Podcasts · Government

Why Can't They Just...

Policy 4 People

42 episodes

A podcast aimed at delving into Australian politics and policy with a focus on environment, wealth inequality and foreign policy. We try to answer the question why can't they (the government) just solve big issues with simple solutions

Episodes

  1. Are there too many migrants and what is the right migration policy?

    · 43 min · S3 E10

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at migration policy, what all the political parties are saying about it and whether the narrative actually matches reality. Are migrants essential for Australia’s economic prosperity or a…

  2. Why should anyone care about the UN and international law?

    · 42 min · S3 E9

    Janaline, Yassine, Luke and Glenn ask why countries bother with multilateralism and the United Nations, particularly when the big powers don’t seem to care and there is no enforcement of international law. The bottom…

  3. Why can’t the government stop gambling harm?

    · 40 min · S3 E8

    Janaline, Yassine and Glenn ask why Australians lose more to gambling than any other nationality in the world and what can be done to stop gambling harm. Turns out a lot can be done, so they then ask why the Government…

  4. Why does Australia spend so much on the Pacific?

    · 42 min · S3 E7

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn ask why Australian Prime Ministers spend so much time with very tiny island countries, and why Australian governments spend so much development aid in the region. Short answer - geography…

  5. Why can’t the UN fix climate change? Or can it?

    · 41 min · S3 E6

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at the history of international climate negotiations and ask why has it all been so hard? Maybe we are asking for the wrong thing - instead of asking countries to give something up (fossil…

  6. Can the government really fix industrial emissions?

    · 41 min · S3 E5

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at the Safeguard Mechanism - the government's main policy to manage down industrial emissions - and how it can be made more effective. How can it make miners and fossil fuel companies do…

  7. What is AI doing to society (and how do we make it good)?

    · 41 min · S3 E4

    Janaline, Luke and Yassine consider the impact of AI on society, how we relate to each other as humans, how it is affecting education and learning, and what it means for our humanity. And because we care about policy,…

  8. What is AI doing to the economy and how do we ensure it isn't bad?

    · 40 min · S3 E3

    Janaline and Glenn look at the different ways in which AI is likely to affect the Australian economy and ask what, if anything, the government can do to ensure it delivers benefit to the people. Spoiler alert: we see a…

  9. What is like in public schools and what policies could make it better?

    · 41 min · S3 E2

    Janaline, Luke and Yassine discuss what it's actually like in Australian public schools, what are the challenges for teachers and students and what policies might make things better. Philosophy for children might be an…

  10. Why can't they just fund public schools? (and why fund private schools?)

    · 41 min · S3 E1

    Welcome to Season 3, and welcome to our new co-host Yassine. Janaline, Luke, Yassine and Glenn talk about school funding: why does the government give so much to private schools when public schools are under-funded,…

  11. Why can't they just make social media safe for young people?

    · 42 min · S2 E15

    Janaline and Luke are joined by special guest Yassine to talk about social media and its impact on Generation Z - the first generation to grow up entirely on line and the last generation not to be protected. They talk…

  12. Why can't the government be accountable? (and why you should love admin law)

    · 41 min · S2 E14

    Janaline and Glenn look at different mechanisms to hold governments to account and discuss why every Australian should love the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act. They look at the difference between the…

  13. Why can't they just fix Medicare?

    · 40 min · S2 E13

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at why the government can't just put dental into Medicare and make specialists affordable. Well, actually they can, but of course, as usual, it's complicated. They talk about different…

  14. Is Labor too tame? In person at the ALP National Conference

    · 42 min · S2 E12

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn are joined by former co-host William at the ALP National Conference in Adelaide, where they talk about how the policy sausage is made and debate the pros and cons of behind the scenes…

  15. Why can't they just fix aged care?

    · 41 min · S2 E11

    Janaline and Glenn look at the government's aged care reforms and ask whether they will be sufficient to ensure the system is sustainable in the future, especially given the rate at which Australia's population is…

  16. Is child care working in Australia?

    · 40 min · S2 E10

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at the history of child care in Australia and ask why you might want people to be qualified to look after your children. It won't surprise anyone that we disagree that mothers should just…

  17. What's the government trying to do with the National Disability Insurance Scheme and is it going to work?

    · 43 min · S2 E9

    Janaline and Luke are joined by special guest and disability advocate Andy Shim, a member of the National Autism Strategy Oversight Council, to discuss the government's proposed changes to the NDIS. Why are they so…

  18. Why can't the government ditch AUKUS and the US alliance?

    · 41 min · S2 E8

    Janaline, Luke and Glenn look at the AUKUS program and ask why the government can't just ditch it. And given the erratic decisions coming out of the current US administration, they ask why we wouldn't just extract…

  19. Why can't we have publicly owned renewable energy?

    · 43 min · S2 E7

    Renewable energy is really taking off in Australia, but is it fast enough to meet the Government's target of 82% by 2030? The McKell Institute and the Electrical Trades Union have recently released a report calling for…

  20. Why should you care about human rights?

    · 43 min · S2 E6

    Janaline and Luke discuss human rights and why you should care about it. They look at what citizenship means and the importance of not having 'conditional' citizens. They also discuss the importance of the three…

  21. Will the 2026 Federal Budget reduce inequality or destroy the economy?

    · 40 min · S2 E5

    Janaline, Glenn and Luke pick apart the 2026 Federal Budget, particularly the revenue measures, but also its potential impact on productivity. Spoiler alert - we think businesses and asset holders should pay tax just…

  22. What are One Nation's policies and what would they do?

    · 38 min · S2 E4

    Janaline and Glenn examine the policies of One Nation, a political party that seems to be rising in popularity in Australia, not just in polling but in real elections. Here's a transcript. Please leave a comment,…

  23. Government spending - why can't they just balance the budget?

    · 49 min · S2 E3

    Janaline, Glenn and Luke go through the major spending items in the budget and discuss the question of why governments can't just balance their budgets and why do we need all this spending anyway? Here's a transcript.…

  24. How can the government raise more revenue?

    · 44 min · S2 E2

    Janaline and Glenn discuss different ways of raising revenue for the government and the effects of different approaches on how people behave and therefore how much can be raised. Here's a transcript. Please leave a…

  25. Why can't they just plug all those tax loopholes?

    · 41 min · S2 E1

    Welcome to a new series. In our first episode, Janaline, Glenn and Luke consider why the Government can't just plug the budget's $200 billion worth of tax loopholes (called 'tax expenditures'). There are lots of…

  26. Bonus episode: War on Iran crisis and Australia's response

    · 49 min · S1 E18 · Bonus

    Janaline and William discuss the US and Israel attack on Iran, its consequences for the rest of the world and the Australian government's response. Here's the transcript. Please rate and review us - it helps people…

  27. Housing and cost of rent

    · 44 min · S1 E16

    Janaline and William delve into the pros and cons of rent freezes as a cost of living measure and talk about the broader issues of housing affordability. Here is the transcript. The live event mentioned is on Sunday…

  28. Rise of One Nation

    · 44 min · S1 E15

    Janaline and William discuss the implications of One Nation overtaking the Coalition in the latest polls and how the Labor Party needs to adjust to a changing political environment. The Dan Carlin reference was a…

  29. Australia's New Hate Speech Laws

    · 35 min · S1 E14

    Janaline and William discuss the hate speech laws passed in the parliament in the wake of the Bondi attack. They discuss the implications of the new laws, whether they were necessary and if the government should be…

  30. US bilateral relationship, international rules-based order

    · 48 min · S1 E13

    Janaline and William delve into the current state of the international rules-based order in the wake of Canadian PM Mark Carney's speech in Davos. They talk about the new Australian ambassador to the US as Kevin Rudd…

  31. Venezuela, US foreign policy and Australia's response

    · 32 min · S1 E12

    Janaline and William delve into the ramifications of the US attack on Venezuela. They consider the legality of the strike, the political and diplomatic consequences, and how Australia could respond. Janaline answers…

  32. Future Made in Australia

    · 30 min · S1 E11

    Janaline and William delve into Labor's Future Made in Australia policy and explore its implications for Australia's future economic prosperity. Here's the transcript. If you have any suggestions for future episodes…

  33. Special episode on environmental law reform

    · 1 h 18 min · S1 E10

    Callum and Janaline go through the draft environmental law reform that the Labor Government recently passed through the House of Representatives, and is hoping to pass the Senate in the final sitting of Parliament in…

  34. Gambling reform and why is it so hard?

    · 25 min · S1 E9

    In which Callum and Janaline discuss why the federal Labor government is not implementing more ambitious reform to the regulation of gambling and gambling advertising. Spoiler alert - we think they are being lame.…

  35. Economic inequality

    · 43 min · S1 E8

    Callum and Janaline talk about economic inequality and what governments can do to address it. Here's the transcript. Please leave a comment, particularly if you have your own "Why can't they just..." question, or…

  36. Racism and immigration

    · 29 min · S1 E7

    Callum and Janaline discuss immigration, racism, what it means to be Australian, and Why Can't They Just eliminate racism? Here's the transcript. Please leave a comment, particularly if you have your own "Why can't…

  37. Defence spending, national security and AUKUS

    · 40 min · S1 E6

    In this episode, Callum and Janaline discuss why Australia might need to increase defence spending, what are the real strategic threats to Australia and will we actually get any subs under AUKUS? Here's the…

  38. Environmental law reform

    · 39 min · S1 E5

    This episode is about the reform of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. Janaline and William discuss the politics of environmental law reform and the key reforms that are needed to…

  39. Tax, superannuation, economic reform, productivity commission.

    · 33 min · S1 E4

    This epsiode Janaline and Will delve into Australia's superannuation tax changes. They explore the media's coverage of the issue and Treasurer Jim Chalmers' new productivity roundtable. Janaline and Will discuss how to…

  40. Iran, nuclear proliferation, international law

    · 43 min · Episode 1

    This episode comes in the wake of the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. Janaline and William discuss the lameness of Australia's response to the conflict and the important role of international law in times of…

  41. Why can't they just stop new coal and gas and what does real climate action look like?

    · 44 min

    Episode 2 explores the difference between climate slogans and climate policy in the context of the decision by the federal environment minister to extend the life of a large gas project. The episode looks at what…

  42. Pilot episode: why are we doing this? 2025 Australian election and what it means for democracy

    · 45 min · S1 E1

    Why Can't They Just...? is a podcast about policy, politics and getting stuff done. It looks at the difference between a policy and a slogan and examines how things are often harder than they look. This episode takes…

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.