The Briefing

Afternoon Headlines: Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull slams AUKUS deal as 'dumb' and 'unfair', Treasurer Jim Chalmers addresses the financial fallout from ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred and body believed to be of 6-year-old girl found in bushlands   Deep Dive: STI cases are skyrocketing across all age demographics in Australia, with some rates doubling or tripling, and unprotected is sex a...

Monday Headlines: Chalmers reveals cost of Cyclone Alfred ahead of earliest budget ever, dozens dead in North-Macedonian nightclub fire, heartbreak for Oscar Piastri as Lando Norris claims Australian Grand Prix, and the SpaceX replacement crew docks with the International Space Station. Deep Dive: After the 2022 election, many people thought Clive Palmer’s political party, and career, might...

Guenther Steiner isn’t just an F1 boss – he’s an American-Italian motorsport icon and a fan favourite on Netflix’s Drive to Survive. The former Team Principal of Haas is known for his signature wit, colourful language and unfiltered approach in the racing world. In this chat with Antoinette Lattouf, Guenther explains how F1 is attracting a younger audience, life after leavi...

Afternoon headlines: Australia’s youngest convicted murderer set to be released, American Airlines Boeing 737 bursts into flames on tarmac and rare blood moon set to grace the skies tonight  Deep dive: This weekend the world's best f1 drivers are on show for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, but one Aussie female driver is changing the face of motorsport.  Molly Taylor is Aus...

Headlines: Putin says he agrees 'in principle' to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine, Kevin Rudd says he's 'thrown everything' at getting a tariff exemption and Albo slams the US influencer who snatched a baby wombat.  Deep Dive:  Australia has been rocked by a recent spate of shark bites this week, reminding us of the risks inherent in ocean swimming.   So, with hot weather predi...

Afternoon headlines: Former Australian cricketing great Stuart MacGill found guilty over facilitating a cocaine deal, power bills to increase again and an American influencer's visa under review after a disturbing online video Deep dive: Hear from the Australian professor who was part of the team behind a world first that is set to revolutionise how we treat heart failure and transplants.   &...

Thursday Headlines: Greens unveil new plan to legalise weed, Trump tariff chaos continues, Indigenous incarceration rates have jumped 20% since 2019, and Leonardo DiCaprio criticises Australian government for mine expansions. Deep Dive: Australians consume around 17 kilograms of processed meat annually with the 4 billion dollar industry offering quick-fix meals and pushing high protein diets.&nbsp...

Afternoon headlines: Anthony Albanese responds to Trump's tariffs on Australia Deep dive: Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull issues a stark warning about our future alliance with the US after Trump’s move to enforce trade tariffs on our steel and aluminium.   Mr Turnbull predicts we can no longer depend on the US for trade or security. His comments come after Prime Minister Anthony...

Wednesday Headlines: Australia’s requests to be exempt from US tariffs has been rejected as ‘Trumpcession’ fears continue, Ukraine says its ready to accept a US-proposed immediate ceasefire, the Queensland Premier has declared the worst of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred is over, and a boulder sitting at QLD school for 20 years found to have over 60 dinosaur prints. Deep Dive: The AFL...

Afternoon Headlines: ASX stocks plummet amid US recession fears Deep Dive: The US stock market has plunged this week prompting fears of a recession some economists are labelling a 'Trumpcession'.   President Trump hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a recession, stating in a recent interview with Fox News that Americans need to brace for a “period of transition” after h...

Tuesday Headlines: Donald Trump and ex-PM Malcolm Turnbull continue trading blows, Russia warns Australia against putting boots on the ground in Ukraine, Sydney caravan plot revealed to be a hoax, and political fundraising events cancelled after cyclone backlash. Deep Dive: Has the news media gone overboard with its coverage of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred?   Over the weekend, ex-Tropical Cyclo...

Afternoon headlines: Raids reportedly carried out in relation to a caravan allegedly found packed with explosives, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warns flood crisis far from over and Security at regional airports is under scrutiny Deep dive: Scammers are targeting Australians across the country in the wake of Cyclone Alfred, with the Prime Minister warning the impact from the crisis is far from o...

Monday Headlines:  Hundreds of thousands without power as ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred moves inland, latest Newspoll shows hung parliament still likely, Israel cuts off power to Gaza and St George Dragons strongly condemns pie throw at the NRL. Deep Dive: Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek is being sued by a conservation group alleging she is not meeting her legal obligations to protect threa...

Comedian and author Michelle Brasier transformed the heartbreak of losing her brother and father to cancer into a bold and unflinching brand of comedy. After discovering she has a 97% chance of carrying the same deadly gene, Michelle's life took a new direction. Her book,  My Brother's Ashes are in a Sandwich Bag, powerfully captures how she uses humour as a tool to confront and navigate grie...

Millions of residents across NSW and Queensland are preparing for Tropical Cyclone Alfred, expected to make landfall tomorrow.   Torrential rain and wild winds have already caused widespread damage, prompting evacuation orders across Northern NSW and warnings that tens of thousands could be left without power.  So, how bad could this get? And what should those in the impact zone expect?&...

Headlines: Tropical Cyclone Alfred continues slow journey towards land, Teenager arrested after trying to board plane with shotgun, EU leaders close to landmark defence deal as Trump again pauses tariffs, and Aussies are ditching Tesla. Deep Dive: From an explosive meeting at the White House to accusations of an all-out trade war, the last seven days in international politics has been positively b...

Charities and community leaders are raising the alarm, accusing Australian councils of criminalising homelessness, effectively making it illegal. Councils in Queensland and Victoria have been under scrutiny for planning to slap thousands of dollars' worth of fines on people experiencing homelessness in a bid to lower crime and move people along. This has sparked an open letter from a community gro...

Headlines: Tropical Cyclone Alfred slows but still expected to bring “three natural disasters in one”, US cuts off intelligence sharing with Ukraine and Trumps rejects Gaza rebuild plan, and Aussie men doing no more housework than they were 20 years ago. Deep Dive: White supremacy, antisemitism and neo-Nazis have been making headlines lately in Australia. How worried should we be?&nbsp...

Many of us are considering how we might protect ourselves and our careers if artificial intelligence gets smart enough to do our jobs better than we can. Although unemployment is low in Australia and we are yet to see an AI jobs ‘tsunami’, economic modelling claims up to a third of Australians could be made jobless because of this technology in just five years. So what can we do about...

Headlines: Concerts and footy matches cancelled as Alfred heads towards land, Zelensky says he’s ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership, Teenager arrested over Sydney mosque threat, and we have an update on stranded astronauts. Deep Dive: Should an act of aggression as blatant as punching a wall be enough to end Married At First Sight?   The country’s bigges...

If you can’t beat them – join them? Tech billionaires like Elon Musk say the AI systems they're building will replace lots of people’s jobs, but also create better ones in their place. This week, The Briefing is bringing you a special three-part series on AI and how it’ impacting your job right now. In Part One , Bension Siebert spoke with a prolific Australian voice actor...

Headlines:  Tropical Cyclone Alfred and the federal election date, new findings on the gender pay gap and the 2025 Oscars wrap Deep dive: What does mental health advocacy for men look like in 2025, and does social media help or hinder the cause? A recent video by charity The Better Bloke Project has gone viral after the founders told women to “shut up” to give men “a minute...

Tech billionaires like Elon Musk say the AI systems they're building will replace lots of people’s jobs, but also create better ones in their place. Is that true? In Part One of the Briefing’s special three-part series on AI and your job, Bension Siebert explains the threat artificial intelligence is presenting to Australian workers. He speaks with the prolific Australian voice actor b...

Headlines: Europe is putting together a ‘coalition of the willing’ to stop the war in Ukraine, Israel blocks entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza, and Labor vows further spending on health while Coalition promises to bolster national security. Deep Dive: Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy is an illness most of us have heard of, having been at the centre of some of the biggest movies, TV s...

Jen Robinson made headlines as the lawyer who helped secure the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after 14 years, but her advocacy doesn’t stop there. From representing Amber Heard, to challenging major fossil fuel corporations over climate change violations, and fighting for press freedom for Palestinian journalists, she has become a force in global justice. In this chat with Anto...