Episode 57: Morrison cuts payments amid COVID uncertainty, Coalition play acting on climate action and good news about land protection

"The Week on Wednesday" with Van Badham & Ben Davison

Van Badham and Ben Davison dive into the Morrison government's bungling of the COVID situation in Australia that has seen people with a disability go from being in a priority group to "refocussed" almost out of contention for vaccines, payments being cut from people left unemployed due to COVID restrictions, states going off the road map at the expense of thousands of lives and extra hospitalisations. All while Victoria has its worst day for cases and NSW has its worst day for deaths. And Singapore is having a lockdown with well over 80% of the population vaccinated.

The choices our political leaders have made during the pandemic and are making again now are determining whether people fall into poverty, homelessness and hunger. Or not.

The political pantomime that is Coalition policy around climate action has reached WWE levels of spectacle this week. With a clash between the Nationals (rural seats) and the Liberals (city seats) being billed as part of distracting from the reality that the world is moving to net zero emissions. The only questions are how and what happens to people as that occurs. Neither question is one that Morrison's political side show is interested in answering but both are the focus for environment groups, union, companies and farmers.

And the good news is that old European enmities have been set aside to create a land sanctuary some are calling "the European Amazon."

Plus we thank everyone who made The Week on Wednesday the number 1 news and the number 1 politics podcast in Australia last week!