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Background Briefing

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Background Briefing brings you true stories not everyone will want you to hear.

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38:43

'If I can't get my house fixed, I'm homeless'

Background Briefing ·

2020/03/07

Even after the black summer Australians have just endured, it's not bushfires that's keeping the nation's insurers awake at night. Climate change is bringing cyclones further south - towards highly populated areas like Brisbane, the Gold Coast and northern NSW.Insurers are warning that unless the Federal Government takes drastic action, parts of the country may even become uninsurable.And as Geoff Thompson discovers, it's not some threat on the horizon - the conditions are already

37:43

How fracking could threaten Australia's Paris target

Background Briefing ·

2020/02/29

The Morrison Government claims Australia will meet its emissions targets "in a canter".It points to Australia's status as the world's largest LNG exporter to show how the nation's carbon footprint is getting smaller.But Background Briefing has seen bombshell emails by government advisors that reveal a very different picture.Jane Bardon investigates the true extent of Australia's fracking emissions.

39:28

Inside the brazen tax scam where the homeless are...

Background Briefing ·

2020/02/15

It's a long-running ‘dummy director’ scam that’s siphoned tens of millions of dollars from workers, small businesses and the taxpayer.In Victoria, a small group of accountants spent 15 years signing on drug users and homeless Australians to help their clients cheat the system.Reporter Dan Oakes investigates how this was allowed to go on for so long.

41:25

This predator targeted victims on Tinder for years....

Background Briefing ·

2020/02/08

Glenn Hartland is a serial rapist who lured four Melbourne women on Tinder. His victims say he continued to use dating apps while on bail. How did the police, the court, and the company behind Tinder allow this to happen?

41:03

This judge’s unfair decisions upended people’s lives....

Background Briefing ·

2020/02/01

These Australians were denied a fair hearing by one controversial judge. Now, for the first time, they're speaking out about their experiences.Hagar Cohen investigates what happens when the behaviour of a judge inside a courtroom is called into question.

40:56

Summer special: Murder on trial

Background Briefing ·

2020/01/25

In 2011, Boronika Hothnyang was accused of fatally stabbing her best friend, William Awu, directly in the heart.But when police arrived at the scene of the crime, Boronika's apartment in Dandenong south-east of Melbourne, she was fast asleep. Six men who had earlier been drinking at her place each gave detectives a very different version of events. In this episode, Sarah Dingle uncovers new evidence that raises serious questions about the strength of the case against Boronika.

40:01

Summer special: The Golden Nugget Affair

Background Briefing ·

2020/01/18

The annual Uluru Camel Cup attracts a prize pool of tens of thousands of dollars, but is largely unregulated under NT law.After a champion camel named “Golden Nugget” won the 2018 race in controversial circumstances, allegations surfaced that the result was rigged.Reporter Alex Mann delves deep into the Camel Cup operator’s colourful past to investigate what really happened that day.This is a repeat of a program that aired in July 2019.

43:48

Summer special: The Birdman of Surry Hills

Background Briefing ·

2020/01/11

From piles of rubbish to leaking sewers, rats, and gas leaks.Pierre the Birdman is on a one-man mission to save his public housing block -- but he doesn’t own a computer, only just got a mobile phone, has never had legal training, and he barely finished high school.Despite this... he’s been winning cases against the NSW Government.Mario Christodoulou reports.

45:10

Summer special: This meth we’re in

Background Briefing ·

2020/01/04

Jacki Whittaker thought one of the bedrooms in her Melbourne rental home smelt like "cat piss". But the real culprit was something far more sinister.The previous tenants had been cooking methamphetamine in the bathroom resulting in significant contamination.Jacki and her two adult children were told by a testing company they must leave immediately because it wasn’t safe to stay in the house.But no one really knows how many of us are actually at risk from meth residues because even

45:21

Summer special: Welfare to worse

Background Briefing ·

2019/12/28

Whistle-blowers from inside Australia's lucrative employment services industry are claiming profits are being prioritised over the needs of vulnerable welfare recipients.Reporter Andy Burns investigates alleged murky behaviour inside the government's 350-million-dollar "Parents Next" program.She follows allegations that some private providers are benefitting at the expense of single mothers, some of whom are homeless.This is a repeat of a program that aired in August 2019.

43:22

Summer special: Flight of Fancy

Background Briefing ·

2019/12/21

When he rediscovered the elusive night parrot in 2013, John Young became a hero in the bird world. But his reputation is now in tatters after the veracity of his latest fieldwork was criticised by a panel of experts.Did the charismatic naturalist fake evidence of the green and yellow feathered creature?Ann Jones investigates a scandal that threatens to undermine conservation efforts. This is a repeat of a program that aired in March 2019.

40:29

Licence to drill

Background Briefing ·

2019/12/14

Sydney hip-hop group OneFour are one of Australia’s most popular new musical acts.A month ago they were on the cusp of making it, with millions of streams, major label offers and a national tour.Today half the group is behind bars.Osman Faruqi investigates the rapid rise and fall of an Australian hip-hop phenomenon and why one of the country’s most high-profile police strike forces wants to shut them down.

44:00

The problem with winning

Background Briefing ·

2019/12/07

Australians lose more money gambling than any other country in the world. But what if you found out the odds were stacked against you? Steve Cannane lifts the lid on how one of the world’s most successful sports betting agencies, bet365 uses secret tactics to gain an advantage over its customers.

43:04

'Should have been a wedding, not a funeral'

Background Briefing ·

2019/11/30

People are dying in Queensland mines. Seven workers have been killed since July last year and the pressure to act is mounting. Soon, some mining bosses could serve jail time if their negligence results in a workplace death, but is it too little too late? Katherine Gregory investigates.

42:22

"No water, no us"

Background Briefing ·

2019/11/23

What happens when we run out of water? That might seem a long way off, but after years of drought, taps are running dry in towns all over central New South Wales. The region's dams have gone from overflowing to almost empty in just three years. So where did all the water go? Reporter Meredith Griffiths explores life after day zero.

43:32

Where to now?

Background Briefing ·

2019/11/16

Its been two years since a campaign of brutal violence and mass rape forced almost a million Rohingyas to flee Myanmar.The International Criminal Court has now agreed to investigate possible crimes against humanity committed against them.In the weeks leading up to this major development, Sarah Dingle travelled to the world's biggest refugee camp in neighbouring Bangladesh, where close to one million asylum seekers are being hosted.But as she discovered, compassion is turning into

54:06

State of emergency

Background Briefing ·

2019/11/11

Extraordinary measures have been ordered across New South Wales.There's 60 fires burning in that one state alone. Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong are facing catastrophic fire conditions ahead.That's why we've updated a story we produced a month ago, which asks the question: are our emergency services equipped for what's ahead?This episode was made in a collaboration between ABC Regional, Landline, and Background Briefing.

44:34

Are Australians aiding China's surveillance state?

Background Briefing ·

2019/10/12

In the shadow of the Hong Kong protests on university campuses, Australia's top universities are working with blacklisted Chinese entities involved in Beijing's surveillance state. This week Background Briefing and Four Corners investigate how Australia's hi-tech ambitions became a high stakes gamble. Experts warn these partnerships could be a risk to national security.

44:34

Are Australians aiding China's surveillance state?

Background Briefing ·

2019/10/12

In the shadow of the Hong Kong protests on university campuses, Australia’s top universities are working with blacklisted Chinese entities involved in Beijing’s surveillance state. This week Background Briefing and Four Corners investigate how Australia’s hi-tech ambitions became a high stakes gamble. Experts warn these partnerships could be a risk to national security.

53:41

Prepare to burn

Background Briefing ·

2019/10/06

It’s been the most devastating September for bushfires in this country on record. Experts are warning of more unprecedented weather events than ever before, and they’re calling for urgent national leadership. In this special collaboration with ABC Regional and Landline, Background Briefing asks if we’re prepared to fight the fires of the future.

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