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Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny

Severed ties and succession plans

On the penultimate episode of Democracy Sausage for 2022, Benjamin Jones joins us to discuss the future of the republican movement, before Ian McAllister and Sarah Cameron examine the results of the new Australian Election Survey.


A referendum to change Australia’s head of state might be off the cards for now politically, but how might the republican movement proceed as its proponents seek to break from Britain? Is the election of a large parliamentary crossbench a one-off, or are Australians giving the major parties the flick? And why did women divorce themselves from the Coalition in record numbers at this year’s federal election? Dr Benjamin Jones from Central Queensland University joins Professor Mark Kenny and Dr Marija Taflaga to discuss what an Australian republic might look like in practice, before Professor Ian McAllister and Dr Sarah Cameron join the barbecue to pour over the findings of the Australian Election Survey.


Benjamin T Jones is Senior Lecturer in history at Central Queensland University, with a focus on Australian political history, especially republicanism and national identity.


Ian McAllister is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at The Australian National University, and from 1997 until 2004 was Director of the Research School of Social Sciences at the ANU.


Sarah Cameron is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at Griffith University’s School of Government and International Relations. Her research focuses on comparative political behaviour, the politics of crises, elections, and Australian politics.


Marija Taflaga is the Director of ANU Centre for the Study of Australian Politics and a Senior Lecturer at ANU School of Politics and International Relations.


Mark Kenny is a Professor at ANU Australian Studies Institute. He came to the university after a high-profile journalistic career including six years as chief political correspondent and national affairs editor for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and The Canberra Times.


Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or join us on the Facebook group.


This podcast is produced in partnership with The Australian National University.

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