Posted
| UpdatedOn Tuesday's program: Amid public shock and grief, investigators are working on how a light plane could have smashed into a shopping centre near Essendon airport in Melbourne's suburbs; Federal Labor MP Michael Danby accuses party elders, including Bob Hawke, of 'beating up' on Israel ahead of this week's visit by the Israeli Prime Minister; And in the latest instalment in the legal saga between Seven West Media, its CEO, and former staff member Amber Harrison, Seven West Media has revealed extraordinary excerpts from emails by Ms Harrison in which she threatens to 'destroy' the company chief executive Tim Worner.
Topics: australia
Posted
The editor of the far-right American news website Breitbart, Milo Yiannopoulos defended paedophilia in an internet stream and podcast. As a result, the publication of his book 'Dangerous' has been cancelled and he has been uninvited as a drawcard speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Topics: sexual-offences, australia
Posted
At the child sexual abuse Royal Commission, the Catholic Bishop of Parramatta has criticised the clergy's lack of accountability and called for women and lay people to have a greater say in the management of the Church. Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen gave evidence parishioners should have a say in the hiring and firing of priests.
Topics: royal-commissions, law-crime-and-justice, sexual-offences, australia
Posted
In a bid to deliver reliability and affordable power to South Australia, Energy Australia, backed by federal funding, will investigate pumped hydro in the state. The energy retailer and its partners briefed the Prime Minister and cabinet members today, on its project which could help stabilise the state's embattled power network.
Topics: electricity-energy-and-utilities, industry, environment, alternative-energy, federal-government, energy, sa, australia
Posted
| UpdatedThere's unprecedented levels of protest in the US against President Donald Trump. And closer to home, some are starting to question whether Australia can continue to rely on the US alliance with such an unpredictable President in the White House. But two of Australia's most respected military and security minds have told the National Press Club in Canberra that Australia has no choice other than to work with the Administration, regardless of who's sitting in the Oval Office. They say ending the alliance would mean doubling military spending, and argue that Australian politicians need to remind the public of the enormous cost of moving away from the US.
Topics: government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, parliament, world-politics, australia
Posted
| UpdatedAustralia's biggest miner, BHP Billiton, produced a half year profit of $4.17 billion. An impressive and unexpected recovery in the prices of iron ore and coal have helped lift the company out of the mire. But can this latest dream run for BHP last?
Topics: mining-industry, business-economics-and-finance, industry, environment, mining-environmental-issues, australia
Posted
| UpdatedThe Israeli Prime Minister's trip to Australia is causing division within the Labor Party, with former Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Kevin Rudd as well as former Foreign Ministers Bob Carr and Gareth Evans all calling for Australia to recognise Palestine. Michael Danby, a Victorian MP and one of the most strident supporter of Israel within the Party, says some of the Labor elders are hypocrites in their calls to recognise Palestine. Michael Danby and one of the most strident supporter of Israel within the Party, says some of the Labor elders are hypocrites in their calls to recognise Palestine.
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, australia
Posted
| UpdatedSeven West Media has revealed extraordinary excerpts from emails by its former employee Amber Harrison in which she threatens to 'destroy' her former lover, the company chief executive Tim Worner. The emails were tendered to the NSW Supreme Court as Seven sought to extend a gag order on Ms Harrison. She's fighting a massive legal battle against the media company after her damaging affair with Mr Worner.
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, australia
Posted
| UpdatedFive people have perished after a charter plane suffered catastrophic engine failure and ploughed into a popular shopping centre near Melbourne's Essendon airport. It's being called the worst plane crash seen in Victoria in the last 30 years, and authorities are sifting through the scene to find evidence of what went wrong.
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, community-and-society, death, vic, australia
Posted
| UpdatedOne of America's top female entrepreneurs has warned of volatile times ahead for the world given Donald Trump's erratic style and manner. Kay Koplovitz has personally dealt with the US president and describes him as 'a game show host' who has shown disdain for the US constitution and the separation of powers. Ms Koplovitz is also worried that Mr Trump policies and attitudes have the potential to set back rights for women.
Topics: world-politics, business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, united-states, australia
Posted
There is evidence that the recent loss of full-time jobs is weighing on the emotions of Australian households. The latest private survey of consumer confidence fell for the third straight week, bringing it to its lowest value since December. The survey by the ANZ Bank shows householders' opinion about their current finances fell a sharp 7.5 per cent just last week, its lowest point since August 2014.
Topics: consumer-finance, business-economics-and-finance, australia
Posted
| UpdatedIt was presumed lost more than half a century ago. Now a large watercolour by renowned artist Sir Hans Heysen has been returned to Australia from Germany. The work has just been unveiled in Adelaide, and experts predict it'll break records when it goes to auction.
Topics: painting, arts-and-entertainment, visual-art, australia, sa
Posted
| UpdatedVictoria has harvested its first cannabis crop for medicinal use of people with epilepsy. The state has been manufacturing the drug at a secret location but it's still going through the testing phase. While patients in Victoria wait for access, NSW parliamentarians have been debating their own cannabis bill.
Posted
| UpdatedThe AFL Women's series may have shattered a key participation barrier in the sporting world. But the question of equal pay for female sports stars remains. Now the organisation representing professional soccer players says it has a plan, and it's put a price tag on success.
Topics: soccer-world-cup, sport, soccer, australia
Posted
Ride-sharing company Uber has announced an urgent investigation into claims of sexual harassment and discrimination in the organisation and threats from management against those who complain. A blog post by the former employee who has made the allegations has gone viral. Women working in the tech industry say what's been detailed in the post is sadly not surprising.
Topics: sexual-offences, law-crime-and-justice, crime, laws, australia
Posted
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, has died suddenly while at work in New York City. The 64-year-old spent more than a decade as the country's top UN envoy and he is being remembered as a passionate advocate for Russia.
Topics: death, community-and-society, government-and-politics, world-politics, russian-federation, australia
Posted
| UpdatedFamine has been declared in South Sudan, in areas of the country's war-torn south. Around 100,000 people are at immediate risk of starvation, while another five million face severe shortages of food. But aid authorities say the famine is entirely man-made and the UN blames the government for blocking food supplies as a civil war drags on into its third year.
Topics: famine, disasters-and-accidents, south-sudan, australia
Posted
| UpdatedAt the child sexual abuse Royal Commission the Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Christopher Prowse has again admitted it was a mistake not to attend a healing ceremony for Marist abuse victims last year. Archbishop Prowse is a former Bishop of Sale, which commission data shows is the diocese with the highest percentage of priests accused of abuse in the country. The Archbishop told the commission the opportunity for priests in country dioceses to become very familiar with their parishioners was a possible reason abuse was rife in Sale.
Topics: royal-commissions, law-crime-and-justice, sexual-offences, australia
Posted
| UpdatedIn a corporate scandal playing out in courts this lunchtime with Seven West Media, former employee Amber Harrison's lawyers are fighting the extension of an injunction that prevents her from leaking more confidential corporate documents.
Topics: courts-and-trials, arts-and-entertainment, television, law-crime-and-justice, laws, australia
Posted
| UpdatedThe movement and transfer of major weapon systems is now larger than at any time since the Cold War. The latest report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has found while the Middle East is a key destination, there is also an arms build-up in Asia.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, defence-industry, australia
Posted
| UpdatedOne of the key challenges for President Trump's new National Security Adviser will be how to deal with Chinese activities in the South China Sea. The US has just sent a fleet to the region, drawing a strong Chinese response. Research Fellow at the United States Studies Centre Ashley Townshend says China is trying to deter the more confrontational positions under Donald Trump's presidency and to send out a message to the region that the US is causing the militarisation in the area, rather than China's placement of military assets on artificial islands.
Topics: world-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, united-states, china
Posted
US President Donald Trump is talking up his new National Security Adviser as 'a man of tremendous talent and tremendous experience'. The President has appointed General HR McMaster to replace his disgraced former adviser Michael Flynn, who resigned last week.
Topics: world-politics, united-states
Posted
The latest proposal to fix Federal Parliament's terms at four years is receiving a cautious response because it would give Senators eight years in Parliament before facing another election. Liberal MP David Coleman is putting up the idea as a way to give the business and general community more certainty. Constitutional and political observers say it would do that, but they that voters may balk at giving senators such a long term.
Topics: elections, federal-parliament, australia
Posted
Researchers believe Australia is now well on the way to eliminating the potentially deadly virus Hepatitis C within the next 10 years. They say the Federal Government's aggressive approach to funding treatments is paying off, with the cure rate lifting close to 100 per cent.
Topics: hepatitis, pharmaceuticals, health-policy, australia
Posted
A Victorian Coroner has recommended a trial of a safe injecting room for heroin users in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond. At last count, the suburb was responsible for 34 heroin related deaths in 12 months, of 172 in the state, and use of the drug is rising. Both the Government and the Opposition remain opposed to a trial, but the Australian Sex Party's Fiona Patten has introduced a private members bill that's currently before the Parliament. Residents in the Victoria Street precinct have been calling for a trial and are hoping the Coroner's report will be just the ammunition they need to change the Government's mind.
Topics: heroin, health-policy, richmond-3121