Lowy Institute Conversations: Michelle Grattan and Katharine Murphy on Australian foreign policy from the Canberra Press Gallery

In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Natasha Kassam talks with Michelle Grattan, Chief Political Correspondent at the Conversation, and Katharine Murphy, Political Editor of Guardian Australia. They discuss how Australian foreign policy has played a changing role in Australian politics, how Prime Minister Scott Morrison has moved from ‘negative globalism’ to being a multilateralist, Australia’s response to COVID-19 and ‘Fortress Australia’, and the fraught politics of climate change. 

Michelle Grattan is one of Australia’s most respected political journalists, who has been a member of the Canberra parliamentary press gallery for more than four decades. She has written for all the major Australian newspapers, including as editor of The Canberra Times. Michelle is currently Chief Political Correspondent at The Conversation and has an academic appointment at the University of Canberra.

Katharine Murphy has been Guardian Australia's Political Editor since 2016, working in Canberra's parliamentary press gallery for 23 years. She was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Canberra in October 2019 and holds an academic appointment there. Katharine's latest publication is her 2020 Quarterly Essay, The End of Certainty: Scott Morrison and Pandemic Politics.