7am

For nearly two decades, Australian governments have pledged to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians — in health, education, employment and justice. But year after year, the data tells a grim story: modest improvements in some areas and deepening crises in others.  Behind the national figures, and in the shadow of the failed referendum, the Northern Territory i...

In spite of pouring rain, government opposition and a failed police ban, 90,000 people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge yesterday. It was the largest pro-Palestinian protest in Australia’s history.  It was a moment of mass demonstration against 21 months of war in Gaza, where tens of thousands of civilians, including children, have been killed.  Despite warning that the mar...

Anthony Albanese has been waiting decades to recognise a Palestinian state.  Now, as countries like France, Canada and the UK all declare their own intention to do so, the Prime Minister is weighing up how Australia will respond. It’s a delicate balance – with competing pressures from within his own party, and an opposition denying there’s a starvation crisis in Gaza. Today,...

Australia’s plan to ban teenagers from social media has been called “world‑leading”. The law, which comes into effect December 10, threatens platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook with fines of up to $50 million if they let under-16s open or keep accounts. But as implementation draws closer, questions remain about how the ban will be enforced, what it means for online p...

As companies across the world pursue generative AI technology, new forms of manipulation become possible. At the forefront of this are neurotechnologies, which directly connect to your brain and collect your brain data, and persuasive technologies, which can use that data to influence how you feel. In countries like China where the tech industry is controlled by the government, the use of these te...

When Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff struck a deal with the AFL to build a brand new stadium in Hobart's historic center, it was a decision made without cabinet, treasury or parliamentary backing. It's that stadium that's kicked off a messy fight over who will lead Tasmania. It’s now been over a week since the election that delivered a hung parliament and neither the Liberal leader or Labo...

Countries have a legal obligation to tackle climate change, according to a landmark finding from the world’s highest court. Last week, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that said climate change is an “urgent and existential threat” to humanity and countries have a “duty to cooperate” on addressing it. For the Pacific Island students who bro...

When parliament returned this week, the seating chart said it all. With 123 Labor members in the parliament – the government is taking up much of the room.  But it was the Nationals taking the oxygen with their growing calls to abandon net zero. Their position is at odds with science, economics and many within the joint party room. Meanwhile Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is trying to kee...

When an Israeli airstrike hit the gate of Syria’s Defence Ministry in central Damascus, the blast echoed far beyond the capital. It was a warning shot in a growing fight over who controls Syria’s fractured south. With sectarian tensions reigniting between Druze militias, Bedouin fighters and government troops, the country’s uneasy calm is close to breaking. Today, Damascus‑based...

The Australian Federal Police investigate some of  the country's most serious crimes - terrorism, corruption, drugs, and human trafficking.  But a new report from the Commonwealth Ombudsman has found that the one thing the AFP is not good at investigating is itself. It's found that the agency is dismissing complaints that should be investigated, including allegations of corruption and as...

When UNESCO voted to put the Murujuga Cultural Landscape in north-west Australia on the World Heritage List, they recognised the ancient rock art as a “masterpiece of human creative genius”. It was a reflection of the work of the Murujuga traditional owners who fought for the carvings to be recognised on the world stage. But what went on behind the scenes shows the limits of a heritage...

As Donald Trump tries to hose down criticisms over his mishandling of the Epstein files, some of his most ardent supporters are now turning against him. For years Donald Trump fueled conspiracy theories related to the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. For Trump’s MAGA base, his re-election meant finally uncovering the truth about the powerful associates on “Epstein’s list&r...

This is the second episode in a two part series. If you haven’t yet, start by listening to Part 1: How the Epstein conspiracy turned MAGA against Trump. Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein have a well documented history together. What started off as a friendship eventually turned sour, with Trump claiming he never really liked him. But even though there is no evidence that Trump was involved in...

Australia is caught in a perilous balancing act.  This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Premier Xi Jinping to stabilise ties with China; as leaks from Washington revealed the steep demands of our AUKUS agreement with the United States.  In the shadow of rising tensions over Taiwan, the question of where Australia stands, and who we stand with, has never been more complicate...

The Federal Court has dismissed a landmark class action brought by Uncles Paul Kabai and Pabai Pabai – two Torres Strait Islander men who said Canberra owed them a duty of care to safeguard their homelands from rising seas. Justice Michael Wigney accepted the islands are being “ravaged by human-induced climate change,” yet ruled the law offers “no real or effective” p...

It’s been a year since the Albanese government appointed Jillian Segal to the role of Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia. Last week, alongside the Prime Minister, Ms Segal released her plan. It recommends media organisations should be monitored and funding should be withheld from universities and cultural institutions if they don’t stop antisemitism. But critics say what...

Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Xi Jinping this week is a crucial opportunity to strengthen relations with our biggest trading partner. But it comes at a time when Australia is trying to break China’s grip on the supply chain of critical minerals. China’s global domination has been in the works for decades – a grand plan that gives China ready access to materials essential...

The Liberal Party knows it needs to change. But the battle over how is already tearing the party apart. Sussan Ley has declared herself a “zealot” for getting more women into parliament.  But she faces stiff resistance from the conservative wing of the party, including from some of its older statesmen which see quotas as undemocratic and an attack on the idea of ‘merit&rsquo...

Spotify has transformed how the world listens to music. But as it’s grown, the company behind it, and its founder Daniel Ek, have been reshaping more than just the music industry. Ek has become a key figure in the global defence industry, investing more than a billion dollars into military technology based on artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Spotify itself has embraced AI in ways that man...

When journalist Antoinette Lattouf picked up a casual contract with ABC Radio Sydney, she didn’t expect it to end in court. But after she reshared a Human Rights Watch post about Gaza, the ABC pulled her off-air on day three and ended her employment. Last month the Federal Court ruled that decision unlawful, finding senior executives acted after “an orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel...

In the Central Australian community of Yuendumu, Kumanjayi Walker’s family gathered this week to hear coroner Elizabeth Armitage share her findings into his death. Walker was a 19 year old Warlpiri-Luritja teenager who was shot and killed by former constable Zachary Rolfe in 2019. Today, investigative journalist Kate Wild on what the inquest revealed about the racist culture of the Northern...

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, after serving her estranged ex-husband’s family beef wellington, which contained death cap mushrooms. Erin Patterson said the addition of death cap mushrooms to the dish was a tragic accident, and maintained her innocence throughout the trial. But after deliberating for a week, the 12 person jur...

A child care worker in Victoria has been charged with more than 70 offences relating to the sexual abuse of children. Following the arrest, the state health authorities recommended 1200 children, some as young as five months old, get tested for sexually transmitted diseases.  The government is scrambling to figure out how this happened, and how to stop it happening again. But for ABC investig...

Australia is positioning itself as a critical supplier of the minerals the world needs to build clean technology. But for now, China dominates the market, and its grip on supply chains gives it enormous leverage.  At the same time, the Albanese government is racing China to shore up its influence in the Pacific; a region already feeling the sharpest impacts of climate change. Today, contribut...

AI chatbots have crept into our lives – and some abusers are weaponising them. By feeding intimate details about their partners into tools like ChatGPT, they’re producing “performance reviews” that shame, degrade and control. Today, writer Madison Griffiths on this new form of tech-enabled coercive control – and why ChatGPT always sides with the abuser. If you enjoy 7...