Imagine being able to claim thousands and thousands of dollars in expenses so your family can join you on work trips, or to fly business class to New York, or for private drivers to take you to the biggest sporting events. 

Well, Minister Anika Wells is under intense pressure to justify her use of taxpayer funds, even if it’s all within the rules.

Today, the chief political correspondent at The Conversation, Michelle Grattan on why the perks for politicians are a honey pot and a trap. 

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Michelle Grattan, chief political correspondent at The Conversation and a professorial fellow at the University of Canberra

In the first week of summer, dozens of homes have been destroyed in bushfires; at Dolphin Sands in Tasmania, on the New South Wales Central Coast, and at Bulahdelah, north of Newcastle where a firefighter also died.  

A local builder at Koolewong in New South Wales noted that a recently constructed home, built to modern fire safety standards, was left standing while others around it burned to the ground. 

Today, the ABC’s Central Coast reporter Sarah Forster on the homes that were lost in Saturday’s fire and an expert on building houses in high bushfire risk areas.

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Sarah Forster, ABC Central Coast reporter 

Colin Wood, member of the Standards Australia committee for the construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas

They’re a cheaper and convenient alternative to driving a car, but some e-bike riders are causing massive headaches for other road users and police. 

A string of serious injuries and deaths in e-bike crashes, particularly involving children, is fuelling calls for a crackdown. 

Today, Geoff Rose from the Monash Institute of Transport Studies on the influx of illegal e-bikes on the roads.

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Geoff Rose, Adjunct Professor in Transport Engineering at Monash University

Parents and teens are preparing for life cut off from social media when Australia’s world first ban for under-16s officially starts on Wednesday. 

The government has admitted it will take time to remove everyone aged under 16 from the platforms and it’s becoming clear older users could get caught in the net. 

So, how can you prove that you’re old enough to use the 10 platforms being targeted and how will teens get around the restrictions? 

Today, Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson, a tech reporter at the Australian Associated Press on what you need to know as the ban kicks in and why it could get messy.

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Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson, AAP technology reporter

Correction: The social media ban officially starts on Wednesday 10th December, not Thursday. 

The United States has deployed 15,000 troops and sent warships to the Caribbean in the biggest military build-up there since the Cuban Missile Crisis.

It follows months of deadly US strikes on boats from Venezuela it says are smuggling drugs.

Today, Latin America expert Orlando Pérez from the University of North Texas on why Donald Trump is turning up the pressure on Venezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro and why toppling him won’t be easy.

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Orlando J. Pérez, Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas in Dallas

Australia’s renewable energy transition is well underway with new poles, wires and transmission towers planned across the country.

But some farmers say they’re being pressured and harassed to hand over land for the infrastructure to get electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s used. 

Today, reporter Alysia Thomas-Sam from ABC’s 7.30 program on the farmers pushing back at the farm gate and climate reporter Jess Davis on why transmission towers need to run through farmland.

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Alysia Thomas-Sam, 7.30 reporter

Jess Davis, ABC climate reporter

Australian property is now more expensive than ever and soaring mortgage debt has the financial regulator hitting the brakes on risky lending.

But could stopping banks for offering some loans do anything to stop rapid price growth for homes and units? 

Today, the ABC’s chief business correspondent Ian Verrender on what’s worrying APRA and the outlook for the housing market. 

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Ian Verrender, ABC chief business correspondent

In a flurry of peace talks over the last week, Ukrainian officials have been desperately trying to avoid an unjust deal with Russia being imposed on it. 

They’ve been pushing back against a controversial 28-point proposal that would have required Ukraine to surrender significant territory, restrict the size of its defence force and give up on ambitions of joining NATO. 

The US is leading the talks with both sides, but will Trump ultimately side with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin?

Today, international relations expert Rajan Menon on whether this latest round of diplomacy offers any real hope and what Kyiv may still have to give up.

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Rajan Menon, professor emeritus of international relations at the City College of New York

Every day millions of Australians take vitamin supplements, hoping for a health boost. 

But there’s been a sharp rise in people suffering numbness, nerve damage, even paralysis, after accidentally overdosing on vitamin B6. 

Many don’t even realise B6 is in so many products at high concentrations and that the vitamin can build up in the body. 

Today, reporter for the ABC’s 7.30 program Tom Hartley unpacks his year-long investigation into the surge in cases and the regulator’s long-overdue crackdown. 

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Tom Hartley, 7.30 reporter

Donald Trump has called a female journalist piggy, labelled another insubordinate and demanded Democratic politicians be arrested, even suggesting they could be executed for seditious behaviour.

The US president is no stranger to unconventional acts and confronting statements, but does his recent behaviour go beyond even his usual standards? 

Today, staff writer at The Atlantic magazine, Tom Nichols, on his analysis that the president’s latest outbursts are a sign he’s losing control of himself. 

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Tom Nichols, The Atlantic magazine staff writer