7am

In Australian politics, access can be bought, factions can operate beyond public view, and conduct can be deeply troubling without ever meeting the definition of corruption.
None of it is especially new, and maybe that’s the problem.
Meanwhile, people are becoming more disconnected from the institutions that shape their lives, and less convinced that those institutions are working in their interests.
Today, columnist for The Age and SMH Sean Kelly, on the money, secrecy and private power shaping our politics, and what happens when voters stop trusting the system itself.

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Guest: Columnist for The Age and SMH Sean Kelly
Photo: AAP Image/Jane Dempster
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Almost 30 years ago the Howard government shut down Australia’s public employment service and privatised the system that helps unemployed people find work.
Since then, repeated inquiries have found the system is failing the people who need it, while the companies paid to run it rake in huge profits.
Now, the Albanese government has admitted the system isn’t working and promised its biggest overhaul in decades. But Labor says these private providers will still remain part of the system, even as a new report has followed the billions of dollars flowing through the industry
Today, ABC business and economics reporter Gareth Hutchens, on how helping unemployed Australians became a massive money spinner, and whether Labor can fix the system while leaving private companies at its centre.

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Guest: ABC business and economics reporter Gareth Hutchens
Photo: AAP Image/Dan Peled
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Alan Jones is used to attracting attention. But not like this.
At 85, the once-powerful shock jock who for decades acted as judge, jury and executioner in the court of public opinion, is now the one on trial.
Jones is accused of historical offences involving the indecent assault and sexual touching of teenagers and young men – claims he’s always denied.
Now, a judge will decide, with the trial slated to run over the next four months.
Today, National Affairs Editor at Ten News, Hugh Riminton on how the first few days of the Alan Jones trial played out in court, and what comes next.

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

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Guest: National Affairs Editor at Ten News Hugh Riminton
Photo: AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi
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For decades it’s shone a light on corruption of the highest order, even toppling premiers: Now NSW ICAC, the state’s corruption watchdog, has set its sights on a secretive right-wing Christian faction of the Liberal Party, “the Reformers”, and its cashed-up group of backers.
Already the public inquiry, codenamed Operation Rosny, has heard of shit sheets, sham payments, phone taps, and dodgy deals with fugitive developers – with the reformers' connections reaching all the way to the top of the Liberal party.
Today, The Sydney Morning Herald’s chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont unpacks the tangled web of players at the centre of what she’s calling ICAC’s Game of Thrones.

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Guest: SMH chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont
Photo: PR Handout/Supplied by NSW Police
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What do Jacqui Lambie, Pauline Hanson, Lidia Thorpe and David Pocock all have in common?
Usually not much. But they're part of an unlikely group of politicians backing former senator Rex Patrick in a legal fight with the Albanese government over information the government does not want released.
At the centre of that fight are documents about potential sites for nuclear waste storage from AUKUS submarines, a bill that could see Patrick forced to pay $150,000, and a warning about what happens when ordinary Australians push too hard for answers.
Today, transparency campaigner Rex Patrick on the case that has united some of parliament's most unlikely allies.

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

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Guest: Transparency campaigner Rex Patrick
Photo: AAP Image/Jono Searle
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.