The Briefing

The Liberal Party has a new leader – and an uncertain future.  Australia voted to send a message in last month’s election….the Morrison government was out of touch and no longer listening.   Dave Sharma was defeated by Allegra Spender, one of the so-called ‘teal independents’ in the Sydney seat of Wentworth.    In today’s Briefing…Dav...

Everyone knows someone who’s been floored by the flu. And many say this flu virus is the worst they’ve ever experienced. They say they feel way worse than when they had covid.    Medical experts are worried about how quickly this so-called ‘super flu’ is spreading - particularly in Victoria.    Cases have tripled, meaning some schools have had to go back...

Menstruation is having a bit of a moment in Australia.  Victoria and South Australia made tampons and pads free last year. The federal government poured $58 million into endometriosis from this year’s budget.     But with Spain becoming the first European nation to take steps to provide paid leave for period pain and new Aussie research finding that 1 in 3 women feel the...

Laura Henshaw looks like a model. But when she speaks? She defies all those stereotypes about what a woman who has been beautiful for a living might be. Laura started modelling at nineteen and when she was in Europe for a shoot was introduced to fellow model and now business partner Steph Claire Smith. The two became fast friends and have since built a remarkable business called Keep it Cleaner wh...

Everyone’s talking about the Labor Party’s big win in last weekend’s election.  But the Greens too, have had an incredibly successful campaign, looking to pick up at least three seats in the House of Reps and a swag of seats in the Senate.   Greens leader – and member for Melbourne – Adam Bandt joins us to explain why voters turned away from the big parties...

Women voted to send Scott Morrison a message on Saturday: the Liberal Party has a problem with women….and his government was going to pay for it.   Today’s Briefing takes a deep dive on how - and more importantly why - women turned their back on the Liberal Party (without necessarily flocking to Labor) and backed ‘teal independents’ at the 2022 federal election, chang...

Asylum seekers Priya and Nades came to Australia separately by boat from Sri Lanka a decade ago.  They met in detention and were given bridging visas before moving to Biloela, a small town in central Queensland. They worked there, their two daughters were born there, and they became much loved members of the community.     But when their bridging visas ran out in 2018, they were rem...

The big story out of the weekend’s federal election is the so-called ‘teal independents’.  Six women elected in key Liberal seats by campaigning for more action on climate change, greater focus on integrity in government and the electorate having a bigger say in how the country is run.    Kylea Tink won the long-held Liberal seat of North Sydney.  In this epis...

The election is done and dusted.....    Anthony Albanese has claimed an historic win – becoming only the fourth Labor leader to take the ALP to government from opposition. On today’s Briefing, we’re joined by The Age’s political correspondent and the Briefing’s Canberra reporter, Annika Smethurst.     Annika will explain how and why Scott Morrison...

Polls show Anthony Albanese will be the next Prime Minister of Australia! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yael Stone took the world by storm, as Lorna Morello on the hugely popular Netflix original Orange is the New Black .   After Orange is the New Black ended, Yael made international headlines when she alleged that actor Geoffrey Rush had behaved inappropriately towards her during the production of The Diary of a Madman. He denied the allegations and separately won defamation proceedings agains...

Australia heads to the polls tomorrow to elect the 47th Parliament of Australia.  Labor is ahead of the Coalition in the polls, but the margins have narrowed this week.    Ben Raue from tallyroom.com.au joins us to explain what seats to watch, what seats have traditionally been key to winning government....and how important it is, that you cast your vote.  Some of our Briefing...

What do I do when I get handed the two ballot papers on election day?  One is the size of a tablecloth...and the other makes no sense at all.   AND what key policies should I consider before I cast my vote?   Annika Smethurst joins Antoinette Lattouf on today’s Briefing to take us through the issues that matter pre-election day.  Annika not only goes through the policies....

In this election, it finally feels like young first home buyers are front and centre with both major parties trying to woo voters with some bold new ideas they’re promising will go some way to easing the affordability crisis.  From the Coalition’s superannuation scheme to Labor’s shared equity arrangement - these are policy areas where both sides are actually...

Intermittent fasting is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule.   It’s touted as a way to manage your weight and prevent — or even reverse — some forms of disease.    Professor Lauren Williams, a nutritionist and dietician from Griffith University joins us to explain the first big-time intermittent fasting diet was the 5-...

In almost all energy debates in Australia you never hear about nuclear energy, even though it has a lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels, such as coal,  and even though we are the world’s third-largest uranium producer after Kazakhstan and Canada. Mick Foley - climate and energy correspondent for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald tells us other countries – like the US, Fra...

Craig Foster was Australia’s 419th Socceroo and 40th Captain of our national men’s soccer side. He’s since had an illustrious career as a sports analyst and broadcaster. Craig Foster has always been passionate and dedicated to social justice. He’s campaigned for an Australian Republic, better support services for the homeless, Indigenous rights and self determination and fo...

What happens when your political leanings completely contradict those of your family and friends?        In 2019 the Coalition received more voted from older Australians while younger Aussies favour the Greens/Labor parties.  We’re joined by Briefing listeners Lauren, Laura and Finn…who are black sheep, and Wyatt Roy, the former MP for Longman i...

Hollywood stars Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are embroiled in a bitter court battle - and it's all playing out like a pretty disturbing film. Both sides of the dispute argue they’re the victims ….with Depp suing Heard for $50m and Heard countersuing for $100m.   Depp claims he was defamed in an op-ed article Heard wrote in the Washington Post where she claimed to have be...

Australia is in the grip of a rental crisis.  The number of rental vacancies is at a record low.   On this episode of the Briefing, we hear from families living in their car; another family of five living in a single room; and others who simply cannot afford to rent a home. Professor Wendy Stone heads up the Housing Futures Research Program at Swinburne Research Centre, and tells us the...

The man found guilty of the murder of US doctor Scott Johnson on Sydney’s northern beaches more than 33 years ago, was sentenced last week.   Scott Phillip White was handed a sentence of 12 years and seven months - with a non-parole period of eight years and three months.   Scott’s naked body was found at the base of a cliff at Blue Fish Point, at Sydney’s North He...

More than half of anyone born after 1997 uses social media as their main source of news. Google, Twitter, gaming and even Grindr, are being targetted by politicians and wanna-be politicians in the federal election campaign.   Daniel Angus, a Professor of Digital Communication at the Queensland University of Technology, joins us to talk about hundreds of thousands of dollars being tipped into...

Our very own Antoinette Lattouf joins us on The Weekend Briefing.   Antoinette's book ' How to Lose Friends and Influence White People' has just hit the shelves and is available at all good bookstores.   In this conversation with Jamila Rizvi, Antoinette Lattouf goes deep on growing up in Western Sydney from a poor refugee family, the blatant racism she has faced throughout her life and...

A 50 year old US federal law guaranteeing the right to abortion could be overturned.  The draft Supreme Court ruling would strike down the 1973 Roe v Wade case – and would see abortion become a state issue.  A draft finding has been leaked to the press.     Damien Cave, the New York Times’ Australian correspondent, joins us to explain what Roe v Wade is, and wh...

This is the second instalment of Jan Fran’s interview with Tom about his new book, “Speaking in Tongues”    Today we learn how Tom took himself out of the hardcore Pentecostal church of his youth and how he ended up in media....via investment banking!  And Jan asks if Tom’s planning on raising his new son in the Church.    Tom’s memoir, &ldquo...