Episodes
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After weeks of media scrutiny that has painted Anthony Albanese as tone-deaf and out of touch with Australians struggling with financial distress, the Prime Minister launched a compelling pitch over the weekend.
Should Labor win the next election, Albanese would slash student debts in a $16 billion dollar proposal.
Young Australians are in desperate need of help. Student poverty - and hunger - has become so dire, that Western Sydney University has had to establish a food pantry.
Today, Western Sydney University vice chancellor Professor George Williams, and federal political correspondent, Paul Sakkal, on whether the prime minister’s proposed reform would fix what many say is a broken student loan system. And if Labor is using student debt relief to buy the youth vote.
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Inflation figures came out last week, and the annual figure tumbled from 3.8 per cent to 2.8 per cent - the lowest since the March quarter of 2021.
And it's welcome news for at least some of your grocery shop with bread prices, which were climbing at 14 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne a year ago, are now climbing at only 1.2 per cent.
And cheese is getting cheaper too.
So is the cost-of-living crisis over? And what can Australians expect from the Reserve Bank meeting on Tuesday?
Senior economics correspondent Shane Wright, and economics writer Millie Muroi, talk us through what the new inflation figures mean for you.
For more
Read...Shane Wright's 'There’s your inflation rate – then there’s the Reserve Bank’s rate', The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.
Watch...'Inflation falls, but don't expect cuts to follow', ABC's The Business.
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The Prime Minister is facing uncomfortable questions about his relationship with former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, and the flight upgrades he received when he was Transport Minister, and also when he was in Opposition. How much damage has this done to the Prime Minister? Did he handle the whole controversy well?
Plus - the verdict is in, on how well Australia responded to the Covid pandemic. We also touch on this week’s much-anticipated inflation data, and discuss how it affects the government’s election timing. Chief political correspondent David Crowe and chief economics correspondent Shane Wright join Jacqueline Maley to discuss.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
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Should we be surprised that the last week before the American presidential election is breaking historical records? Probably not. This is, after all, the race that has brought us assassination attempts (two). And an 11th hour candidate change.
Still, never before in modern presidential election campaigns, has the race been this tight so close to election day, say some commentators. And, forget policies. Who wins could come down to the weather on election day, or - as one former aide to Barack Obama put it - “the vibes”.
Today, North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin on what the vibes were like in battleground states, during her recent trips there. And whether a legion of so-called shy Kamala voters could help her nab the White House.
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Until now, Level 6 has kept its secrets. The exclusive club in Australia’s most powerful hospitality empire has long entertained celebrities, scions living off their parents’ fortune. And the empire’s own top executives.
But an exclusive investigation by our mastheads reveals claims of exploitation of female staff. As one former manager said of Level 6, it was “one step away from being a brothel”. The company denies these allegations.
Today, investigative reporter Eryk Bagshaw, on the staff across Merivale’s venues, who describe a toxic culture of harassment, fear, and pressure to take drugs. And their fears of retribution which have kept them from speaking out.
And a warning, today’s episode contains mentions of sexual harassment. Support is available at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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Is the way you do your washing the latest marker of class? Because a growing number of Australians who live in apartments are in conflict over where they air their laundry. Literally.
Many people who want to dry their clothing outside, say, on their balcony, just want to help the environment. But to some of their neighbours? They’re destroying their building’s “curb appeal.” And bringing down their property value.
Today, environment and climate reporter Caitlin Fitzsimmons on how, in a country as preoccupied with property prices as ours is, where you do your laundry can come with an allegation of racism. Or lead you to court.
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For more than a year, journalists from outside of Gaza have been blocked from reporting inside the occupied territory. But with the conflict expanding to Lebanon, that has changed, and Australian journalists have been on the ground to tell powerful accounts of this ongoing and brutal war.
Foreign affairs and national security correspondent Matthew Knott, and photojournalist Kate Geraghty, initially travelled to Israel to report on the anniversary of Hamas’ horrific October 7 attack. And then, their trip changed when the war expanded.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
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Politics is full of surprises but few people expected abortion policy to be back on the agenda in 2024. The fierce abortion debate in the United States has been turbocharged by the upcoming presidential election.
Now the fight over reproductive rights has made its way to Australia.
Abortion has been a surprise issue in the Queensland election campaign. It was also the subject of an attempted legislative rollback in South Australia last week. Now it is being put on the federal agenda by high-profile Opposition front-bencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss is federal political correspondent Paul Sakkal, and federal politics reporter Natassia Crysanthos.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese faced a diplomatic test over the last week. And according to some, he failed.
He had to choose between a long-standing invitation to the inauguration of the new president of Indonesia, while on the same weekend, King Charles and Queen Camilla were visiting Australia.
So who did he choose? And who is more relevant?
Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on the implications of choosing to spend time with one head of state over another. And why Albanese’s choice reignites a half-century long debate about Australia’s very identity.
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It’s not something we probably think about too often - just how much scientific studies impact our lives, in all sorts of ways. That they underpin the medicine that our doctors prescribe to us. And what our psychologists tell us about how we can best parent our children, or discuss conflict with our partners.
But how often is that science trustworthy? According to one researcher, not as often as you'd think.
Today, national science reporter Liam Mannix, on a new finding that says one in seven scientific studies are fake. And the bizarre experiment that led to this revelation.
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It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that a space like LinkedIn, a professional social media site, is being used by powerful men to try to attract women.
In this case, it’s allegations against not just any powerful man, but one of Australia’s richest.
Billionaire Richard White is the chief executive of Australia’s biggest listed technology company WiseTech Global, and he has also been described by one woman as “The LinkedIn Lecher”.
White, on the other hand, says he is unaware of any women who have been made to feel uncomfortable about his comments on LinkedIn.
Today, investigative reporter Kate McClymont on the allegations against the rich-lister and why reporting on it matters.
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Maybe, just maybe, there’s a very good reason the polar opposites on the political spectrum, the left and the right, can’t see eye to eye. Scientists say there is some evidence that says left-wing and right-wing brains are actually wired differently.
And here’s a twist, British actor Colin Firth, perhaps best known for his role as Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, was the reason behind the research. Today, science reporter Angus Dalton, on whether this evidence, in a time of intense political rifts, can give us hope that these differences are not as drastic as feared.
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It’s probably our greatest national obsession. Property: buying it, selling it, how much it costs and how hard it is to afford.
This week Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made headlines when it was reported he had bought a $4.3 million ocean-front beach house at Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast.
Albanese said the purchase was made in contemplation of his changing personal circumstances. He is set to marry his partner Jodie Haydon, who grew up in the area and whose family still lives there.
But the optics were unbelievably bad. Australia is in the midst of a cost of living crisis, and the related housing affordability crisis is one of the main, if not the main, issues for the next election.
Joining Jacqueline Maley to unpack all this is chief political correspondent David Crowe and national affairs editor James Massola.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
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When a 49-year-old man was arrested in California on Monday, after trying to enter a Donald Trump rally with a car equipped with fake licence plates, a couple of illegal guns, and a load of ammunition, it made history.
At least according to the local sheriff, who said his staff had foiled a record-making third assassination attempt on Trump. Police believe the suspect was part of a movement that considers the American government illegitimate.
Today, international and political editor, Peter Hartcher, on why the suspect would want to target the very candidate who most wants to dismantle much of the government.
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There may be a whopping 160 million Americans who will vote in the upcoming presidential election. In just three weeks. But it’s only thousands of people, in a handful of swing states, who will likely determine who wins the top spot in the White House.
North America correspondent Farrah Tomazin has been travelling to some of these areas and speaking to voters on the ground. Today, she reveals what they’ve told her about how near-assassinations, and a natural disaster, among other issues, might sway who they choose. And if they’re ready for a female president.
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One year ago, 16 million Australians voted and made their voices heard. The vast majority of us did not want to alter our constitution, in order to enshrine an indigenous voice to parliament.
So, what now for the Indigenous children who returned to school afterwards, to what they felt was a harsher country, as one ‘yes’ campaign advocate put it? And what do the leading ‘No’ advocates have planned instead, to improve the lives of indigenous Australians?
Today, chief political commentator David Crowe and federal political correspondent Paul Sakkal on the psychological and emotional impact of the last year on Indigenous leaders and communities. And what sort of damage Anthony Albanese might still yet suffer, as a result of this crushing defeat.
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On Friday, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will arrive in Australia for their first visit since Charles became the reigning monarch. Charles, it’s safe to say, has one of the more scandalous personal histories in a long line of monarchs. Who can forget so-called “Tampon-gate”, back in 1989?
Certainly not journalist Tony Wright. A reporter for five decades, he has a unique insight into the relationship between Australians and the royal family, having witnessed Charles and Diana-mania, first-hand, when he lived near the Woomargama station outside Albury, where the pair stayed during their iconic visit to Australia in 1983.
Today, Wright joins me to discuss whether the monarchy has any relevance to our lives now. And just how much - or how little - Australians realise that Charles is actually King of Australia.
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A year on from the stunning October 7 attack by Hamas on Israeli towns, our parliament - on the other side of the world - is again convulsing over the widening war.
As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese jets off to the influential ASEAN summit in Laos, he is trying to lower the temperature on a polarising domestic debate about antisemitism and Australia’s level of support for Israel’s invasion of Lebanon.
One of the most prominent Australian backers of the Palestinian cause, Labor defector Fatima Payman, has started a new party just days after Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton split on the question of how to commemorate the October 7 attack.
Today, political editor and international editor Peter Hartcher and political reporter Natassia Chrysanthos join Paul Sakkal on the fallout from the October 7 motion.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
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China has experienced a mass exodus before. People fled the country, for instance, after the collapse of Chinese nationalist Chiang Kai-shek’s regime in 1949.
But lately, the country is seeing something new. Millionaires, in particular, are running away in record numbers. And taking jaw-dropping amounts of wealth with them.
Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher, on how Chinese president Xi Jinping - the most repressive leader the country has had in decades - might respond to a trend that’s being seen by some as a humiliating blow to the country.
Audio credit:
'Quiet quitting' was happening in China before the rest of the world caught on, CNBC International.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
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Humans, we know, are full of contradictions. Even so, the disconnect between what we’re shown in the media, about how Australians feel about the war in the Middle East, and what people themselves say, is surprising.
Record numbers of Australians, for instance, turned out around the country over the weekend, to protest the war. And the Greens, it would seem, have galvanised support for their party over their full-throated support for Palestinian rights. But exclusive results from our latest survey suggest a far more complicated picture.
Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe, on what Australians are really feeling about this conflict. And how it might sway the next Federal election.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
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