Fourth Estate

As the latest uprising of violence in Gaza surpasses 600 days, the government of Israel is facing unprecedented condemnation from its Western allies.

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This week we dive back into the archives, and turn the clock back to Tina Quinn's one-on-one with journalist and broadcaster, Lisa Millar.

At the time, Lisa had just released her memoir, Daring to Fly — a powerful and honest reflection on fear, resilience, and what it means to live a courageous life. 

In the book, she opens up about her journey from a small Queensland town to some of the world’s biggest newsrooms, the emotional toll of covering conflict and tragedy, and the abuse she faced as a public figure in the digital age.

In this conversation, Lisa talks about regaining her confidence, the importance of kindness in journalism, and how storytelling can be both a profession and a path to healing.

This episode of Fourth Estate was originally broadcast in September, 2021.

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In what turned out to be a much more definitive result than most pundits were expecting, the Labor government of Anthony Albanese has been returned to office for a second term with an increased majority.

Meanwhile, the Coalition suffered devastating losses across the board, and lost the head of their party in Peter Dutton.

Why did the Coalition lose so spectacularly? How did the Albanese Government manage a largely unprecedented comeback? Is the once undeniable influence of Rupert Murdoch's media now irrelevant? And does this result signal a seismic shift in Australian politics?

Joining Tina Quinn for a post-mortem is Amy Remeikis, Chief Political Analyst at The Australia Institute, Louise Milligan, Investigative Reporter for the ABC's Four Corners, and Mark Kenny, Director of the Australian Studies Institute at the Australian National University.

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After what's been a largely uneventful election campaign, Australian's are only days away from heading to the ballot box, and analysts are predicting the result could bring some surprises yet.

So, will Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Labor party be returned to government?

Or will Peter Dutton and the Coalition defy the polls and make a largely unprecedented comeback?

And what how will the minor parties and independents, who played such a pivotal role in 2022’s result, fair?

Joining Tina Quinn to discuss is Anna Henderson, Chief Political Correspondent for SBS, Phil Coorey, Political Editor of The Australian Financial Review, and Daniel James, Host of Schwartz Media’s 7am podcast.

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Australia is three weeks into the 2025 federal election cycle, and this time around the issues dominating the agenda have been as wide-ranging as housing, energy prices, climate change and somehow even, American President Donald Trump.

But as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's campaign falters captures the media's attention, is Prime Minister Anthony Albanese enjoying a smoother ride than he otherwise would be?

Joining Tina Quinn to discuss is ABC Radio National's Melissa Clarke, The Saturday Paper's Jason Koutsoukis, and News Corp's Clare Armstrong.

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As the as the so-called ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has collapsed, the official death toll in the region has surpassed 50,000, although experts warn the real number is much higher.

Of those many thousands who have perished are hundreds of journalists who have been killed in Gaza while simply reporting on the conflict.

This last week brought shocking footage of a media tent being bombed, with a number of journalists inside burning to their deaths.

Over the border in Israeli-occupied Jerusalem, is a very different situation.

That's where you'll find foreign correspondents from western media organisations, like the BBC, CNN and Australia’s ABC, reporting from.

Many of them would like to be on the ground in Gaza, but the Israeli government refuses to grant them access, so much of the information they receive from inside Palestine comes from the local journalists on the ground there.

On this episode of Fourth Estate, Tina Quinn speaks to two journalists from these two neighboring cities.

Al-Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud, in Gaza, and the ABC's Matthew Doran, in Jerusalem.

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After what seemed like an interminably long lead-up, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally called the election for May 3 - ending weeks of speculation about when Australians will head to the polls.

The date was seemingly ‘leaked’ an hour before Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton was due to hand down his much anticipated budget speech, catching the Liberals on the back foot and no doubt setting the tone for the usual horse race that is a federal election campaign.

Joining Tina Quinn to discuss the current state of play and the challenges which lie ahead for both sides, was Canberra insiders Amanda Copp (Nine News), Claudia Long (ABC) and Paul Bongiorno (The Saturday Paper).

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As Fourth Estate returns this week, we examine whether the issue of anti-Semitism is being weaponised by both our media and political class.

Joining Tina Quinn to discuss is investigative journalist Antony Loewenstein, Crikey's Rachel Withers and The Sydney Morning Herald's Max Maddison.

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This week we turn back the clock to Tina Quinn's conversation with foreign correspondent, Lynne O'Donnell.

Lynne has spent close to 30 years covering terrorism, conflict and war across Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

In 2022, Lynne herself made headlines around the world, when she was detained by Taliban intelligence agents in Afghan capital of Kabul, forced to retract some of her articles, and coerced into making a public apology during what she described as three days of “cat-and-mouse” with regime authorities.

A week after she fled Kabul, Lynne joined Fourth Estate from Islamabad, Pakistan to talk about her ordeal.

This episode was originally broadcast in July, 2022.

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This week we step back into the archives to Tina Quinn's conversation with famed human rights lawyer, author and broadcaster, Geoffrey Robertson.

The year was 2021. Scott Morrison was still prime minister of Australia, it was the early days of the Biden presidency, before Russia’s war with Ukraine, and this most recent conflict in the Middle East.

Julian Assange was still fighting off extradition from his UK prison cell to the United States, where a life sentence seemed likely.

And Donald Trump seemed to be firmly in everybody's rear view mirror.

But one thing was very unchanged.

Injustice was, as it still is, rising at alarming rates, with little in the way of consequences for those committing some of the most heinous crimes on incredibly grand scales.

In this episode, Geoffrey Robertson discusses what he felt was a plan B.

This episode was originally broadcast in May, 2021.

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