Macca, Kenny and John are joined live on air by Ryan Heath — Launch Editor, POLITICO Australia / Canberra Playbook
Politics is increasingly global — and Australian politics is no exception. The decisions made in Canberra are shaped by what’s happening in Washington, Beijing, Brussels and beyond, while issues like AI, trade, security, climate and social policy increasingly cross-national borders.
POLITICO is launching Canberra Playbook later this month, bringing its particular brand of political intelligence, insider reporting and policy analysis to the Australian capital.
Our guest is the person charged with getting it off the ground — Australian journalist Ryan Heath, the original author of POLITICO’s influential Brussels Playbook and now the organisation’s Australia Launch Editor.
Founded in Washington in 2007, and employing more than 1,000 journalists and publishing professionals, POLITICO operates a mixture of free journalism and subscription products, including POLITICO Pro, which provides detailed policy and government coverage to professional and institutional audiences.
Ryan Heath was the original author of POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook, launched about a decade ago, and was the first person to take the Playbook newsletter model beyond the United States.
He is now returning to Australia to launch the Australian edition, Canberra Playbook, on August 17, coinciding with the return of the federal Parliament from its winter recess.
Heath has described Canberra as: “a city purpose-built for power and policy” and a “geopolitical capital” connecting East and West.
The argument is that Australian politics increasingly cannot be understood purely through domestic politics, and Australia’s relationships with the United States, China, Europe and the Indo-Pacific, as well as issues including technology, AI, defence, trade and energy, have international consequences
A number of major international media organisations have established operations in Australia and then withdrawn – among them POLITICO’s stablemate Business Insider Australia.
The New York Times also closed its Sydney bureau in 2024 and discontinued its Australia-focused newsletter.
By contrast, organisations such as the Guardian, BBC and Daily Mail have established significant and continuing Australian operations.
POLITICO has also built its reputation around insider access, political intelligence and relationships with people who exercise power – will they be able to do that here?
The post Saturday, 8th August, 2026: Ryan Heath, Launch Editor, POLITICO Australia / Canberra Playbook appeared first on Saturday Magazine.
