ABC News Daily

Six years ago, ASIO had the Bondi shooter Naveed Akram under investigation. 

So why did the spy agency determine in 2020 that the alleged terrorist didn’t pose a serious threat and was that an intelligence failure? 

The spy boss Mike Burgess stands by his agency’s assessment.

But a former spy has told the ABC he met the father and son years ago and had concerns they were radicalised.

Today, Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop on his Four Corners investigation into what was known about Naveed Akram and his father Sajid before they killed 15 people at Bondi beach. 

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Sean Rubinsztein-Dunlop, ABC investigative reporter

The protesters came in force, but what began peacefully descended into chaos. 

Around 6,000 people had gathered to condemn the visit to Sydney by the Israeli president but there were violent clashes with police after they were ordered to disperse.

Today, law professor Luke McNamara from the University of New South Wales on the new protest laws brought in after the Bondi attack and why he thinks the Labor government has gone too far. 

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Luke McNamara, Professor in the Faculty of Law and Justice and the University of New South Wales

After the horrific Bondi terrorist attack Prime Minister Anthony Albanese invited the Israeli president to come to Australia.

It’s a visit welcomed by prominent Jewish groups, but President Isaac Herzog is a controversial figure. 

Opponents, including some pro-Palestinian and human rights activists take issue with his past comments about Gaza and his role in representing the state of Israel. 

New South Wales authorities are trying to block any marches through Sydney, but protesters are vowing to press ahead.

Today, ABC Global Affairs Editor Laura Tingle on the controversy surrounding the visit.  

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Laura Tingle, ABC Global Affairs Editor

Demand for home batteries in Australia has taken off, with a generous government subsidy prompting more people to add power storage to their solar panel set up. 

More people installed a battery in the second half of last year than during the previous five years. 

Renewable power generation also made up half of the nation’s power supply last quarter.

Today, Tony Wood from the Grattan Institute on what the surge in home batteries and renewables in the grid means for everyone’s power bills now and into the future.

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Tony Wood, Energy and Climate Change Senior Fellow at Grattan Institute 

The Canadian prime minister wants us to give up on the international rules based order, which he bluntly says is fiction and he’s urged middle power countries to unite. 

As Donald Trump continues to up-end US foreign policy, what does Mark Carney mean and where does Australia fit in? 

Today, Samir Puri, the author of Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing, on the significance of Carney’s words and why, even when Trump is gone, the world will have changed forever. 

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Samir Puri, author of Westlessness: The Great Global Rebalancing and former director of Chatham House’s Centre for Global Governance and Security 

Ever since Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs were announced in April last year, the price of gold has been rising.

Its price is about 80 percent higher than it was a year ago and it’s still near its all time record after a recent sell off.

So, what’s been moving the price of gold and what does it say about investor’s faith in the US and global economy? 

Today, business correspondent David Taylor on why Australians have been queuing to buy the shiny metal and where the price could go next. 

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David Taylor, ABC business correspondent

The Reserve Bank cut the cash rate target three times last year, but already there’s a U-turn. 

The RBA board is so concerned about inflation sticking around that it has increased interest rates for the first time since 2023.

Today, the ABC’s finance expert Alan Kohler on the RBAs failure to bring inflation down to its target and the mistakes it made in 2025. 

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Alan Kohler, ABC finance expert

There are three million files and thousands of mentions of Donald Trump.  

But the US president says the latest batch of the Epstein files clears him, while the US Department of Justice says there’s no need for any further investigation. 

But is that really the end of it? 

Today, David Smith from the United States Studies Centre at Sydney University on what the latest files mean for Trump and others and why millions of documents are still hidden. 

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David Smith, associate professor at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney

There’s turmoil at the top of the Chinese military with President Xi Jinping removing some of his most experienced generals. 

He sacked two key figures, accusing them of corruption, raising questions about the timeline for his ambition to take over Taiwan. 

Today, China expert Neil Thomas from the Asia Society Policy Institute on what Xi Jinping is up to. 

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Neil Thomas, fellow on Chinese Politics at the Center for China Analysis at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington DC

We know he loves McDonald’s but why is Donald Trump so passionate about full cream milk?

Whole milk has become an obsession for the US president and his health secretary RFK Jr who thinks everyone should be drinking it. 

Today, Yasmin Tayag from The Atlantic on milk and why the Trump administration has turned the food pyramid on its head. 

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Yasmin Tayag, staff writer at The Atlantic