What should we make of the results from Monday’s Newspoll? Will Labor’s dental plan put a smile on the dial of Australia’s pensioners? And will Clive’s cash splash get Palmer into Parliament? These are just some of the questions tackled in this week’s episode of Mark Kenny’s Democracy Sausage. Mark and the panel – Marija Taflaga, Ian McAllister, Liz Hanna, and Sky News’ Kieran Gilbert – also take a look at the possibility of a pre-poll interest rate cut, and as the leaders limber up for a television debate, they discuss who will be watching.

Mark Kenny is a Senior Fellow in the 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.

Liz Hanna is a Fellow at the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment and Chair of the Environmental Health Working Group, World Federation of Public Health Associations.

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

Marija Taflaga is a lecturer in the ANU School of Politics and International Relations. Her major research is on political parties and particularly the Liberal Party of Australia. Her research interests also include comparative Westminster parliaments and oppositions, the career paths political elites, and Australian political history. She has previously worked in the Australian Parliamentary Press Gallery as a researcher at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Kieran Gilbert is Chief Political Reporter for Sky News Australia where he hosts AM Agenda and First Edition.

Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on iTunes, 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 extra is part of Policy Forum’s Australian Election coverage, and published in partnership with The Australian National University.

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