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Before he was voted out, the former Prime Minister Scott Morrison received a pitch from the Governor-General David Hurley: the taxpayer should fund a foundation for ‘future Australian leaders’.

We don’t know much about the merits of the program, who would get selected and what kind of training they would get – but it was promised the funding.

Now, with the secret ministries saga still hanging over Canberra, pressure is mounting to investigate whether there was enough transparency in the process of funding this mysterious leadership training program.

Today, chief political correspondent at The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton, on Scott Morrison’s secretive $18 million leadership grant.

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Guest: Chief political correspondent at The Saturday Paper, Karen Middleton

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The federal election marked a change in direction for the country but it also signalled the beginning of 35 new political careers.

As parliament returns once again, many of these newly elected parliamentarians are making their first speeches, a permanent record of their intentions that their actions in Canberra will be compared against.

So what are they saying? And what do their speeches tell us about the challenges facing Australia right now? 

Today, writer and contributor to The Monthly Sean Kelly on first speeches, optimism, and compromise.

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Guest: Writer and contributor to The Monthly, Sean Kelly

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Tanya Plibersek is arguably Labor's most high-profile female politician. 

Once described as the next female prime minister, she rose through the ranks to become deputy leader at one point, and was most recently the party’s education spokesperson. 

But Labor’s election to power after almost a decade in opposition has had unexpected consequences for Plibersek – she’s found herself in a new portfolio, facing a new challenge. 

And it’s a monumental one: she’s now the minister for the Environment and Water. 

Today, writer and contributor to The Monthly, Chloe Hooper, takes us inside how Tanya Plibersek found herself here, and what she plans to do about it.

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Guest: Contributor to The Monthly, Chloe Hooper.

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Today, journalist and author Jock Serong will be reading his piece from the latest issue.

It's called 'Front-row seats to the end of the Reef' - in it he chronicles his residency at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and what coral tells us about the past and future of our oceans.

Guest: Journalist and author, Jock Serong

Background reading: Front-row seats to the end of the Reef

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Labor has been spruiking its Jobs and Skills Summit for months, but is the gathering live up to the hype? 

Anthony Albanese has spent his senior political career insisting that what’s good for workers is good for employees – a belief that has allowed him, according to his colleagues, to build good relations with both unions and business leaders.

Now Labor is attempting to put that assertion into practice.

Columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the promises and perils of Labor’s Jobs and Skills Summit.

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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There are signs that Ukraine has begun its biggest counter-offensive yet to win back territory held by Russian forces.

It's too soon to know if the operation will succeed or how concerted the effort will be - but there’s no doubt that a new battle in the war would be difficult and costly.  

Meanwhile, Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy are also fighting the clock. Winter will make it difficult to take back ground and also signals the beginning of untold economic pain for the whole of Europe.

Today, world editor for The Saturday Paper Jonathan Pearlman on the coalescing crises facing Europe, and what the next phase of the war in Ukraine will look like. 

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Guest: World editor for The Saturday Paper, Jonathan Pearlman

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Amid the controversy over Scott Morrison’s secret ministry appointments a new question has emerged: did the former Prime Minister act unconstitutionally?

Advice from the Solicitor-General released last week found that Scott Morrison was legally appointed to the Resources portfolio under section 64 of the constitution.

But rather than that being the end of the matter, it has raised a new question: was Morrison properly appointed under another section, section 65?

Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Middleton on the question of whether Scott Morrison may have acted unlawfully.

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Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Karen Middleton

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A crisis that began in China’s housing market is now threatening to drag down the country’s entire economy. 

If that happens, the repercussions will be felt across the globe, and nowhere more so than Australia – where our economy relies on what China buys from us.

So just how unstable is the Chinese economy right now? And how did things change for the superpower once seen as an unstoppable economic force?

Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on the alarming signs in the Chinese economy, and what they could mean for us. 

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Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Mike Seccombe.

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Diego Franco was a food delivery rider. He worked for Uber, DoorDash and Deliveroo, to transport food in Australia.

What happened to him, and his subsequent case at the Fair Work Commission was supposed to set a powerful precedent for people who work across the whole gig economy – and give workers in these industries the same rights as employees.

But instead, his case faltered - and the reason was a High Court decision that he wasn’t a party to.

Today, journalist and lawyer Kieran Pender on the story of Diego Franco and how it put the Fair Work Commission at loggerheads with the most powerful court in Australia.

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Guest: Lawyer and journalist, Kieran Pender.

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The Solicitor-General’s legal advice on Scott Morrison’s secret appointments painted a complex picture.

What Morrison did was legal, but it fundamentally undermined principles of the constitution.

So is that it? Should the country and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese move on? Or are there more questions to be answered?

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the inquiry to come and if Anthony Albanese is overplaying his hand.

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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