7am

This week Pauline Hanson declared there are “no good Muslims” and renewed her call for a ban on people from Gaza and other so-called “terror hotspots”. After a backlash from across the community she has since walked back her comments on Muslim Australians, but her track record for stoking racial division remains intact. 

It’s language that was once politically toxic. Now it’s cutting through with a whole generation of voters who feel they’ve been dudded by the promise of prosperity through hard work alone. 

Today, Director of Strategy and Analytics at RedBridge Group, Kos Samaras, on the voters once known as Howard’s battlers, why more of them are turning to One Nation, and the forces reshaping Australia’s political centre and the social fabric of its democracy. 

 

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Guest: Kos Samaras, Director of Strategy and Analytics at RedBridge Group

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Sue-Anne Hunter has had a long career which started as a social worker and reached the heights of Commissioner for Victoria’s Truth Telling Commission - The Yoorook Justice Commission. Now she’s been appointed as Australia’s first National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, and the weight of the responsibility is very real.

Her appointment comes at a time when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults are being imprisoned at one of the highest rates in the world, incarceration rates are rising instead of falling, Indigenous people make-up nearly a third of all deaths in custody, and most Closing the Gap targets for children are not on track; with some going backwards.

So the task to break the cycle that leads to these appalling stats is a huge one.

Today, National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People, Sue-Anne Hunter on the task ahead and giving voice to children who have too often been spoken about, but rarely listened to.

 

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Guest: National Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children, Sue-Anne Hunter.

Photo: AAP Image/James Ross

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They’re known as the ISIS brides. 11 women and 23 kids who, for nearly a decade, have languished in a dusty desert detention camp in Northern Syria. Some of the children have known no other home. 

But the PM insists the group, who are all Australian citizens, aren’t welcome here.

Thwarted at the last minute, as they tried to make their way back home this week. The group is now in limbo once more. 

Today, Greens Senator David Shoebridge and Syria expert Josh Landis on the threat of radicalisation, the hope of rehabilitation, and what happens next for these Australians as chaos takes hold in Syria.

 

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Guest: Greens Senator David Shoebridge & Syria expert Dr. Joshua Landis

Photo: AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad

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It was 2019 when journalist Emily Maitlis sat down for that car crash interview with then-Prince Andrew. 

It was the beginning of the end for the prince.

Now, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has again hit the headlines, this time for allegedly sharing secret trade documents with Jeffrey Epstein.

And as the fallout from the Epstein files threatens to take down everyone from ambassadors to prime ministers - Emily Maitlis again has a front row seat as the saga unfolds.

Today, Emily Maitlis from The News Agents podcast on Andrew, the Epstein files, and how Trump is reshaping Europe.

Emily Maitlis appears at the MCEC presented by The Wheeler Centre on 5 March and at the All About Women festival in Sydney on 8 March.

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

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Guest: Emily Maitlis, journalist & host of The News Agents

Photo: BBC

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The CFMEU construction union has been under a cloud since investigative journalist Nick McKenzie started digging into allegations of corruption in 2024. Bikie figures, organised crime, intimidation. All taking place on major government-funded projects.

Now, a report has laid out all those stories in one place. And even Nick says he was stunned by the scale of it.

The report's author, barrister Geoffery Watson, not only tore the CFMEU to shreds - but also claimed the Victorian government knew about the problems, and failed to act.

But that section of Watson's report, that questioned the Victorian Labor government, was deleted before the report was published.

Today, Nine newspapers investigative reporter Nick McKenzie, on the incredible scale of the corruption at the CFMEU, and the serious questions the government has to answer.

 

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Guest: Nick McKenzie, Nine newspapers investigative reporter

Photo: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

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More than 30,000 people from Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste are on a working visa in Australia as part of the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme – or PALM.

The government sells it as a ‘triple win’: workers earn Australian wages, Australian employers fill jobs they say they can’t fill locally, and money flows back to families and economies across the region.

But Morgan Harrington has been investigating the cases where workers say they were exploited and mistreated – including being overcharged by their employer for housing that’s overcrowded and even dangerous.

And because a worker’s visa is tied to one employer, leaving can mean losing your legal status – but thousands have chosen to, now living in Australia with the risk of deportation.

Today, Postdoctoral Research Manager at the Australia Institute, Dr Morgan Harrington, on why the PALM scheme is ripe for exploitation – and why some say it’s a modern slavery risk.

 

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Guest: Postdoctoral Research Manager at the Australia Institute, Dr Morgan Harrington

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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On Monday, about 6,000 people attended a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Sydney.

The event began peacefully – but videos later emerged, showing protesters being pepper-sprayed, beaten, and arrested by police.

Police say some demonstrators wanted to march to NSW Parliament despite a restriction making it unlawful – and that when orders to disperse were ignored, they had to move the crowd on.

Twenty-seven protesters were arrested.

There have been a number of incidents in recent years where police have been accused of using excessive force against protesters. It comes as officers increasingly use weapons like pepper spray and rubber bullets.

Today, journalist and author Ariel Bogle on the use of these so-called “non-lethal” weapons, and how they’re changing protests in Australia.

This episode was first published in October 2025.

 

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Guest: Journalist and author Ariel Bogle

Photo: AAP Image/Flavio Brancaleone

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It took just nine months for the Liberal Party to turn on its first female leader. After months of internal agitation and sliding polls, a spill motion was called and, by the end, Ley was out – replaced by a man many conservatives had wanted all along, Angus Taylor.

Taylor, a former energy minister and standard-bearer for the party’s right, has promised discipline, economic clarity and a return to what he calls “core Liberal values”, where culture wars aren’t a distraction; they’re the strategy. 

For some, it’s a reset. For others, it’s a signal that internal battles are far from over. 

Today, Political Editor at news.com.au Samantha Maiden, on how the spill unfolded, who backed Taylor and why, and whether this puts the Coalition in a stronger position than it was at the start of the week.

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

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Guest: Samantha Maiden, political editor news.com.au

Photo: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

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The knives are out. The spill is on!

Liberal MP Angus Taylor is set to challenge Sussan Ley for the leadership in a party room showdown at 9am. Their colleagues are now scrambling to pick sides as the face off looms.

So, who will emerge triumphant? And how will the chaos play with voters?

Today, contributing editor at The New Daily, Amy Remeikis on Taylor’s chances, the gender question, and whether a leadership change can save the Liberal party.

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

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Guest: Amy Remeikis, Contributing Editor at The New Daily

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

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It’s Australia’s loudest, proudest celebration.

But two weeks out from Mardi Gras – there are claims a rebel group has hijacked the event from inside the community.

We hear from the two groups at war over the future of the parade.

Today, Peter Murphy from Protect Mardi Gras, and Charlie Murphy from Pride in Protest on the battle threatening to tear Mardi Gras apart.

 

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

 

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Guest: Peter Murphy, Protect Mardi Gras and Charlie Murphy, Pride in Protest

Photo: AAP Image/Rounak Amini

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