Radio National Breakfast

A Senate inquiry into aged care has called for an end to the "rationing" of home care packages, and the urgent release of more to ensure Australians aren't dying while waiting. 

Independent senator, David Pocock, pushed for the inquiry to take place, and says now is the time for the federal government to take further action. 

• Guest: David Pocock, independent senator for ACT
• Producer: Isadora Bogle

Former opposition leader Peter Dutton's proposals on nuclear energy didn't get over the line for voters at the election, but could nuclear still be in the energy mix in any future Coalition government?

Shadow Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Dan Tehan has just returned from a study tour of nuclear facilities in the US, and says it must be part of Australia's energy mix. 

• Guest: Dan Tehan, Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction
• Producer: Isadora Bogle

A proposed merger between media giants Seven West and Southern Cross has raised the ire of major investors, who say the deal will destroy shareholder value.

The proposed union would see Seven West shareholders own 49.9 per cent of the new group, With Southern Cross shareholders owning the remaining 50.1 per cent

But while the merger will need approval from Seven's shareholders, Australia's listing rules mean Southern Cross investors don't get a say.

• Guest: Gabriel Radzyminski, managing director of Sandon Capital, which owns an 11.3 per cent share of Southern Cross Media
• Producer: Grace Stranger  

Artificial intelligence, and whether it can be used ethically, remains a big question not just in Australia, but across the world.

This week California signed a new bill into law requiring top AI companies, many of whom call the US state home, to fulfil transparency requirements and report AI-related safety incidents.

So could — and should — Australia follow suit? 

• Guest: Maxwell Scott, US-based artificial intelligence expert who has worked on AI policy for Microsoft and co-founded strategic advisory firm, StratAlliance Global
• Producers: Lexie Jeuniewic and Eleni Pslatis

An area larger than Tasmania is under a total fire ban in southern Queensland today, raising fears of a dangerous bushfire season ahead.

Above-average temperatures, strong winds, and parched land are worrying firefighters in the state. 

It comes as meteorologists warn an unusual burst of heat high over Antarctica has the potential to disrupt weather patterns across Australia for months.

• Guest: Greg Mullins, founder of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action and former Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW
• Producer: Anne Barker 

The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says he's ready to declare a state of emergency amid reports the US military is drawing up options to target drug traffickers inside Venezuela. 

The statement follows the deployment of American warships to the Caribbean, and recent US strikes on at least three suspected drug boats from Venezuela.

US President Donald Trump says the actions are aimed at combating drug trafficking. 

• Guest: Jon Bonfiglio,  the Latin America correspondent for The Times in the United Kingdom
• Producer: Teodora Agarici

It's day one of a government shutdown in the United States, after senators failed to pass two spending bills proposed separately by the Democrats and Republicans.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are bracing for missed paychecks,  while government operations grind to a halt.

• Guest: Retired Major General William Enyart, former Democratic congressman and former commander of the Illinois National Guard
• Producer: Brooke Young

Has it just got easier or harder to get into the property market?

The federal government's Home Guarantee Scheme is expanding today, meaning more Australians will only need to pay a five per cent deposit on a property.

Under the changes, there will be no income limits, meaning all first-time buyers are eligible. But it comes as new figures show eight months of consistent property price growth, so will this new scheme encourage that trend? 

Then, we're once again talking about a government shutdown in the United States - so why is this the system that Washington has to navigate? 

And we'll look at a proposed merger between two of the country's largest media companies.

Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap.

It's hard to believe, but South Australian art goers have never had the privilege of seeing an original painting by Vincent Van Gogh anywhere in the state. 

But that's about to change, with a Van Gogh masterpiece to be one of the drawcards to a blockbuster exhibition next winter, at the Art Gallery of SA.

• GUEST: Jason Smith, Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia 
• PRODUCER: Anne Barker

Today marks twenty years since four Australians and 18 others were killed in a terrorist attack on the island of Bali.

It came less than three years after the infamous terror attack of 2002, and was widely believed to be carried out by the same terror organisation.

Today, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is holding two commemorative services - one in Bali, and another in Newcastle, the hometown of three of the victims.

• GUEST: Joe Frost, survivor and host of 'Forgotten Bombs: Bali 2005'
• PRODUCER: Brooke Young