How to improve Australians' access to specialist care
No one looks forward to seeing a specialist—whether it’s a cardiologist, paediatrician, or psychiatrist. A referral often signals your GP is concerned about a serious health problem: a suspicious lump, a complex condition, or a health issue that needs specialised attention.
For many Australians, it can be a worrying time. And those worries only get worse when faced with high specialist fees and long wait times.
In this episode, Senior Associate Elizabeth Baldwin is joined by co-authors Peter Breadon and Dominic Jones to unpack the findings of Grattan Institute’s latest report, Special treatment: Improving Australians' access to specialist care. Together, they explore why specialist care is so hard to access—and what can be done to fix it.
Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/special-treatment-improving-australians-access-to-specialist-care/
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19:40
The Maths Guarantee: How to Boost Students' Learning in Primary Schools
Australia has a maths problem: one in three Australian school students fail to achieve proficiency in maths.
When maths is taught well, children and the nation benefit. But taught poorly, students are robbed of a core life skill. Adults with weaker maths skills have worse job prospects and are more likely to struggle with routine tasks such as managing budgets and understanding health guidance.
Join Amy Hayward, Education Deputy Program Director, in conversation with co-authors Nick Parkinson and Dan Petrie, about how to boost students' maths proficiency in primary schools.
Read the report: https://grattan.edu.au/report/maths-guarantee/
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21:11
Election 2025: Evaluating the housing policies
Whether it’s increasing rent or mortgage repayments, the surging cost of buying a house or simply finding a secure place to live, Australians are struggling more than ever with housing costs. And with a federal election around the corner, cost-of-living is one of the biggest issues facing voters.
Labor is spruiking the housing policies that it legislated over its first term, including the newly expanded Help to Buy scheme. The Coalition is promising to allow first home buyers to use their super to help purchase their home. Both parties are proposing a two-year ban on foreign residents purchasing existing homes.
But do the policies on offer from the major parties go far enough to help make housing more affordable for more Australians? In this podcast, two Grattan experts, Brendan Coates and Matthew Bowes, evaluate the housing policies on offer – and suggest that whoever wins the election should pursue more comprehensive reforms.
Read the 2025 Orange Book: https://grattan.edu.au/report/orange-book-2025/
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27:09
Analysing the 2025 federal Budget
Is the 2025 federal Budget right for these economic times? In this special pre-election Grattan podcast, our experts give their verdict.
Host Kate Griffiths is joined by Grattan CEO Aruna Sathanapally and health policy expert Peter Breadon to analyse what was good in the Budget, what was missing, and what the next government – whether Labor or Coalition, majority or minority – should do to build a better Australia.
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16:03
Orange Book 2025: Policy priorities for the federal government
As Australia prepares for the 2025 federal election, our new Orange Book identifies the big reforms needed to set Australia on a more prosperous path.
Find out what policies should be on the agenda of whoever wins the election – whether Labor or Coalition, majority or minority – on our latest podcast, with Aruna Sathanapally, Tony Wood, and host Kate Griffiths.
Read the Orange Book: https://grattan.edu.au/report/orange-book-2025/
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Grattan Institute is dedicated to developing high quality public policy for Australia’s future. Our podcasts cover a range of public policy topics focusing on the main issues facing Australia.
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