#20 State Capture: causes and solutions - with Scott Ludlam

<p>Today I speak with former Senator Scott Ludlam. Scott Ludlam served as the Senator for Western Australia from 2008 until 2017, advocating on environmental justice, human rights, and also, which we won&rsquo;t be able to talk about today, national security laws and the resulting surveillance we as citizens experience.</p> <p>Today&rsquo;s topic is big enough. State Capture. The World Bank defines State Capture as &ldquo;the exercise of power by private actors &ndash; through control over resources, threat of violence, or other forms of influence &ndash; to shape policies or implementation in service of their narrow interest&rdquo;. It is a term I hadn&rsquo;t heard of until I read Scott&rsquo;s wonderful book, <a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/full-circle">Full Circle</a>. And just last week, Scott Ludlam, as part of the Australia Democracy Network, released a <a href="https://australiandemocracy.org.au/statecapture">report on State Capture</a>. It&rsquo;s pretty brutal, but there&rsquo;s hope. It&rsquo;s brutal because it shows how much of our political system has been flipped to meet the needs of private interests rather than our interests, and that elections alone won&rsquo;t fix the problem. But there&rsquo;s hope because the report reveals that there are immediate and practical reforms that we can push our politicians to address, now. There has been a theme emerging across interviews with George Williams, Andrew Wilkie and now Scott Ludlam &ndash; it is that our democracy is on a slippery slope, but there&rsquo;s points that we can exit this slide. We just need to be clear and deliberate about it.</p> <p>Show notes:</p> <p>Learn more about State Capture:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/state-capture-and-democracy-in-australia-and-the-importance-of/13757632">https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/state-capture-and-democracy-in-australia-and-the-importance-of/13757632</a></p> <p>Endorse the framework for a fairer democracy:&nbsp