Background Briefing

Once a cattle empire, Henbury Station in Central Australia is now a multi-million dollar, carbon farming experiment. But with the cattle gone the neighbours are angry, and while the government says restoring land can be a good business, the future of this taxpayer assisted project is in doubt. Caddie Brain and Di Martin investigate the shift from cattle to carbon.

The claim that coal seam gas is 70% cleaner than coal is coming under renewed scrutiny as more science comes in. The government is now reviewing the situation, but in the meantime investors are getting the jitters over the real carbon exposure.  So why hasn’t the government insisted on better science? Reporter: Wendy Carlisle.

Undercover cop Mark Kennedy was unmasked by his activist girlfriend after years infiltrating environmental groups in Britain and Europe. Now other women are suing British police claiming they were tricked into long standing relationships with undercover officers. How far should undercover police officers go to gather intelligence? Jane Deith investigates.

Australia has some of the strongest laws in the world to tackle wildlife crime, yet the trade in native and exotic birds continues virtually unchecked. Two high profile attempts to prosecute the smugglers have failed. Why? Hagar Cohen investigates.

For years the greyhound industry has accepted the routine killing of injured and failed racing dogs. A leading official reveals thousands are killed each year in NSW alone, and says the practice is out of step with community values. Timothy McDonald investigates the often brief life of a racing dog.

Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti died after being chased, pinned down and tasered repeatedly by NSW police officers. The police say the use of force was reasonable but evidence at the inquest into his death said it was ‘unreasonable’, ‘excessive’ and an ‘act of thuggery’. Did the police shoot first and ask questions later? Wendy Carlisle investigates.

Brazilian student Roberto Laudisio Curti died after being chased, pinned down and tasered repeatedly by NSW police officers. The police say the use of force was reasonable but evidence at the inquest into his death said it was ‘unreasonable’, ‘excessive’ and an ‘act of thuggery’. Did the police shoot first and ask questions later? Wendy Carlisle investigates.

A fatal fire in a Sydney high rise apartment building has exposed widespread failures in fire safety compliance. For residents of Australia’s tallest apartment building it is a burning issue. Stan Correy investigates.

ASIO and law enforcement agencies say technology is undermining their capabilities. They want new powers, including access to two years of our phone and internet data. Is the intrusion justified? Di Martin investigates.

Logging companies in PNG are using special agricultural leases to clear vast tracts of rainforest timber, on the promise of roads and economic development for remote villages. Jemima Garrett investigates.

Bali bombing survivor Peter Hughes makes an emotional journey back to the scene of the blasts. On the tenth anniversary he asks, how safe is Bali today and what has happened to the Balinese victims?

Denial, division and disbelief; key players tell reporter Hagar Cohen what was happening inside Fairfax as the internet ate its newspaper business.

The Catholic church and Catholic clubs are at odds over gambling reforms. The church backs them but the clubs oppose them, insisting they don’t profit from problem gamblers. Wendy Carlisle investigates the ‘Catholic casinos’.

Unmanned aerial vehicles have spread from war zones to toy shops. Now anyone can use a drone to point a camera into your private spaces and privacy laws can’t stop them. James Woodford investigates.

Robot traders are dominating stock markets using high speed computer algorithms. Human traders and government regulators can’t keep up, and markets could be one programming glitch away from the next big crash. Stan Correy investigates.

A hacked AP Twitter account claiming two bombs had gone off in the White House wiped out US136 billion from the NY stock exchange. How did this happen? Stan Correy looked at the dangers of high frequency trading in his 2012 program.

More pubs and more bars, open for more hours, more extreme binge drinking, more extreme violence and more hospital admissions! What is being done to stem the alcohol tide?

Heroin addicts wanting to kick the habit have been thwarted by insufferably long waiting lists to join methadone programs…and in Newcastle lives may already have been lost. Brendan King investigates.

Tasmania’s fishers are up in arms over the arrival of a Dutch super trawler, the FV Margiris. These boats are blamed around the world for overfishing and Tasmania’s anglers are convinced the super trawler will deplete local populations of fish and in doing so drive away the prized blue-fin tuna. Australia’s fishing regulator says the quota is based on sound science, and they say they’ll be able to...

Mineral rich nations are demanding more from the mining companies digging up their resources, and Australia with its mineral resources tax is at the forefront of this trend, known as resource nationalism. The big mining companies don’t like it -- they’re calling it resource nationalisation and they’re fighting it. Reporter: Stan Correy.

The inside story of a law firm’s rise and spectacular fall. Keddies was one of the country’s top personal injury law firms until it was found to have grossly overcharged many of its clients. Those angry clients are suing Keddies former partners for millions and one of the partners has spoken for the first time, to Background Briefing, about what happened. Reporter: Hagar Cohen

The tuna in the Coral Sea could have saved a fishing fleet from extinction. But those tuna will be off limits in the new marine park and the fishers will have to choose – to take their boats and leave, or leave their boats and take compensation.