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Right-wing groups in the US are holding armed rallies against the FBI, with one field office of the bureau attacked by a gunman. A raid last week by agents on Donald Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, opened the floodgates of anger after classified government documents were found on the premises.  Trump has now called for calm, but maintains the FBI’s raid was part of a witch-hunt and that he...

It started with a job: $500,000 to be a trade envoy in New York. Now, an entire state government has become embroiled in a scandal over job appointments and how they get made. As Australia prepares to implement a federal anti-corruption body, in New South Wales – the state that first put in place an independent anti-corruption commission – we're learning a lot about why we need more transparency i...

It’s been one year since the Taliban swifty took control of Afghanistan as the US pulled out after 20 years of war.  In the days following the takeover, foreign countries rushed to evacuate diplomatic staff from Kabul. Thousands of Afghans were also airlifted out, but many, even those who worked directly with Australia and other foreign nations remain trapped.  Today, chief political correspondent...

China has a message for Australia: be quiet and take the trade money. In a chilling speech, China’s ambassador to Australia laid out his nation’s aims with startling honesty – including that China would pursue what he called ‘reunification’ with Taiwan at any cost. The reason he was sending that message has everything to do with US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan, which raised the th...

When a Voice to Parliament was first proposed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart – it was dismissed by then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. It seemed possible the proposal might never be put in front of the Australian people. But Australians could soon get to vote in a referendum and we will be asked whether Australia should amend its constitution to create an Indigenous Voice to parliament. T...

A former intelligence officer in Canberra, known as Witness J, was charged, sentenced, and jailed in complete secrecy in 2018. It was only after he brought his own legal complaint, and journalists noticed some security guards in the courthouse, that anything about his case was made public.  Now, as fragments of the proceedings against the man known as Alan Johns filter out, we’re learning what hap...

The new government has inherited a problem that no one wants to talk about: the deep inequality of funding between public and private and independent schools. That discrepancy is most evident when it comes to the way that students with disabilities are funded. Today, senior reporter at The Saturday Paper Rick Morton reveals the $600 million funding shortfall for students with a disability in the p...

Our food supply is facing violent shocks — pandemic, war, and floods. And the threat to food security is unprecedented.  Underpinning the problem is the catastrophe of climate change, which will impact not only us but our neighbours too — creating implications for national security.  Today, Esther Linder on a looming food crisis that Australia isn’t prepared for, and what it means for the way we e...

Today on the show, journalist and author Bronwyn Adcock will be reading her piece from the latest issue.  It follows the fate of Encep ‘Hambali’ Nurjaman - a man arrested as a central figure in the Bali Bombings nearly 20 years ago - and interrogates his fraught path to justice in the War on Terror, through CIA black spots and Guantanamo Bay, torture and rendition, and bureaucratic obfuscation.  G...

Labor's first fortnight in power has been marked by a significant win — a successful agreement to pass a bill that would see a 43 per cent emissions reduction target become law. That agreement was made entirely without the opposition, with Peter Dutton effectively removing his party from negotiations at the beginning of the week. So what is the Coalition’s strategy, when it comes to climate, or to...

For more than ten years, the Greens and the Labor Party have been blaming each other for holding back progress on climate action.  Now, things have shifted — Labor’s new emissions reduction target will almost certainly become legislation, after the Greens announced that they’ll support it.  But that support has only come after fierce negotiations and several concessions from the Albanese governmen...

As a homelessness crisis escalates around the country, there’s one jurisdiction where the situation is particularly stark.  In the wealthiest state in Australia, more than 120 people have died on the streets in the past two years.  And while the causes of homelessness are complex, there’s no doubt Western Australia’s tenancy laws are making things worse: especially when it comes to “no grounds” re...

An investigation into factional misconduct in Victoria has created debate about how the Labor Party is structured and how it can be reformed. The stakes are incredibly high for the party: not only is some of the conduct illegal and undemocratic, but it also risks losses in seats where independents are likely to run on integrity. Today, Labor speechwriter and contributor to The Saturday Paper Denni...

As Australia faces a new wave of Covid-19 variants, experts say the country has a chance to plot a different course with the virus. That involves acknowledging that it is not going away - that it will be here for a long time, and that masks and ventilation will be needed to manage it. Today, lead researcher at the Kirby Institute Raina MacIntyre on hope, denial and Covid-19. Socials: Stay in touch...

After five years of inaction, the Albanese government has made implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart a key item of business. Anthony Albanese has described it as a hand held out to the country. But there are still questions over whether a referendum will succeed. Senator Patrick Dodson is telling colleagues they should put it up regardless - if the vote is lost, the country will have to...

Labor is working through the specifics of the nuclear submarine deal Scott Morrison set up before he lost office. Some in the party believe AUKUS was established in part to wedge Labor on the issue of non-proliferation. So what is next for the plan to buy nuclear submarines? And what can Labor do to ensure their purchase doesn’t undermine a commitment to ending nuclear wars? Today, chief political...

As Covid-19 hospitalisations break records in almost all states, there is a curious absence of political leadership. Frontline workers wonder why there is no greater attempt at community mitigation. What has shifted? Why are politicians no longer following the health advice, at least on masks? Today, associate editor of The Saturday Paper Martin McKenzie-Murray on Covid-19 and the politics of fati...

New figures show that the Morrison government stacked government boards and tribunals at a level unprecedented in Australian politics. These appointees were sometimes unqualified and incompetent. They particularly affected the Administrative Appeals Tribunal - where members can be paid up to $500,000 a year. Now it is clear that they have badly altered decision making processes. Today, national co...

Last week, opposition leader Peter Dutton called for policy reform to regulate social media due to its impact on civil discourse. He said debate in this country was absurd, dangerous, reckless and reprehensible. But who gets to define what is and isn’t “civil” in the public sphere? And what does that say about power? Today, lawyer and contributor to The Saturday Paper Nyadol Nyuon on Peter Dutton,...

When parliament returns next week, Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party will sit on the government benches for the first time. It’s a significant test for what has changed since the election. Albanese has already made clear that the agenda will be focused on legislating his climate targets. If he fails, it will be a blow to his credibility. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the s...

The Albanese government is partway through a successful reset of its relationship with China. The incredible thing is, they haven’t changed any policies. But will a change in language be enough to fix a diplomatic rift? And what’s next for Australia’s relationship with the Pacific, where it is trying to balance China’s influence? Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe o...

Many were surprised when the new employment minister, Tony Burke, announced it was “too late” to end mutual obligations. The decision was made to preserve billions of dollars in contracts already signed with companies that profit from the system. But there is no evidence it helps people find work. Today, senior correspondent for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on the industry selling poor people. G...

New details have emerged in the divorce of Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall. After speculation their marriage ended over everything from smoking and drinking to Hall controlling how much Murdoch could see of his adult children, it is now clear that the real disagreement was over the division of the $71 billion deal to sell his film and television interest to Disney. Today, Paddy Manning, contributor...

The rise of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Scott Morrison was seen as a triumph for a special kind of opportunistic populism. Much was written about what their success meant for democracy. So what does their decline mean? Was the repudiation about their politics - or about a world in crisis? Today, social researcher and contributor to The Saturday Paper Rebecca Huntley on the fall of the so-calle...

Today, author Don Watson will be reading his cover piece from the latest issue of The Monthly. It's called 'How to be a prime minister', and in it he discusses the task ahead for Anthony Albanese. How will the new leader restore the idea that governments should seek to make the country better? Guest: Contributor to The Monthly Don Watson See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.