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At its height, in 2014, there were over a thousand people being held on Nauru, as part of Australia’s offshore detention system. But in the decade since, that figure has shrunk to less than 100. Yet the Department of Home Affairs continues to pay outsized and exorbitant fees on contracts no longer fit for purpose – all in the name of keeping Manus Island and Nauru off the front page an...

Australia’s plan to ban teenagers from social media has been called “world‑leading”. The law, which comes into effect December 10, threatens platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook with fines of up to $50 million if they let under-16s open or keep accounts. But as implementation draws closer, questions remain about how the ban will be enforced, what it means for online p...

Environmental law reform has been sitting in the too-hard basket for years — under successive governments, the system stayed broken. Now, just days before the end of the parliamentary year, Labor has passed the first major changes in a generation. The government chose to work with the Greens, agreeing to scrap logging exemptions, close coal and gas loopholes, and hand real enforcement powers...

When we heard news that Barnaby Joyce was quitting The Nationals – we knew we’d cover it with our friend in Canberra, Amy Remeikis – but the more we talked about it, there was someone else we needed to hear from too.    Barnaby’s old sparring partner and the former member for New England, Tony Windsor, was loading cattle when we called. And he said the expected mo...

Companies are betting big on AI – and burning through cash to do it. They’re pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into building data centres and developing new models – such as ChatGPT. And so far, these projects are yet to see a financial return. There is one clear winner: Nvidia – the company that makes the chips that power this tech. But how long can its customers kee...

The year is 1934, and the setting is Scotland. Startling photos have emerged, appearing to capture the Loch Ness monster. Fast-forward 90 years to 2024, to an election campaign in Australia, and a video is released of a prime minister promising to ban gambling ads. Both are fake – designed specifically to deceive. And while humans have always had a tendency to mislead each other, what’...

Negotiators at this year’s global climate summit in Brazil almost didn’t reach a deal – but when they did, the watered down pledge left many countries reeling. While the agreement boosts finance for poorer nations experiencing the worst of global warming – it fails to even mention the fossil fuels driving it. Outside the official COP process, dozens of countries signed a pl...

In Russia, the rules of power are being rewritten. For decades, Vladimir Putin governed through a network of loyal elites — oligarchs, bureaucrats, security chiefs — each rewarded for their obedience and connections. But since the invasion of Ukraine, that system has begun to fracture. The old elite are being sidelined, and a new cast is emerging: relatives, ideologues, and battlefield...

A sleek Chinese-made ute is suddenly one of the most popular vehicles on Australian roads. It’s cheap, fast and packed with tech. But behind its rise are questions security agencies are struggling to grapple with. Because the cars we drive today are no longer just cars; they’re also data collection tools. And in a tense geopolitical climate – the lines between convenience and sur...

This week, we had Sussan Ley on 7am. But we weren’t alone. Sussan Ley was everywhere , speaking with everyone – about scrapping net zero, and inevitably, about her leadership. So, did the media blitz work? And what has chaos in the Coalition meant for the government while the press gallery has been looking the other way? Today, Network Ten’s political editor Ashleigh Raper on the...

This week, we saw something almost unprecedented in American politics: a unified Congress, as all but one person voted to have the Epstein files released.  These documents have plagued Donald Trump since he campaigned to release them while running for his second term as president, then backtracked once he won – sparking a mass revolt from his otherwise loyal MAGA base. After months of t...

Sussan Ley describes herself as a moderate – a Liberal leader who wants to keep her party in the centre. But last week, after months of internal pressure, she led the Liberal Party to formally abandon its commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050, a target first adopted under Scott Morrison, arguing that dropping it is the only way to deliver cheaper power bills. The decision has please...

For the first time in history, almost one in five Australians support One Nation. Their surge in popularity comes as the Liberal Party bleeds support from both ends of its base, as it tears itself apart over climate and immigration. So, is this just a protest – or the start of a permanent shift on the right of Australian politics? Today, Director of Strategy and Analytics at Redbridge, Kos S...

Last week, the Victorian government stunned even its own MPs – announcing laws that will allow children as young as 14 to be tried in adult courts and face life sentences. The proposal was rushed into Cabinet with no warning – ministers were given just minutes to read it before the meeting began. Only a year ago, Labor promised to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Now, in respo...

Anthony Albanese leads a party that no longer argues in public. Labor presents as unified, consistent, and on message. But behind that unity is another story. One where a party once defined by its dissent and debate has become scared of conflict, to the point where its identity is formed not by beliefs, but by a commitment to staying in power no matter what. Sean Kelly has worked up close with Ant...

Last weekend, neo-Nazis gathered outside NSW parliament. Organisers had registered the protest with police – and nothing was done to stop it going ahead. When two female politicians spoke out against the fascists who gathered, they were targeted with threats of violence and death. The premier has said there will be an investigation into how this was allowed to happen. But this protest is not...

This week, the Liberal party officially scrapped net zero –  a move widely expected, but out of line with public opinion and science. It also raised questions about Sussan Ley’s handling of the policy debate, and ultimately about her leadership. As the right faction of the Liberal party celebrates its victory, speculation continues about when Sussan Ley will keep her job. There&rs...

A year ago, the High Court handed down a decision that was a blow to survivors of child sexual abuse everywhere. In a case brought by a man who was abused as a little boy, the Catholic Church’s Diocese of Ballarat argued that they couldn’t be sued for the actions of one of their priests, because priests are employed by God – not by the Church. The ruling in the Church’s fav...

A letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reopened the fight over gambling reform.  Independent MP Andrew Wilkie is calling for a free vote in parliament on a ban on gambling advertising, saying it has significant support across the chamber. Inside Labor, many MPs say they want change – but are too afraid to speak publicly.  It follows a Four Corners investigation that showed...

As the year winds to an end, kids with autism and developmental delay face an uncertain future. Back in August, the government revealed plans to kick them off the NDIS – announcing a new scheme called Thriving Kids , set to kick off next year. The health minister, Mark Butler, said it would give kids better support – and go some way towards curbing the billions being spent on the NDIS....

The world’s richest man just got the world’s biggest pay rise, with Tesla shareholders approving a $1 trillion package for Elon Musk over the next decade. As he accepted the deal, Musk danced on stage with Tesla’s humanoid robots – and thanked his supporters – saying he “super appreciated it”. But as the company’s stock is known to plummet when Musk...

Tomorrow marks fifty years since the infamous moment when a clearly nervous spokesperson for the Governor General stood on the steps of Parliament House and announced that Gough Whitlam had been dismissed. But what happened on Remembrance Day in 1975 wasn’t just an unprecedented political crisis — it was a warning. One that exposed the fragility of our constitution and the lingering po...

This week, more than a dozen people were arrested while protesting at a defence conference in Sydney. The demonstrators from Palestine Action Group were protesting the presence of Israeli defence contractors, who were exhibiting at the event. The riot squad, along with dogs and mounted police officers clashed with protesters and used pepper spray several times on the crowd. Clashes like this one h...

Back in 2021, the Coalition was united in their support for net zero, with then-prime minister Scott Morrison describing the plan as “100 per cent supported by the government”. Now, just four years later, the Nationals have walked away from it – and the Liberal Party is set to follow. Despite personally supporting net zero, Sussan Ley will scrap it in an attempt to hold on to the...

The killing in the city of El Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region is so brutal and widespread that bloodstains on the ground can be seen from space. For a year and a half, a militia group called the RSF has been attacking the city – and last, week it fell, resulting in the mass slaughter of civilians. In the past two years, 12 million people in Sudan have fled their homes – and more...