The Discussion

Society worships wealth like never before, but at the same time the gap between the rich and everyone else has widened. Indeed, vast numbers of people have been left behind. Even the middle class struggle to make ends meet.

It’s breeding a sense of envy and resentment - the effects of which are already on display in the USA and Europe.

So how has wealth inequality changed society and how is it likely to fragment the social balance in years to come.

In this episode of The Discussion I talk with Hugh Mackay who is one of Australia’s foremost social researchers and one of the world’s leading thinkers on social cohesion.

Across Australia, and indeed the western world, people are demanding tougher action on youth crime.

Residents in certain communities don’t feel safe.

It’s led to rising rates of youth detention. In some places, governments have even adopted so-called ‘adult crime, adult time’ policies. 

Will it work, or does locking up young offenders only create bigger social problems?

My guest on this episode of The Discussion is Anne Hollonds, the National Children's Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission. 

Health authorities report the death toll in Gaza has reached 40 thousand. Meanwhile a deal to bring home the remaining Israeli hostages remains elusive.

Peace talks continue in hopes of securing a ceasefire and averting an escalation of the crisis in the wake of the assassination of Hamas’s political leader. 

So what is the outlook for the Middle East? This week on The Discussion I talk with former Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr.

Blood products designed to save lives in the 1970s and 80s did the very opposite. They were contaminated with HIV and hepatitis. 

It left over 30,000 people infected. 

An enquiry in the U.K. has recommended a large-scale compensation scheme, but will it deliver justice to victims? And what lessons can be learned to ensure it never happens again?

In this episode of The Discussion I talk with Mark Ward, a lead-advocate for victims of Infected Blood products.

Children are suffering in conflicts across the globe.

Globally, over 43 million children have been forced to flee their homes. Wars in places like Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and Haiti - just to name a few - are having a devastating impact on young lives.

So how safe is the world for children? What’s being done to help those in need? And is there a political will to prevent the suffering?

In this episode of The Discussion I talk with Tony Stuart who leads global relief agency UNICEF in Australia. 

More than a decade of abuse scandals have rocked the Catholic Church, and shifting social values have alienated its flock.

In the west, Catholicism is in decline. Just 17.5-percent of Americans identify as Catholic. In Australia young people are abandoning the church.

So why are people seemingly losing faith? Is it all bad news, or does the church have a future? And might a reforming Pope Francis turn the ship around?

In this episode of The Discussion I talk with Paul Collins. He is a former priest, broadcaster and Catholic scholar whose books include “Absolute Power - How the Pope Became the Most Influential Man in the World”.

The Holy Land is at war this Christmas. Israel and Hamas are engaged in a bitter battle. 

As is so often the case, civilians are caught in the cross-fire.

So is peace possible in the Middle East? Might the road to peace run through Belfast.

In this edition of The Discussion I talk with Eddie Jackson,  a policy maker who was part of the peace process that ended the bloody feud between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Global hunger has reached unprecedented levels. A combination of war and climate change is having a devastating impact on the food security of over 22-million children across the globe.

Can hunger and famine be beaten?

World Vision is the World Food Programme’s largest food distribution partner. In this episode on The Discussion I talk with the Australian CEO, Daniel Wordsworth.

In the last 50 years, China has lifted more people out of poverty than anywhere else in human history. Chinese society has been transformed, and so too has the economy. Indeed, it’s now second only to the United States with a GDP of almost 18-trillion US-dollars. The sleeping dragon has awoken, but how will that shape the future?

I speak with international affairs analyst, Dr. Keith Suter.

The end of the cold war promised a golden-age of peace and human rights, but the reality has been quite different. From the brutal war in Ukraine, to authoritarian governments cracking down on citizens. 

I ask international jurist Michael Kirby if human rights are under threat.