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Cut Through

Cut Through

Crikey 74 Episodes Jul 2, 2026

Cut Through is Crikey's spin-free analysis of Australian news, politics and power. Each week the podcast breaks down the biggest news stories, stripping away the noise to bring listeners the information that really matters. It delivers talking points every Friday in the Crikey way.

Episodes

Teal, Orange, Green: Who’s holding Labor to account? Jul 2, 2026 34:57 There was a flurry of activity in parliament as politicians tried to make the last sitting fortnight before the winter break really count. So it’s the perfect time to bring Cut Through back from our mid-year break – re-energised and ready to call it as we see it! Crikey’s politics writer Rachel Withers joins readers’ editor Crystal Andrews and reporter-at-large Charlie Lewis to discuss the hi
2026 federal budget: does anyone care about broken promises? May 14, 2026 36:36 The 2026 federal budget was one of the more “memorable” in recent history. Despite the vast majority of measures having already been aired in the media weeks prior, Jim Chalmers kept one major reveal for budget night: a three-part tax reform, winding back the favourable settings of capital gains tax, negative gearing and private trusts.The mainstream media has been bleating about “broken promises”
Farrer by-election: A One Nation vs independent showdown May 6, 2026 28:39 There are just three days until the Farrer by-election and – for the first time ever – it looks like voters won’t be electing a National or Liberal MP to represent them in Sussan Ley’s old seat.. Instead, the frustration with establishment politics has seen independent Michelle Milthorpe and One Nation’s David Farly emerge as the frontrunners in a fierce and unpredictable campaignTo help you follo
Grace Tame: The NDIS overhaul is a missed opportunity Apr 30, 2026 27:41 Health Minister Mark Butler’s “major overhaul” of the National Disability Insurance Scheme will reduce the total cost of the scheme by $15 billion over the next four years. The majority of the savings will come from the 160,000 people who will be kicked off the scheme – a brutal decision given that the NDIS only supports a fraction of the 2 million Australians with a severe disability.The justific
Is “free speech” an Australian value? Apr 23, 2026 37:45 Is “free speech” an Australian value? We examine the latest developments concerning two state laws attempting to restrict political expression, and how the people are pushing back.First, the verdict is in on the protest-restricting laws introduced by the Minns government ahead of the divisive visit by Israeli President Isaac Herzog: the changes are unconstitutional. Grata Fund founder Isabelle Rei
Why experts suspect insider trading in the White House Apr 16, 2026 29:12 If it walks, talks and quacks like a duck… is it insider trading? Journalist Lachlan Keller joins the podcast to explain the suspicious pattern of behaviour that has lead experts and analysts to believe people within the Trump administration are using insider trading to make huge, lucrative bets on global news events.We discuss the major oil commodities trades made just hours before Trump announce
Australia’s gambling ad ban is here Apr 9, 2026 34:08 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 b
Left-Right politics in Australia is dead Apr 2, 2026 49:28 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 p
Do we actually need to panic about fuel? Mar 26, 2026 32:58 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
Rick Morton unpacks the NACC robodebt report Mar 19, 2026 36:19 After 10 years, more than 470,000 wrongly-issued debts, six separate investigations and $2.4 billion in compensation to victims, the National Anti-Corruption Commission handed down its final report into the unlawful debt recovery scheme known as robodebt. Two public servants were found to have engaged in serious corrupt conduct, but will not face criminal investigation. The other four individuals
Does power always corrupt in Australian politics? Mar 12, 2026 33:02 Can “good people” make change in Australia’s political system, or will power always corrupt? That’s the question that Jo Tarnawsky — former diplomat and chief of staff to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles — is answering with her series exploring how power protects itself.Tarnawsky joins the podcast to discuss what it’s like to be “in the room” when big decisions are made, how power is maintaine
An Iranian perspective on the US-Israel attack Mar 5, 2026 26:27 On February 28 the US and Israel launched an unprovoked missile strike on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several Islamic Republic officials and sparking further strikes across the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz, the pivotal oil shipping route, is closed. Washington’s claim of attacking to provoke “regime change” in Iran is dubious at best.But the Iranian people have been largely

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