockdown, we are pleased to say we will still be able to produce the weekly On Liberty -- fitting, considering it is the reason we started the show in the first place! This week we ask, if liberalism falls will that usher in a 'new dark age'? If so, what, exactly, will go dark? Freedom of speech and the press, democratic elections, and independent judiciaries are the foundation of the contemporary civilization, not only of the West but of the whole world. But they are threatened by identity politics, which sees little of value in our post-Enlightenment civilization, to the point of disputing whether such a civilization even exists. We talk to former ALP federal minister and serial social entrepreneur Peter Baldwin about his new online magazine: Politics & Civilization. An outgrowth of the Blackheath Philosophy Forum, Politics & Civilization publishes articles and videos that address long-term developments that are reshaping Western societies and transforming their

On the show this Wednesday, we welcome CIS contributor and Australian Catholic University academic, Dr Anthony Dillon. Writing in The Herald Sun recently, Anthony says proponents for truth-telling of Australia’s past selectively advance a sanitised version and are disinterested in inconvenient truths facing Indigenous Australians today. Anthony argues that truth-telling hasn’t extended to sensitive contemporary issues, such as the tragic rates of child abuse, violence, and suicide inflicting Indigenous communities. Instead, he warns that a loud minority seek to silence debate and distract from persistent and pervasive dysfunction faced by marginalised Australians. He cites the confected outrage generated against the late cartoonist, Bill Leak, empty charges of racism hurled where none is found to exist, and the harmful groupthink that has swallowed false narratives about Australia’s Indigenous history. Join us, when guest host, Glenn Fahey asks how we can promote genuine truth-telling on Indigenous affairs

Australia does a lot of great science, but has a poor record of translating that science into benefits for society. At least, that's what the education minister has been telling us. This week we talk to an eminent Australian scientist to hear about a home-grown translational medicine success story -- and to find out what barriers still stand between basic research and commercial applications. This week we talk to Prof Bob Graham of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, a specialist in molecular cardiology and cardiac regeneration. He and his team have discovered a way to convert the venom of the Australian funnel-web spider into a drug that can reduce brain damage after strokes and improve heart recovery after heart attacks. An amino acid peptide derived from this venom may one day be injected into stroke and heart attack victims in the ambulance before they even reach the hospital. How important is basic science for medical research? Why does basic science have to be done here, in Australia? Why can

With the Australian and Chinese governments arguing in increasingly shrill tones, has Australia really "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people"? In China's official view of the world, the Party and the people are one. But is that really true? And how is the Party's role in society changing in the 21st century?

Since last month’s federal budget, the Centre for Independent Studies has lamented that the Coalition government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison has embraced the political left’s economic credentials as interventionists and big spenders. Will Canberra’s historic spending blowout lead to an inflation surge, prompting higher interest rates? Will it just steal economic growth from the future in return for a temporary surge in the next year to 18 months? Will the spending blowout in aged care, child care, NDIS rule out a balanced budget for another decade? Where are the pro-growth reforms, which seek to create the circumstances for long-term prosperity? Where are the productivity enhancing policies that would create permanent incentives to work and invest?

With their sensationalist public questioning of Premier Gladys Berejiklian's private life the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has attracted renewed attention. Some may argue that ICAC must break a few eggs in order to obtain the proverbial, corruption-busting omelet. But has ICAC gone too far? Is the rule of law being undermined in NSW? Join us with Chris Merritt. Chris is vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia and commentator, who writes regularly for The Australian and appears on Sky News. Chris has been one of the loudest critics of ICAC's show trials and a brilliant defender for the rule of law in Australia.

On the show this Wednesday, we welcome Institute of Public Affairs’ Dr Bella d’Abrera. Speaking with The Australian recently, Bella reveals that new polling proves parents are concerned schooling has become overly politicised and out of step with mainstream values. Bella argues that, as a fundamentally egalitarian society, divisive ideologies like critical race theory, have no place in Australian schools. She cites proposed changes to the national curriculum as evidence of a radical turn toward politically correct, and educationally flawed, schooling. Beyond the curriculum, she also warns that education bureaucracies are increasingly stepping on the toes of parents when it comes to values on which children are raised. Join us on YouTube at 12.30pm Wednesday 2 June, when guest host, Glenn Fahey asks how our schools have become hostage to harmful ideology. Have curriculum writers gone too far in encouraging political correctness at the expense of historical facts? Has academic rigour been displaced by virtue

Did the fall of the Soviet Union usher in the end of history for everyone, or only for a small class of comfortably well-off professionals in a few rich countries? How did big ideas replace practical politics, and what does it mean for our future now that politics have come roaring back? Was the presidency of Donald Trump an aberration, or a sign of things to come? And perhaps most importantly: is sin really such a bad thing, after all? This week, Wednesday 26 May 2021, we talk to Prof David Martin Jones about his new book History's Fools: The Pursuit of Idealism and the Revenge of Politics. It explores the consequences of what he calls the "liberal hubris" of the progressive professional class. We'll be asking him what effective diplomacy really means, how politics should work in our post-political age, and whether the "West" really stands a chance in the brave new multicultural world of the twenty-first century? David Martin Jones is Visiting Professor in War Studies at King’s College, London. He emerged

From childcare subsidies to jobseeker increases and big infrastructure spending this years' 2021 Federal Budget is being touted as one of the largest in our nation's history. While elevated iron ore prices will help to offset its impact we are staring down multiyear deficits and debt. Join guest host, Simon Cowan and CIS research associate, John Humphreys as they cover what the mainstream media has missed.

As Myanmar's military takeover risks spinning into civil war, what can Australia do to help? Do "middle powers" matter? How secure is our region, and what can we do to improve it? If democracy really is threatened in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific, what can Australia do to help preserve it? Join us for our 50th episode this week as we ask Mr Peter Khalil MP what Australia can do to promote democracy in an increasingly benighted region. Khalil is the Member for Wills in Victoria and Deputy Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. He has a background in international law and has been a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. He was awarded the Australian Overseas Humanitarian Services Medal for his service in Iraq. Khalil worries that authoritarianism is on the rise globally, and argues that liberal democracies can and should defend their ways of life. He has called for Australia to take a stand on China's persecution of Uyghurs and pushed for the country to pursue a m

Science fiction is often seen as the domain of - the nerds. But, the genre has a long and inextricable link with libertarianism. This is the argument made by podcaster, writer, and teacher, Jordan Alexander Hill in his brilliant Quillette essay, "The Libertarian History of Science Fiction." Jordan joins us to discuss his essay and we voyage from the early days of science fiction; the impact of the pulps; the influence of John Campbell; the Prometheus awards, and beyond. May the force be with you.