7am

Traditionally the Liberal Party’s biggest threat at federal elections is the Labor Party. But this time they’re facing an insurgency in their heartland. A number of high profile and well resourced independent candidates are challenging Liberal MPs in some of the party’s safest seats.  Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper , Mike Seccombe on what is motivating this wave of independen...

For the past three years one of the most secretive court cases in Australia has been taking place in Canberra. The former attorney-general for the ACT, Bernard Collaery, has been charged with conspiracy, but the details of the case have been hidden from journalists and the public.   Today, senior lawyer for the Human Rights Law Centre, Kieran Pender, on the trial of Bernard Collaery, and why the g...

This week the art world lost an icon and a visionary. The fashion designer, Virgil Abloh, passed away at the age of 41, two years after being diagnosed with cancer. From his beginnings in Chicago, to his collaborations with Kanye West and becoming the first black person in history to be appointed artistic director at Louis Vuitton, Virgil transformed fashion, music and art. To help unpack just how...

This week, two of the nation's most high profile politicians have announced that they will be quitting politics. The departure of the Health Minister Greg Hunt and former Attorney-General Christian Porter only adds to the pressure that the Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under right now - pressure created by the internal division plaguing the Coalition. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Pau...

In the lead up to the last federal election Scott Morrison promised he would introduce new laws to protect religious freedoms.  Now the federal government has finally introduced a religious discrimination bill to parliament. And there are concerns that they could make it easier for individuals to discriminate against marginalised communities, like the queer community, without consequence. Today, c...

For months scientists have been warning us that if global vaccination rates didn’t lift - new, potentially more dangerous strains of Covid-19 could emerge. Now it looks like their fears might have been realised with the emergence of the new Omicron variant.  Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton on the threat posed by the Omicron variant, and how vaccine hoarding by rich nation...

Powershop was one of Australia’s fastest growing energy companies. It’s investment in renewables and political advocacy for climate change action made it one of the most popular electricity providers in the country. But in a shock announcement to its customers, Powershop announced it had been sold to one of the world’s biggest polluters. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Se...

Earlier this month, Peng Shuai, one of China’s most successful tennis stars posted a statement on social media, detailing allegations of sexual harassment levelled against a powerful Chinese politician.  Half an hour later, the post, and her entire, feed disappeared.  Then she did too.  Today, Linda Jaivin, on what happened to one of China’s biggest sports stars. Guest: Writer and author of The Sh...

One of the most interesting seasons of ‘The Bachelorette’ has just wrapped up. After a sustained drop in ratings, the show’s producers announced a big shift in the core mechanics of the show - Brooke Blurton was announced as this year’s Bachelorette making her both the first Indigenous and queer woman in the role, and for the first time, contestants would be a mix of men and women. So did it work...

As the parliamentary year enters its final fortnight, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is facing a political crisis. The Coalition government has fractured on a number of issues this week, most significantly in response to a bill introduced by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.  Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on why the Coalition is in chaos, and the political ramifications it...

As Australia wraps up its hotel quarantine program, one group of people will remain confined in hotel rooms indefinitely: people seeking asylum. For the past year the Australian government has been forcibly detaining asylum seekers in an inner-city Melbourne hotel. They have no access to fresh air and limited space to exercise. Then Covid-19 hit. The virus spread rapidly through the building, infe...

On Tuesday, the NSW Parliament passed historic reforms to sexual consent laws. During the parliamentary debate one MP thanked survivor and campaigner Saxon Mullins who kickstarted the campaign to change the law when she appeared on the ABC’s Four Corners program. Now, similar laws are being introduced in Victoria, and advocates are calling for national reform. Today, campaigner and contributor to...

The Northern Territory managed to only record a handful of cases and avoided any deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic, but now the NT is on the brink of a public health crisis.  An outbreak in the town of Katherine is spreading to remote communities across the territory. And almost everyone who has tested positive so far is Indigenous. Today, Labor Senator for the Northern Territory, Malarndirri Mc...

The COP26 climate summit in Glasgow was seen as the world’s ‘last best chance’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees and avoid catastrophic climate change.  On that measure it failed. The pledges made will instead see temperatures rise by nearly 2 degrees.  Tim Flannery, one of Australia’s most well known environmentalists, had a front row seat at the negotiations and to what he describes as Aust...

Last week Taylor Swift re-released one of her most critically acclaimed albums, Red . The re-recording is the result of a complicated financial and legal battle over who owns the rights to the original versions of her songs. Red (Taylor’s Version) features all of the songs on the original album, plus a bunch of new tracks and a 10 minute long version of her iconic song ‘All Too Well’, where she ta...

The federal Coalition government holds office by the barest of margins - just one seat.  That means at the next election, due in the first half of next year, it can’t afford to lose any seats without risking a hung parliament. Now, a popular and high profile Liberal incumbent has announced he won’t be recontesting his electorate, throwing the party’s election preparations into jeopardy. Today, col...

Everyday for the past week hundreds of protesters have camped outside the Victorian Parliament, protesting a new bill that would extend the state’s public health orders, the tools used to combat the pandemic. Some of the protesters are far-right extremists, who have threatened violence against politicians and brought nooses to the steps of the parliament.  But opposition to the government’s propos...

The federal government has finally released the modelling underpinning its plan to reach net zero emissions by 2050. According to the Prime Minister, the economic impact of the plan won’t be that significant. But at the last election Scott Morrison had a very different position when he was opposing Labor’s emissions reduction policy. Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccom...

Australia has become well known as the defamation capital of the world, with many high profile figures regularly, and successfully, suing media outlets. But recently there’s been a new trend: politicians using defamation law against ordinary people. It’s become so common that one senior government minister is even suggesting creating a new fund to bankroll the lawsuits, all paid for by the taxpaye...

As the next federal election approaches, the question of whether the Prime Minister Scott Morrison can pull off another ‘miracle’ win looms large.  But how much do we really know about the man who’s been in charge through a pandemic, a sexual assault reckoning, and a crystallising climate crisis?  Today, journalist and author Sean Kelly on what’s underneath the persona that Scott Morrison presents...

Grammy-nominated musician Courtney Barnett is one the most successful Australian artists performing right now. She’s just released her much-anticipated third studio album, ‘Things Take Time, Take Time’. This week on The Culture , Osman Faruqi caught up with her as she was gearing up to head on her first tour post-pandemic in the United States. They chat about the creative journey behind the album,...

After two weeks, COP26, the international climate summit in Glasgow is wrapping up. The summit has been called the world’s best last chance. So has it worked?  The primary goal of the conference was to reach a consensus that would keep levels of global warming below 1.5 degrees. According to research released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), staying below 1.5 degrees is cri...

In a landmark decision, the Fair Work Commission has ruled that every farm worker in Australia must be guaranteed the minimum wage. The decision comes after years of reports of underpayment and exploitation of workers, particularly in the horticulture industry. Today, Director of Policy at the McKell Institute Edward Cavanough on how Australia’s farming industry came to depend on wage theft, and w...

Over the past few months, Australians ordering goods online have been waiting longer than ever for their packages to arrive.  In Victoria, parcels sent through Australia Post from interstate are taking up to 14 business days. So what is going wrong at Australia Post?  Today, journalist and contributor to The Saturday Paper Hannah Ryan, on what these delays tell us about the vulnerability in Austra...

Earlier this year, a blistering Royal Commission report found that Crown Casino in Melbourne had links to organised crime, enabled money laundering and behaved in ways that were ‘illegal, dishonest, unethical and exploitative’.   Despite all that, Crown managed to keep its licence - for now, though it's been forced into a two year probation period.   So how has it managed to evade serious conseque...