7am

During Covid-19, the government has been increasingly using legislative powers to bypass the parliament. So-called ‘Henry VIII’ clauses mean some of these laws cannot be amended or overturned.    Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton. Background reading: Morrison ruling by ‘Henry VIII’ clauses in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more infor...

Five days ago, the Andrews government used police to lock down nine public housing towers. Residents are afraid and have limited access to food and other necessities. We spoke to one resident, Hulya, about what is happening inside.   Guest: Hulya, a resident in one of the Flemington towers. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt...

There are thousands of young people in aged-care homes across Australia, because they don’t have their own facilities. The NDIS was meant to solve this, but seven years on only a few hundred young people have got out.   Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background reading: Young people with disabilities still living in aged care in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The...

With the renewed focus on colonial monuments, a group of academics and artists is petitioning the City of Sydney to remove Thomas Woolner’s Cook statue from Hyde Park, and place it in a public museum. Guest: Indigenous writer and cultural critic Tristen Harwood. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See omnystu...

As both sides of parliament brace for tomorrow’s by-election in Eden-Monaro, it’s been suggested that the timing of Scott Morrison’s $270 billion defence announcement was as much about votes in the seat as it was about the country’s strategic future. Paul Bongiorno on the all-in race.   Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcas...

Australia’s economy is at a crossroads; but the current dependence on coal is really a continuation of issues we have always faced. Historian Judith Brett traces it as far back as our reliance on sheep and wool.   Guest: Author of Quarterly Essay 78: The Coal Curse Judith Brett. Background reading: Quarterly Essay – The Coal Curse The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on today’s epis...

As the ABC absorbs hundreds of job cuts, the government has commissioned another report into its operations – closely mirroring the concerns of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The review is due in time for the next federal budget.   Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background reading: Exclusive: New govt report targets ABC in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly...

As allegations mount against former High Court justice Dyson Heydon, Bri Lee has written about the way misogyny and harassment are embedded in the legal profession. She says that may be changing.    Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Bri Lee. Background reading: Sexual harassment in the legal profession in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on today’s episode,...

As Donald Trump comes to the end of his first term, it is clear he has benefitted hugely from America’s divisions - in fact, he is the perfect expression of them. Whatever happens next, those divisions will remain.    Guest: Writer for The Monthly Don Watson. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See omnystudio...

The harassment allegations against Dyson Heydon have reminded some in Canberra of the royal commission that traded on his “stainless reputation”. A key target of that inquiry is now pushing for one into Robodebt.    Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Se...

As the Black Lives Matter movement reignites calls for action on Indigenous disadvantage and incarceration, politicians and the media in Australia have turned it into a culture war that deliberately ignores the goals of protestors.   Guest: Editor of 7am Osman Faruqi. Background reading: Deflecting from the real issues of Black Lives Matter in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For...

Justin Hemmes is one of four businessmen who were consulted by the federal treasurer on the JobKeeper program. At the same time, he is defending a multi-million dollar wages case in the federal court.   Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background reading: Inside Hemmes’ $100m wage case in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on today’s ep...

After almost a decade in detention, there is only one family left on Nauru. Mustafa and Salah have been acknowledged as refugees, but their resettlement has been rejected by the US. This is the story of their wait.   Guest: Writer for The Saturday Paper Hannah Ryan. Background reading: The last refugee family on Nauru in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on tod...

As the final pages of the royal commission into child sexual abuse have been unredacted, it’s become clear what George Pell knew and when. But for all the commission's findings, no priest has ever been convicted for failing to report child abuse.    Guest: Writer for The Monthly Anne Manne. Background reading: The last word on George Pell in The Monthly The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more info...

The end of Adem Somyurek’s parliamentary career is the end of an important chapter in Labor’s factional history. The scandal has now involved the federal party, and poses a big question: who leaked?   Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See omnystudio.co...

As debate over police accountability continues, research suggests predictive policing may be targeting racial minorities in Australia. Victoria Police has been challenged in court on the issue, but settled the case to avoid a finding against them.   Guest: Journalist and documentary filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe. Background reading: Law enforcement and racial profiling in The Saturday Paper The Sat...

Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance had five days to organise a huge Black Lives Matter rally in Melbourne. Under threat of fines and sustained criticism in the press, they coordinated one of the largest protests the city has seen. This is the story of how it was done.   Guest: Organiser with Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance Dr Crystal McKinnon. Background reading: Why we organised Melbourn...

The Morrison government’s latest stimulus effort is a grants project aimed at home renovations. But there are serious concerns its real focus is on paying back Coalition voters.   Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe. Background reading: Who Morrison is looking after in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on today’s episode, visit 7a...

George Dickson is a cannabis law reformer. After an altercation with police, he was also classed as a high risk terrorist offender. Hugh Riminton on legal powers and overreach - and one man’s experience of both.   Guest: Walkley Award-winning journalist Hugh Riminton. Background reading: The Aquarian ‘terrorist’ in The Monthly The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on today’s episode,...

Speaking to his party room, Scott Morrison says the next five years will define a new generation. Looking at the economic realities, some in his own party think he’s gearing up for an early election.   Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. See omnystudio.c...

As Scott Morrison resists signing up to the Belt and Road Initiative, China has begun focusing on lower levels of power - the Victorian state government, and even the Gold Coast council. Rick Morton on what the scheme means and why it should be reviewed.   Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper Rick Morton. Background reading: Daniel Andrews and China’s Belt and Road Initiative in The Satur...

In past recessions, women have tended to fare better than men. But now the trend is reversed, with women losing the majority of jobs. There are fears that progress on workplace participation and wage equality could disappear overnight.    Guest: *7am* producer Ruby Schwartz. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information...

As the world protests the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist Amy McQuire confronts Australia’s national silence on black deaths in custody. She remembers the names of those killed and the history that killed them.   Guest: Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist Amy McQuire. For more information on today’s episode, visit 7ampodcast.com.au . See ac...

Tanya Day was a 55-year-old Yorta Yorta woman who died in police custody. In this archive episode, Madeline Hayman-Reber covers the inquest that asked whether systemic racism contributed to her death.   Guest: NITV journalist Madeline Hayman-Reber. Background reading: Inquest into Tanya Day’s death in custody in The Saturday Paper The Saturday Paper The Monthly For more information on today’s epis...

Description: As protests against police violence and inequality continue in the United States, Scott Morrison had a private phone call with Donald Trump. Accounts of the conversation differ, but in subsequent interviews the prime minister refused to engage with Australia’s own record on black deaths in custody.    Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno. For more information on toda...