Politics with Michelle Grattan
News:Politics
Helen Haines, MP for the Victorian regional seat Indi, made history at the election as the first federal independent to succeed another independent.
She was backed by grassroots campaigners, Voices for Indi, who had earlier helped her predecessor, Cathy McGowan, into parliament. But while McGowan towards the end of her time in the House of Representatives shared real legislative power after the Coalition fell into minority government, the same power does not lie with the lower house crossbench today.
Still, Haines believes she has what she calls “soft power” as she has focused on relationship building during the first few months into her term. "Building relationships is key to getting things done and it’s key to establishing an environment that is less an environment of conflict and less an environment of bringing people down."
On current legislation, Haines is in favour of the government’s push to stop animal-rights activists from publishing farmers’ personal information. "Many people have contacted my office deeply concerned about this and I’m very supportive of bringing their views to the house on this."
But she’s a trenchant critic of the government proposal for trials to drug test people going onto Newstart and Youth Allowance. She says “the evidence is not there to support” the move.
In Indi, she points to mental health and aged care as frontline issues, which she will seek to work with the government on.
Additional Audio:
A List of Ways to Die, Lee Rosevere, from Free Music Archive.
Image:
AAP/ Mick Tsikas
Barnaby Joyce at his provocative best
Wayne Swan on Labor’s byelection victories and beyond
Katharine Murphy ‘On Disruption’
Tanya Plibersek on Labor’s taxing times
Frances Adamson on being secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs
Attorney-General Christian Porter on a crowded agenda
Brotherhood of St Laurence’s Conny Lenneberg on Newstart, poverty and inequality
Michael McCormack on Barnaby's future, latte sippers and other matters
Anthony Albanese on Labor’s National Conference
Dean Smith on the pros and risks of new religious freedom protections
Politics podcast: Mathias Cormann and Jim Chalmers on Budget 2018
Tim Colebatch on the 2018 budget
Chris Bowen on the budget and Labor's policies
Robert Kelly on the Korean summits
Clive Hamilton and Richard Rigby on Chinese influence in Australia
Politics podcast: Michael Keating on a Fair Share
John Blaxland on Australia’s expulsion of Russian spies
Sarah Hanson-Young on the Greens Batman setback
The Batman byelection battleground
Politics podcast: the "X factor" in the South Australian election
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free