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The most recent 250 transcripts from the ABC's Radio and TV Current Affairs programs.
Member backlash as NSW RSL state council stood aside amid investigation Audio
Posted
There's confusion and anger in the ranks of the RSL's New South Wales Branch today, as the entire state council stands aside while its conduct is investigated. The branch is facing several inquiries into payments to senior figures and the spending habits of its former President. The National Branch has now struck a deal with the state branch, withdrawing internal disciplinary proceedings in exchange for the council's decision to stand aside.
Topics: corruption, veterans, australia
Qld Govt appoints Adani director Abbot Point coal port Audio
Posted
'The Grand Canyon of conflicts of interest' - that's how critics describe a mining insider's appointment to a key port adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef. The Queensland Government made an Adani coal company director - Brad Fish - the ultimate boss of the Abbot Point coal port. He resigned his Adani position afterwards. The Government has defended the appointment, but environmentalists argue its dangerous for the Reef.
Topics: mining-environmental-issues, mining-industry, great-barrier-reef, australia
Turnbull blames Abbott for Government's poll slide Audio
Posted
The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's lashed out at his predecessor Tony Abbott for his 'calculated' plan to damage the government's standing with voters. Labor's opened up a ten-point lead over the coalition in today's Newspoll, taken in the days after Mr Abbott questioned the credibility of several government policies, including some he instituted as Prime Minister.
Topics: liberals, government-and-politics, australia
Australian scientists reject criticism from British researchers over carp herpes plan Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted | Updated
Australia's chief scientific research organisation has launched a fierce defence of plans to release a herpes virus into the nation's waterways to control feral carp, after claims that the project could lead to a 'catastrophic collapse of the ecosystem'. Two British scientists penned a letter to the editor of the scientific journal, Nature, claiming the virus can't be controlled in the wild. But one of the CSIRO's leading researchers into invasive species says the comments are a gross exaggeration of concerns that Australian scientists are already aware of.
Topics: fish, diseases-and-disorders, fishing-aquaculture, science-and-technology, australia
RSL drops charges against NSW officials in return for council stepping down Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted | Updated
The entire state council of the RSL's New South Wales branch has agreed to stand aside in view of investigations into spending by its president and several other senior figures. The National President Robert Dick says the matters will still be fully investigated, even though internal charges have been dropped, but there are already early signs that many members are fuming, at what they see as a weak deal.
Topics: clubs-and-associations, veterans, police, corruption, nsw, australia
ACOSS urges slashing of tax breaks for property investors Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted | Updated
Tax breaks for property investors should be slashed and the Medicare levy lifted to pump more funding into welfare spending, according to the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). In its pre-budget submission, the peak welfare group says there is 'no more fat to chew' from lower-paid workers or disadvantaged Australians as the Government seeks to carve out further savings. ACOSS chief executive speaks with the ABC's Peter Ryan.
Topics: welfare, government-and-politics, budget, scott-morrison, australia
Transition to renewables in the US 'inevitable' despite Trump: Energy expert Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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The United States is the world's second largest carbon emitter, although former President Barak Obama made concerted efforts to reduce emissions and transition from carbon fuels. Now climate change denier Donald Trump is at the helm and signalling plans to bring back 'beautiful clean coal'. Candace Vahlsing was one of President Barack Obama's energy and environment policy advisers. She told AM that renewable energy sources are already more cost effective than gas and coal in some areas.
Topics: alternative-energy, world-politics, solar-energy, wind-energy, hydro-energy, united-states, australia
'Tanna' cast braves extreme culture shock to attend Academy Awards Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Three villagers from a remote island in Vanuatu will join the big names of the entertainment industry as they gather for the Academy Awards later today, and they will be dressed in traditional grass skirts and sheaths. They're cast and crew-members of the Australian-produced movie 'Tanna', which has been nominated for best foreign language film.
Topics: academy-awards-oscars, film-movies, vanuatu, united-states
Thousands march in Moscow to honour murdered opposition leader Audio Transcript and Verbatim
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Thousands of Russians have marched in Moscow to honour the opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, who was shot dead on a bridge near the Kremlin two years ago. The opposition movement has struggled since his death - and the man most likely to have been able to take on Vladimir Putin at next year's election was recently convicted in what was seen as a politically motivated trial.
Topics: world-politics, murder-and-manslaughter, corruption, russian-federation
Pumped hydro can secure 100% renewable electricity Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
New research shows Australia can build an affordable and secure electricity network, with 100 per cent renewable energy, using existing technologies. The Australian National University study, details plans for a zero-emissions grid which would rely on wind and solar technology, supported by pumped hydro storage. It could be established with inexpensive, currently available 'off the shelf' products, and eliminate the need for coal and gas-fired power. But energy groups say now is not the time for 'intellectual' proposals, rather a swift fix for a fragile system.
Topics: alternative-energy, solar-energy, wind-energy, hydro-energy, australia
New measures in Family Daycare crack down are 'reasonable' and 'generous': Simon Birmingham Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted | Updated
The Federal Government has announced a new crackdown on family day care, through capping some payments and applying new age limits, to stop what they claim is $250,000 being rorted through the system each year. The changes will not be legislated, but rather tabled in the Senate in what's known as a 'disallowable instrument', which means that Labor, the Greens and the Crossbench can use their numbers to vote it down. Education and Training Minister Simon Birmingham said Labor had supported to previous two tranches of family day care measures.
Topics: child-care, price-fixing, australia
Labor prepares to campaign hard to overturn penalty rate cut Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
Labor is vowing to overturn a decision by the Fair Work Commission on penalty rates, and will today give notice of its intention to legislate to protect workers on award wages. Last week the Fair Work Commission ruled that Sunday penalty rates for a number of awards should be cut. The Government has called the move a cynical political stunt.
Topics: industrial-relations, australia
Fans invited to help write Melbourne's music history Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
Historians hope that memorabilia from music fans will help them piece together a history about seven decades of pop and rock music in Melbourne. The project from RMIT and Monash Universities is asking for fans to share their tickets, posters, band t-shirts and other ephemera at the Melbourne Town Hall today. The items will be photographed and stories recorded for an online archive and will contribute to a book about Melbourne's music culture.
Topics: music, history, melbourne-3000
Statue of Matthew Flinders unveiled in Port Lincoln on anniversary of landing Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
Matthew Flinders, the first European explorer to circumnavigate the Australian continent, laid much of the groundwork for settlement on the South Australian coast, including the city of Port Lincoln, the site of which he named after his home town. Today, 215 years after he sailed into Boston Bay and established the Port Lincoln site, a statue is being unveiled of Flinders and his cat, Trim, who accompanied him on his voyages. The statue is the third casting of the original work by sculptor Mark Richards, who has modified the work specifically for the location.
Parts of Australia's biggest cities struggle to attract disability workers under NDIS Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
The Productivity Commission is warning that parts of Australia's major cities could struggle to attract disability workers for years to come, as the National Disability Insurance Scheme rolls out. It has identified southern Melbourne, south-west Sydney and Logan in Brisbane as areas that currently have fewer than 40 per cent of the workers who will be required by 2020. Service providers are demanding action before nearly 500,000 people join the $22 billion a year program.
Topics: disabilities, welfare, carers, social-policy, programs-and-initiatives, sydney-2000, brisbane-4000, melbourne-3000
Tasmanian Government considers taking over water and sewerage Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
With more than 20 towns on boil-water alerts and some sewerage plants leaking into waterways during floods, the Tasmanian Government says there is a crisis in the state's water management system. The Government is considering taking over the running of water and sewerage from local councils.
Topics: states-and-territories, water-pollution, local-government, programs-and-initiatives, water-management, tas
'The situation is desperate': 1.5 million children at risk of starvation in war-ravaged nations Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
The United Nations' children's agency, UNICEF, is warning that almost 1.5 million children are at risk of starvation in South Sudan, north-eastern Nigeria, Yemen and Somalia. Justin Forsyth, the deputy executive director of UNICEF, says that the famine crises are largely caused by war, combined with long-term drought conditions. Speaking with AM's Elizabeth Jackson, he says that children are dying every day, but that there is 'a window of humanitarian opportunity' to prevent the crisis from becoming much, much worse.
Topics: famine, unrest-conflict-and-war, children, nigeria, somalia, yemen, south-sudan
Trump hardens stance on media scrutiny, immigrant deportations Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted | Updated
US President Donald Trump has stepped up his war on the media and pledged to speed up deportations of illegal immigrants, saying it's time for them to 'get the hell out.' Mr Trump spoke at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference to some of his most ardent supporters. He again sketched a picture of a country in decline, which he pledged to quickly fix.
Topics: world-politics, united-states
Lawyer calls on Melbourne Catholic Church to implement review recommendations Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
A prominent lawyer for child abuse survivors, Dr Vivienne Waller, is calling on the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne to implement all of the recommendations from an independent review to improve its redress scheme for abuse victims. Late yesterday the child sexual abuse Royal Commission released a report on the Archdiocese's controversial victims' compensation scheme, set up by former Melbourne archbishop George Pell in 1996, which the Church had refused to make public. The scheme was criticised for its lack of independence and transparency and for the way victims were treated through the process.
Topics: child-abuse, catholic, royal-commissions, melbourne-3000, sydney-2000
What is Tony Abbott's endgame? Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted | Updated
Former prime minister-turned backbencher Tony Abbott's latest tirade against his own party appears to have been the last straw for some of his most loyal supporters. A noticeable shift in mood from within the Liberal Party has seen many parliamentary members no longer remaining silent about Mr Abbott's criticisms. ABC's political editor, Chris Uhlmann, speaks with AM's Elizabeth Jackson. He believes that Mr Abbott has concluded he does not have the numbers inside the parliamentary Liberal Party to challenge Malcolm Turnbull for the prime ministership, but is nonetheless determined to undermine a man he considers unworthy for the role of Prime Minister.
Topics: federal-government, liberals, canberra-2600
PM: Full Program Audio
Posted
On Friday's program: Malaysian Police say they've identified the chemical that killed the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the nerve agent, VX. Five of Australia's Catholic Archbishops have told the Royal Commission they'll ask the Vatican for advice on whether priests can report child abuse revealed in the confessional. And the non-profit Ocean Agency has launched a new global initiative called 50 Reefs, to try and save coral reefs worldwide.
Topics: australia
Endangered Carnaby's Cockatoo population could soon be halved: green groups Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
The population of the endangered Carnaby's Black Cockatoo has been dwindling for decades, but there are now fears the number of remaining birds could be imminently halved. That's because of plans to clear a large pine plantation which has become a big source of food for the birds.
Topics: endangered-and-protected-species, environment, animal-science, wa, australia
Ocean Agency launches 50 Reefs initiative to try and save the world's coral reefs Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
In the last 30 years, half of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed, according to the Ocean Agency. Their new global initiative, called 50 Reefs, launched today and aims to save coral reefs worldwide. Scientists estimate if action isn't taken now, only 10 per cent of coral reefs will survive past 2050.
Topics: oceans-and-reefs, environment, australia
New study indicates back pain could be an indicator of death Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
A new study indicates that back pain may not just be well, a pain, but could also be an indicator of death. Researchers examined the health and death records of thousands of older sets of twins in Denmark. They found that those who reported lower back pain had a significantly higher chance of dying.
Topics: back-pain, health, medical-research, pain, australia
What constitutes cyber war? Audio Transcript and Verbatim
Posted
We've heard a lot about cyber attacks and cyber security, but what exactly would constitute a cyber war? The United States intelligence community has said unequivocally that it believes the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton officials' emails was directed from the very top of the Russian Government. But was that run-of-the mill espionage, or an act of war? It's a question with big consequences, because a cyber war could lead to real guns and missiles being fired. PM speaks to Michael Schmitt, an expert on international law and cyber security and a Senior Fellow at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence.
Topics: hacking, defence-and-national-security, science-and-technology, computers-and-technology, russian-federation, united-states
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