The Briefing

Wednesday Headlines:

• Australia’s big four banks pass on rate hike with more pain on the way 
• WHO suspects human-to-human transmission in deadly cruise ship hantavirus outbreak
• Carlton whacked with fine over Elijah Hollands incident
• Illegal cigarettes could wipe out the legal trade in Australia as soon as 2030
• Met Gala red carpet has dominated social media feeds overnight

Deep Dive: Restaurants, pubs, brothels and bars have become the latest targets of firebombings across Melbourne, with a new taskforce set up to investigate the recent spate of attacks. 

Since February, at least 32 businesses have been hit with molotov cocktails, shot up with bullets and broken into. 

In today’s episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by former AFP officer who led one of Australia’s illicit tobacco taskforces Rohan Pike to find out why the city’s hospitality businesses are being targeted by organised crime gangs and what’s being done to stop the violence. 

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Headlines: 

• RBA raises cash rate target to 4.35%
• Australian author Craig Silvey pleads guilty
• Jefferson Lewis excused from first court appearance
• Police confirm fatalities of two Marine Rescue Crew
• Lively and Baldoni settle two weeks before trial 

Deep Dive: 

For the third month in a row, the RBA has raised interest rates. At the start of February, the RBA’s cash rate target was 3.6%; it’s now 4.35%. We know that rising rates will affect consumer debt, like mortgages – but what are the flow-on effects for businesses? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Dan Hunter, the CEO of Business NSW. 

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Tuesday Headlines: 

• Government to keep EV tax break despite cost blowout
• Three dead in waters off NSW as rescue goes wrong
• UAE intercepts Iranian missiles for first time since ceasefire 
• Calls for urgent action after revelations police can be tracked through their tasers
• Britney Spears pleads guilty to reckless driving
• Met Gala is about to get underway in New York 

Deep Dive: Palantir has grown from a post-9/11 counterterrorism tool into a powerful AI platform now embedded across military, security, and corporate systems, including here in Australia. 

But its ability to collect and analyse huge amounts of data is raising big questions about privacy, surveillance, and who really has control and challenging the idea that if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to worry about. 

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou chats with Greens senator David Shoebridge about how Palantir’s presence in Australia poses a national security risk and why he’s calling for closer scrutiny. 

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Headlines: 

• Royal Commission hears stories of antisemitism
• Australia and Japan sign agreement on energy and critical minerals
• US to begin guiding ships through Strait of Hormuz
• Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer, is hospitalised
• Hantavirus kills three on cruise ship
• Shakira performs for free on Copacaban Beach 

Deep Dive: 

What were the 1970s oil shocks? As the world reacts to the blocked Strait of Hormuz, energy experts are comparing the current economic fallout to the crises of the 1970s, when oil supplies were also suddenly constrained. The effects of those oil shocks lasted for decades. Will the effects of the current oil shock be just as severe... or even bigger? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Professor Greg Bourne, a former energy advisor to British PM Margaret Thatcher, former regional president of BP Australasia, and now a councillor at the Climate Council.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monday Headlines: 

• Family of Kumanjayi Little Baby ‘relieved’ after man charged with her murder
• PM setting up major budget announcement that’ll break election promise
• Man charged over ‘horrendous’ alleged triple murder in Sydney’s southwest
• Japan’s Prime Minister touches down in Australia
• Kate Ceberano among 2026 ARIA Hall of Fame inductees

Deep Dive: Amidst growing concern about our vaccine uptake, the Australian government has launched a new ad campaign specifically targeting parents, encouraging them to get their kids immunised. 

But with vaccine fatigue, hesitancy and misinformation at an all-time high, what happens if the messaging doesn’t cut through? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Health Minister Mark Butler joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to discuss why it’s becoming increasingly critical to change the messaging around jabs. 

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The death of 32-year-old Australian man Rory Sykes in the devastating Los Angeles Palisades fire in January 2025 was described by police as a tragic accident. His mother Shelley spoke publicly about her grief, sharing stories of her disabled son who had defied the odds throughout his life.

But instead of compassion, what followed was a torrent of online abuse and dark conspiracy theories, with trolls levelling heinous accusations against a mother mourning her child.

In this bonus episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by 7News Spotlight investigative journalist Sarah Greenhalgh, who set out to understand why Shelley Sykes became a target.

You can watch Spotlight on 7Plus

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Stephanie Alexander may be one of Australia’s most influential culinary figures, but her impact goes far beyond the kitchen. Long before becoming a household name, she was shaping the way Australians think about food - through restaurants, writing and a deep commitment to simple, seasonal cooking.

You might recognise her from appearances on MasterChef, but for many, Stephanie’s presence has been constant on the bookshelf with her iconic book The Cook’s Companion guiding generations of Australians through everything from kitchen basics to timeless recipes.

In this conversation with Sacha Barbour Gatt, Stephanie reflects on 30 years of The Cook’s Companion, the philosophy that has defined her career, and why she believes good food doesn’t need to be complicated - just thoughtful, shared and perhaps best enjoyed with a roast chook, a glass of red and a proper cloth napkin. 

See Stephanie at Melbourne Writers Festival on May 10th and find The Cook's Companion 30th Anniversary Edition here

Weekend list with Helen Smith

• Listener Laura TO LISTEN: Matt Corby's new album Tragic Magic
• TO WATCH: Roommates on Netflix
• TO WATCH: The Lion King at the Hollywood Bowl
  
• TO TRY: Medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask and Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Gel Mask

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Headlines: 

• Dr. Reza Adib, parter of former Queensland Premier, charged with rape
• Calls for calm after grief and rage in the Northern Territory
• Trump is briefed on further Iran strikes
• House prices fall in Sydney and Melbourne
• Cellmate claims there’s an Epstein suicide note
• ... and the brands that Aussies trust most 

Deep Dive: 

In 1991, an American physiologist made the wild claim that a human could run a marathon in under two hours. Last weekend, that physiologist was proven right, when Sabastian Sawe ran the London Marathon in 1:59:30.  

In this episode of The Briefing Natarsha Belling is joined by the pioneering American physiologist, Dr. Michael Joyner, to talk about the extraordinary human achievement of the sub-2 marathon, and what it takes to push yourself to the limit.

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When two police officers were shot dead in regional Victoria, the man accused vanished into the bushland. What followed was one of the most extensive manhunts in Australian history.

7NEWS journalist Michael Usher and Crime Editor Cassie Zervos take you inside the case from every angle: what happened, how it unfolded, his ideology, and the impact on those left behind.

Dezi Freeman: The Hunt, is a 7NEWS and LiSTNR co-production.

Listen to the podcast on Secrets We Keep or watch the vodcast on 7+.

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Friday Headlines: 

• Violence erupts in Alice Springs after Jefferson Lewis arrested over the death of Kumanjayi Little Baby
• Australia in talks with US to open Strait of Hormuz
• Queensland rules out gun buyback
• Chalmers criticised for ‘grandfathering’ CGT and negative gearing changes
• NSW women claim first Origin win

Deep Dive: The new Michael Jackson biopic has opened to rave reviews from fans and has broken box office records here in Australia. 

But the film is courting controversy with critics saying it’s sanitised and ignores some of the grittier details of the artist’s highly contentious life. 

In today’s deep dive, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by entertainment guru Justin Hill to break down everything we need to know about the new Michael Jackson movie, Michael. 

Further listening from headlines: 
Bondi Beach Royal Commission findings

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