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China has a message for Australia: be quiet and take the trade money.

In a chilling speech, China’s ambassador to Australia laid out his nation’s aims with startling honesty – including that China would pursue what he called ‘reunification’ with Taiwan at any cost.

The reason he was sending that message has everything to do with US Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taiwan, which raised the threat of conflict in the region.

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on China’s message to Australia.

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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When a Voice to Parliament was first proposed in the Uluru Statement from the Heart – it was dismissed by then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

It seemed possible the proposal might never be put in front of the Australian people.

But Australians could soon get to vote in a referendum and we will be asked whether Australia should amend its constitution to create an Indigenous Voice to parliament.

Today, someone who has spent years working towards constitutional recognition: chair in constitutional law at the University of NSW, Megan Davis.

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Guest: Chair in constitutional law at the University of NSW, Megan Davis.

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A former intelligence officer in Canberra, known as Witness J, was charged, sentenced, and jailed in complete secrecy in 2018.

It was only after he brought his own legal complaint, and journalists noticed some security guards in the courthouse, that anything about his case was made public. 

Now, as fragments of the proceedings against the man known as Alan Johns filter out, we’re learning what happens when our spy agencies go to court.

Today, Chief Political Correspondent at The Saturday Paper, Karen Middleton, on the case of Alan Johns.

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

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The new government has inherited a problem that no one wants to talk about: the deep inequality of funding between public and private and independent schools.

That discrepancy is most evident when it comes to the way that students with disabilities are funded.

Today, senior reporter at The Saturday Paper Rick Morton reveals the $600 million funding shortfall for students with a disability in the public system.

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Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton.

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Our food supply is facing violent shocks — pandemic, war, and floods. And the threat to food security is unprecedented. 

Underpinning the problem is the catastrophe of climate change, which will impact not only us but our neighbours too — creating implications for national security. 

Today, Esther Linder on a looming food crisis that Australia isn’t prepared for, and what it means for the way we eat.

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Guest: Journalist for The Saturday Paper, Esther Linder.

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Today on the show, journalist and author Bronwyn Adcock will be reading her piece from the latest issue. 

It follows the fate of Encep ‘Hambali’ Nurjaman - a man arrested as a central figure in the Bali Bombings nearly 20 years ago - and interrogates his fraught path to justice in the War on Terror, through CIA black spots and Guantanamo Bay, torture and rendition, and bureaucratic obfuscation. 

Guest: Journalist and author, Bronwyn Adcock

Background reading: The Trial in The Monthly.

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Labor's first fortnight in power has been marked by a significant win — a successful agreement to pass a bill that would see a 43 per cent emissions reduction target become law.

That agreement was made entirely without the opposition, with Peter Dutton effectively removing his party from negotiations at the beginning of the week.

So what is the Coalition’s strategy, when it comes to climate, or to just being in opposition?

Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on what Dutton is telling his party room, and the divisions already becoming apparent in the Coalition. 

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Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

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For more than ten years, the Greens and the Labor Party have been blaming each other for holding back progress on climate action. 

Now, things have shifted — Labor’s new emissions reduction target will almost certainly become legislation, after the Greens announced that they’ll support it. 

But that support has only come after fierce negotiations and several concessions from the Albanese government.

Today, national correspondent at The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe on the high-stakes political games that are going to decide our climate future.

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

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As a homelessness crisis escalates around the country, there’s one jurisdiction where the situation is particularly stark. 

In the wealthiest state in Australia, more than 120 people have died on the streets in the past two years. 

And while the causes of homelessness are complex, there’s no doubt Western Australia’s tenancy laws are making things worse: especially when it comes to “no grounds” rental evictions. 

Today, writer and campaigner Jesse Noakes on the deadly consequences of evictions, and the new push to protect renters. 

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Guest: Journalist, Jesse Noakes.

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