7am

Aukus is the most expensive defence project in Australia’s history; a project, that at its heart has the plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the United States and the United Kingdom.
But the doubts around it are growing: over the cost, over whether Australia will get the submarines it’s been promised, and over what the deal means for our sovereignty.
Now, a public inquiry, in lieu of parliamentary debate, led by former Labor minister Peter Garrett is putting Aukus under scrutiny.
Today, Peter Garrett on why he believes Australians deserve answers, and whether it’s too late to walk away.

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Guest: Lead commissioner of the Aukus Inquiry, Peter Garrett
Photo: AAP Image/Con Chronis
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When Professor Christian Downie appeared before a Senate inquiry into climate and energy misinformation, he warned that Australia is facing coordinated campaigns designed not to debate climate solutions, but to stall them.
Professor Downie has spent years inside boardrooms and the lobbying world studying how these campaigns are built – tracing the billions spent on messaging by lobby groups, PR firms and think tanks – and outlining what he calls “the climate obstruction playbook”. It’s a strategy refined in Washington and increasingly echoed in Australia.
Today, Professor at ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance, Christian Downie, on how the obstruction playbook has been so successful in stopping action on climate change.
This episode was originally published in October, 2025.

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Guest: Professor at ANU’s School of Regulation and Global Governance and Director of the Governing Energy Transition Lab, Christian Downie
Photo: REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
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Pauline Hanson has spent decades casting herself as the outsider, the voice of people who feel ignored by the political class.
Now, One Nation is surging in the polls and in donations. On Friday their fundraising site crashed under the weight of more than three million dollars in new money, forcing Labor to treat Hanson less like a fringe dweller and more like a direct threat.
But as Hanson’s popularity grows, so does the scrutiny of what sits behind it. This week, she admitted she’s taking policy advice from Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart, the billionaire mining magnate she describes as a friend and supporter.
Today, contributing editor at The New Daily, Amy Remeikis, on Pauline Hanson’s growing momentum and the billionaire and corporate backing of her outsider politics.

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Guest: Contributing editor at The New Daily, Amy Remeikis
Photo: AAP Image/Paul Miller
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The scenes in Belfast this week have been horrifying to watch - ugly clashes, masked men rioting in the streets, immigrant families begging neighbours to hide their children - fearing for their safety.
Politicians, far-right agitators, and billionaire Elon Musk have been accused of sparking the riots - weaponising a brutal stabbing attack, to ramp up anti-migrant rhetoric and whip protestors into a frenzy.
Today, British journalist and host of The News Agents, Emily Maitlis on the far-right forces at play in the UK, and why the Belfast riots should serve as a warning to Australia, and the world.

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Guest: Journalist Emily Maitlis
Photo: PA/PA Wire
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Donald Trump is right now following through on his threats to “hit Iran hard again” unleashing another round of strikes.
Trump says he wants a peace deal, but in the past 24 hours, the war has escalated again. Iran and the US have traded strikes, and one of the most important oil routes in the world remains severely restricted. The ceasefire is still supposed to exist, as is the promise of an imminent peace deal. But the closer Trump says he is to ending the war, the harder it is to tell who's actually in control of it.
Today, editor-at-large of The National Interest, Steve Clemons, on Trump's war with Iran, the fragile push for a deal, and why Benjamin Netanyahu may still be the person most capable of blowing it all up.

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Guest: Editor-at-large of The National Interest, Steve Clemons
Photo: Samuel Corum/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM
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