Inside Politics: The ‘dirty business’ of MP expenses
Today, we're delving into the expenses scandal, if indeed we are calling it a scandal, that has engulfed the Communications Minister Anika Wells. A $100,000 taxpayer funded flight to New York snow-balled into a drip-feed of information about flights to the Formula 1 grand prix, the Boxing Day tests and even a family reunion at Thredbo. All of this dropping at precisely the moment the minister wanted to be talking about the social media ban that was instituted this week.So, what are the rules around taxpayer-funded travel for MPs? And do the pass the 'pub test'? Joining host Jacqueline Maley is chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal, and chief political commentator James Massola.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Trump and the Caribbean boat strikes: Did a war crime occur?
The video is, according to those who have seen it, horrific to watch. Two sailors cling to the debris of a blown-up boat in the Caribbean, when they’re killed by a US military strike. This occurred after the first strike on their boat failed to kill everybody on board. It has sparked outrage, and led to accusations – by Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike – that the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has presided over a military mission that may have been marked by war crimes. Today, Andrew Bell, an expert on law and ethics in military operations, and a senior research scholar at the Center for International Security and Conflict at Stanford University, on why Donald Trump has ordered multiple boat strikes in the Caribbean, which have killed at least 80 people. And whether this could splinter the MAGA movement.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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The sex offenders being protected under secretive orders
Our mastheads have discovered that a number of sex offenders have committed crimes - in our communities - after serving their time in prison. And here’s the thing. They committed these crimes while under a “supervision order”. This little known order, issued by a court, is meant to keep a “ring fence” around these known offenders, to keep tabs on them and monitor their movement. But it has also served to keep crimes by these violent predators largely hidden, due to a veil of secrecy created by legislation that protects them. Today, senior reporter Chris Vedelago, on the failure of these secrecy laws. And the vexed issue of whether the anonymity protection of known sex offenders should be removed.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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What happens when social media goes ‘dark’ for Australian teens
Parents across the country have been wringing their hands for months about how the social media ban will work – and more so, if it will work. So, what exactly does the ban cover? And how will it be enforced? Today, reporter Bronte Gossling on the main methods children plan on using, to circumvent what the federal government has called a “world-leading” ban. And why most Australian parents say they won’t enforce it.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Blood on the ground: What’s happening in Sudan
When American author Anne Applebaum travelled to the frontlines of the Sudanese civil war this year, she gave herself a stern remit. Bear witness to, and report on, a lawless world that - since the United States has pulled most of its aid - is now run by warring militias, clans and families. Crucially, she would keep emotion out of it.But then she met with people who were so thankful for the meagre aid the United States was still providing, that she felt “ashamed”.Today, Anne Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlantic, on how Sudan’s civil war shows what the end of the liberal order looks like.Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.