Background Briefing

The public plans for a half-a-billion-dollar Sydney development have proton therapy all over them. But they're not the only set. As Australian families continue to fly overseas to get the life-saving treatment their children need, new questions arise about whether it's going to be possible for Sue Bleasel to pull off her plan. And now, they're coming from people inside the bigger project. When an insider speaks out for the first time, it becomes clear Sue isn't being kept in the loop on all the developer's plans.

Sue Bleasel is running out of time. Her life's work has been to bring a life-saving proton therapy machine to Australia. But with construction about to start, big questions remain.

It's a plan so good that everyone wants to believe it. Bring a life-saving cancer machine to Australia so desperate families don't have to travel overseas for treatment. But the plan keeps failing. The latest idea is to build a half-billion-dollar health science precinct in the heart of Sydney to house Australia's first proton therapy machine. It's got some big names backing it, support from a federal politician, and the green light from state government and local council. So why, when reporters Julia Bergin and Loretta Florance take a closer look, is it so hard to get a clear answer about what's going on? Is it happening? And what will it take to bring this machine to Australia? This Bloody Machine is a three-part Background Briefing investigation that follows a trail of money, egos, secret plans and changing stories to find out if the proton therapy dream is too good to be true.

A missing child, the botched police investigation case, and the aunt who never stopped asking why — this is part two of Maddison Connaughton's long read investigation into the disappearance of schoolgirl Eloise Worledge.

Could new leads solve one of Australia’s most haunting cold cases, the disappearance of Eloise Worledge? This is part one of Maddison Connaughton's investigation, a collaboration with ABC Long Read.