Understanding China

On this special Democracy Sausage we launch a new book on governance systems in China, Taiwan and Australia with its co-editor Andrew Podger and ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop, and discuss how COVID-19 is affecting Australia’s elderly.


What does reform look like in China and how does the country’s governance stack up against Australia’s? Has reform in the country actually gone backwards under Xi Jinping? And how can business navigate the increasingly tense relations between China and other countries? On this Democracy Sausage Professor Andrew Podger, ANU Chancellor and former Foreign Minister the Hon Julie Bishop, and Dr Marija Taflaga join Mark Kenny to launch and discuss the new book, Designing governance systems for performance and accountability, co-edited by Professor Podger. The panel also examines COVID-19 in the aged care sector and whether Australia is doing enough to protect its elderly people.


The Hon Julie Bishop is Chancellor of The Australian National University and was Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs.


Andrew Podger AO is an Honorary Professor of Public Policy at ANU, former Australian Public Service Commissioner and former secretary of several government departments.


Mark Kenny is a Professor 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 HeraldThe Age, and The Canberra Times.


Dr Marija Taflaga is Director of the Australian Politics Studies Centre in the ANU School of Politics and International Relations. Her major research is on political parties and particularly the Liberal Party of Australia. She has previously worked in the Australian Parliamentary Press Gallery as a researcher at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.


Democracy Sausage with Mark Kenny is available on AcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle 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.


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