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This week, record breaking floods in Queensland and New South Wales have left thousands of homes decimated, with tens of thousands of residents forced to evacuate, and a number of people dead. Meanwhile, overseas, Russian forces have been intensifying their attacks on Ukraine - with key cities beginning to fall to Russian troops.  So how is the Prime Minister Scott Morrison - who also received a C...

Since the last election, the federal government has deported more than 4,000 non-citizens from Australia. Many of those people have been in Australia almost their entire lives, and have no connection with their country of origin. Now the Morrison government is trying to pass new laws that could see the number of deportations increase dramatically. Today, principal solicitor at the Asylum Seeker Re...

Class action lawsuits are one of the only ways ordinary people can get justice and compensation if they’ve been mistreated by powerful corporations and institutions.  Successful class actions have held companies and even governments to account over stolen wages, emissions fraud, and chemical contamination. But now, their future is under threat.  Today, journalist and lawyer Kieran Pender on the ne...

In the last 48 hours thousands of Ukrainians have fled their homeland and crossed into neighbouring Poland, seeking refuge from war and invasion. But millions more remain trapped in the country as Russian forces continue to advance and occupy towns and cities across Ukraine. Today, world editor for The Saturday Paper Jonathan Pearlman on why Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin is risking it all on Ukra...

All over the world countries are winding back, and in some cases completely removing their pandemic restrictions, and Australia is following suit. Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales have all recently abolished mask mandates, density limits and QR check-ins. But there’s debate over whether these changes are based on public health, political pressure or business lobbying. Today, journalist Han...

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has launched a military operation in Ukraine. Today, we cover the latest in Ukraine conflict and the political debate in Australia over our defence strategy. Just months away from a looming federal election Prime Minister Scott Morrison is facing one of the biggest challenges of his term - global military conflict. The federal government’s increasingly aggressive...

Lockdowns and ongoing concern about the pandemic have led to a significant spike in the number of Australians experiencing mental health issues. But when many people try to seek treatment they are faced with a complicated, under-resourced and expensive system. Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on the real causes of Australia’s spiralling mental health crisis and the recent...

Climate change might be one of the biggest political issues on the agenda for the upcoming federal election, but the party most associated with environmental policy is struggling to cut through. According to the latest opinion polls, the Greens are finding it hard to connect with voters - even though some of the issues they’ve championed for decades are now considered part of the mainstream. Today...

In recent months senior Australian politicians have talked openly about a potential military conflict with China over Taiwan. The increasingly tense rhetoric follows a series of incursions by China into Taiwanese air and naval space. Now, China’s leaders are closely watching the current crisis in Ukraine, looking for clues as to how the US might react towards Chinese aggression in the Pacific. Tod...

For months, Russian troops have been amassing along the Ukrainian border.  While in recent days some of those troops have begun withdrawing, officials in the Biden administration are still warning that Russia is on the cusp of invading Ukraine.  But Russia has repeatedly rejected that claim, accusing the US of “nonsense and melodrama.”  The immediate crisis stems from Ukraine’s desire to join the...

With the government trailing in the opinion polls, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attempted to improve his image - first, by inviting Channel 9 cameras into his home, and then by accusing the Labor opposition of being soft on crime and too close to China. But will these last ditch efforts work, or do they just appear desperate? Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on how Scott...

In 2019 a Northern Territory police constable, Zachary Rolfe, shot a 19-year-old Walpiri man, Kumanjayi Walker, in a remote community in the Northern Territory.  Last week, the murder trial for that shooting began. If a guilty verdict is reached, it would be the first time a police officer in Australia ever convicted on a murder charge involving an Aboriginal person in custody. Today, journalist H...

Companies like Uber and Airtasker have transformed the so-called ‘gig economy’ by hiring thousands of workers as independent contractors, rather than employees. But this practice has a downside - workers aren’t guaranteed basic rights like a minimum wage, superannuation or leave. It’s a model that is spreading across the Australian economy, removing more and more workers from traditional safety-ne...

More than three years ago, the Prime Minister Scott Morrison made an election promise to pass new laws protecting people of faith from discrimination. While the promise is now in tatters, the political debate around the bill has exposed enormous divisions in the Liberal party and raised important questions about how we treat some of the nation’s most vulnerable children.  Today, national correspon...

Australia has long been considered an international pariah on climate policy. Governments on both sides have regularly been criticised for failing to act fast enough. But one Australian, a former climate advisor to US President Joe Biden, thinks that we’re uniquely positioned to become one of the most successful zero emission economies in the world. Today, inventor and scientist Saul Griffith, aut...

Joe Rogan hosts one of the world’s most popular podcasts, regularly listened to by over 10 million people. But after interviewing a notorious anti-vaccination doctor on his show, Rogan and Spotify, the company that paid $100 million to exclusively host his podcast, are being targeted by high profile musicians like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young. The episode has sparked important conversations about...

On Tuesday Prime Minister Scott Morrison formally apologised to all those who have experienced sexual harassment, assault or bullying while working in federal parliament.  During his speech he directly addressed former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, whose advocacy initiated the review that led to Morrison’s apology. The very next day, Brittany Higgins, alongside former Australian of the Year Gr...

Time is running out for the Liberal Party to select candidates in a number of key seats, ahead of the federal election. The process should have finished months ago, but internal battles within the party have caused significant delays. And there are allegations that one senior minister - close to the Prime Minister - may be holding up the process to deliberately engineer a crisis.  Today, chief pol...

Every year millions of dollars flows into the bank accounts of Australia's political parties - from individuals, businesses and unions. But loopholes and weak federal election laws mean that the source of more than half of the money political parties receive remains a mystery.  Today, contributor to The Saturday Paper Hannah Ryan on how political parties are hiding the real source of their donatio...

Right now, if you contract Covid-19, the federal government’s advice is to contact the national coronavirus helpline.  The hotline is supposed to direct you to the latest medical information, inform you of how long you should isolate and whether you should get tested.  But in practice, it's staffed by workers who don’t have access to the information they need and administered by a company that pre...

Right now, in Western Australia, plans are underway to build Australia’s largest new fossil fuel project. If built, Woodside’s Scarborough gas plant would contribute significantly to global carbon dioxide emissions. But, it also threatens the existence of some of the oldest - and most significant - rock art in the world.  It’s not the first time a mining company has threatened an Indigenous herita...

Today, Gina Rushton’s latest story for The Monthly magazine, ‘The first victim’ is voiced by Lucy Moir.  The piece explores how victims of sexual assault are treated in courts of law - and asks whether the legal system in Australia puts people through unnecessary trauma. Warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Indie music icon Mitski had already released five albums and received critical acclaim before her 2018 song ‘Nobody’ blew up on TikTok.  On her new album, ‘Laurel Hell’, Mitski explores her relationship to the music industry and making art under capitalism, at a moment when she’s more famous than ever. Today Shaad D’Souza joins The Culture to talk about Mitski, TikTok, and the grind of being a mus...

Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the National Press Club in Canberra this week, hoping to reset his relationship with the public ahead of the federal election. Instead, it raised a series of questions – questions about just how out of touch Scott Morrison is with the Australian people and with his own party. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper , Paul Bongiorno on what the price of bread...

Fifteen hundred kilometres north of Perth, inmates at the Roebourne Regional Prison are exposed to some of the hottest temperatures in the country.  Recently, the prison marked its hottest day on record - reaching 50.5 degrees.  Former prisoners and advocates have warned that it’s not a matter of if someone at Roebourne will die from heat - it’s a matter of when.  Today, contributor to The Saturda...