7am

As hard-fought gains in reproductive medicine, voluntary assisted dying and LGBTQI health care have been made – another story has emerged.

One where religious pharmacists, doctors and hospital systems believe it's justifiable to withhold medication or support… often with devastating consequences.

Now, 1 in 5 pharmacists in Australia will refuse you care if the medication you’re asking for doesn’t align with their beliefs… and in some parts of the country, that number is closer to half.

Today, writer and reproductive health advocate Hannah Bambra on the unconscionable reality of conscientious objection.

You can read Hannah Bambra's reporting in the latest edition of The Monthly: https://www.themonthly.com.au/

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Guest: Writer and reproductive health advocate Hannah Bambra

Photo: AAP Image/Abe Maddison

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Murray Watt has a big job: as federal environment minister, he’s been hand-picked by Albanese to fix Australia’s old and broken environment laws.

It was a brief his predecessor Tanya Plibersek failed to achieve –  with mining interests in Western Australia claiming success when a deal with the Greens was dashed by the prime minister at the last minute.

So what will be different this time?

And how does the minister square greenlighting new fossil fuel projects with his government being elected to combat climate change?

Today, Environment Minister Murray Watt – on Australia’s broken laws, and why he said ‘yes’ to Woodside.

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Guest: Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt 

Photo: AAP 

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When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fronted the media this week alongside ASIO chief Mike Burgess, it was with extraordinary news.

Albanese revealed that ASIO now has evidence the Iranian government was behind at least two anti-semitic attacks on Australian soil – the firebombing of a Jewish kitchen in Bondi, and an arson attack on the Adass synagogue in Melbourne.

He said Iran directed the attacks – and then tried to cover up its role. Albanese also announced that he had expelled the Iranian ambassador – a move not taken since World War Two.

It was interesting timing, as Australia’s Defence Minister, Richard Marles, made an impromptu visit to the United States – taking secret meetings with unpublished agendas. 

Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton on the high-stakes diplomacy behind closed doors  and the shifting lines of trust between the US, Israel and Australia.

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Guest: Press gallery journalist, Karen Middleton

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The man alleged to have killed two police officers in the Victorian town of Porepunkah this week self-identified as a sovereign citizen.

Dezi Freeman’s hatred of police and rejection of government and the law are well-documented in social media posts and court documents.

Like many in the movement, Freeman’s views reportedly became more radical during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, he built a public profile, sharing his views on vaccinations, lockdowns and face masks.

Investigative reporter Mahmood Fazal has documented the rise of the sovereign citizen movement for the ABC’s Four Corners program and says the beliefs held by this community pose a significant threat to Australia.

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Guest: Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal 

Photo: AAP Image/Supplied by Youtube, Prime 7 news

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The federal government says too many children are on the NDIS, and many of them are ‘over-serviced’.

Health Minister Mark Butler has unveiled a new plan, ‘Thriving Kids’, pitched as a way to save the NDIS by moving children with ‘mild’ and ‘moderate’ autism and developmental delay off the scheme and back onto mainstream supports – which, over time, were defunded.

But the plan raises questions as to who gets to decide what’s ‘mild’ and ‘moderate’ – and whether shifting kids off the NDIS will simply shift costs elsewhere.

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Guest: Senior reporter for The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

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When a group of Neo-Nazis recently took to the streets of Melbourne, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said that Nazi’s “don't belong” in Australia. 

But while that might be a good sentiment, is it actually true? 

Today, Arrernte writer and Crikey contributor Celeste Liddle, on Australia’s white nationalist past – and how in failing to reckon with it we’ve set the stage for the movement to grow. 

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Guest: Arrernte writer and Crikey contributor Celeste Liddle

Photo: AAP Image/James Ross

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As Israel's assault on Gaza city continues, Israeli aircraft and tanks have pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of the city, destroying buildings and homes. 

It comes as a record number of Australians turned out this weekend in protest against the war – and as the relationship between the Australian and Israeli government worsens. 

But while Australia moves to recognise a Palestinian state, it continues its military and trade relations with Israel, supplying parts that allow planes to drop bombs on Gaza.

Today, co-founder of Declassified Australia and author of The Palestine Laboratory Antony Loewenstein on Australia, Israel and the difference between what we say – and what we do.

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Guest: Co-founder of Declassified Australia and author of The Palestine Laboratory Antony Loewenstein

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“I’m REAL and I’m sitting here blushing because of YOU!”

That’s the message 76-year-old Thongbue “Bue” Wongbandue received from a flirty Facebook Messenger chatbot before it proposed he travel to New York for a meet-up.

Bue – who was cognitively impaired after suffering a stroke – packed a suitcase to catch a train, believing the woman was real. He never made it home alive.

Jeff Horwitz is an investigative tech reporter based in Silicon Valley. He has written a book about Facebook’s scandals and cover-ups, so when he received an email claiming ‘Meta AI killed my relative’, he wasn’t surprised, but he was intrigued.

Today, he reveals Meta’s internal guidelines that permitted this behaviour, including examples allowing romantic or ‘sensual’ chats with minors.

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Guest: Investigative technology reporter for Reuters, Jeff Horwitz

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This week in Canberra, the press, unions, business leaders and politicians have all been talking about one thing: the economic roundtable. 

It’s been spruiked by the government as a way to address a core problem with the economy – sluggish productivity. 

But what is actually on offer – and will it make a difference to the rising structural inequalities we face?

Today Executive Director of The Australia Institute, Richard Denniss, on what’s happening behind closed doors in Canberra, and the challenge and opportunity Labor now faces.
 

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Guest: Executive Director of The Australia Institute Richard Denniss

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Qantas has been told it’s the “wrong kind of sorry”.

Five years after illegally outsourcing 1,800 ground staff, the airline has been hit with a record $90 million penalty on top of compensation for workers.

Qantas is promising cultural change, but the court's judgment questions whether the airline’s remorse is real or just for show, given the move saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run.

Today, Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston, on what this ruling means for the airline – and whether anything has changed since Alan Joyce's departure.

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: Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.