The Issue

How bad could the fuel blockage become? What does the war tell us about Australia's weak spots? This week's episode of The Issue features author and Deputy Chief of the RAAF, John Blackburn, who discusses all with 7NEWS' Tim Lester.

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This week The Issue looks at the power of social media in the political world. Brisbane based activist Drew Pavlou got  President Donald Trump interested in the plight of Iranian footballers. It resulted in the President calling Anthony Albanese about the issue at 2 in the morning. But for Pavlou social media is giving him more than influence and power, it is putting food table and $10 thousand in the bank each month. He admits that unlike journalists he takes hard political stances, and discusses his shift from the left to the right of politics. The 26 year old also tells the story of how he was blocked from entering the United States due to a post about pop star Billie Eilish. 

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In this episode of The Issue, the former federal cabinet minister Ed Husic gives a blunt assessment of where Australia is heading and where he believes things are going wrong.

After being dropped from the Albanese government’s frontbench, Husic reflects on the political realities inside Labor, the growing threat of anti-Muslim hatred in Australia, and why he believes the country risks falling behind in the global race for artificial intelligence.

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Dozens of phone models including Samsung and iPhone need software updates to connect to 000 in Australia. Some handsets can't be updated and need to be thrown in the bin. In this episode, the Issue investigates whether users should be entitled to a discount or refund. Last year's Optus triple-zero outage is blamed for the deaths of two Australians, but it has exposed a crisis that telcos, phone makers and the government are now scrambling to deal with. Luke Coleman is the CEO of the Australian Telecommunications Alliance, which is the peak body for telcos like Telstra, Optus and TPG. He has advice on what to do if you're concerned your device isn't up to date.

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Queensland Senator and One Nation founder Pauline Hanson sits down with Tim Lester for a wide-ranging interview covering the surge in One Nation's polling, her views on Trump's America, immigration policy, the prospect of Barnaby Joyce joining the party, and candid reflections on her age and political future.

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When the world enters a period of sharper geopolitical contest, how much secrecy is too much?
In this episode of The Issue, Defence Minister Richard Marles speaks with Tim Lester about transparency, capability challenges, and the future of Australia’s security partnerships.

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May's federal budget could pit property investors and first home buyers against each other. The Albanese Government isn't ruling out major changes to the capital gains tax discount. Greens Senators would have the deciding vote and tell 7News podcast The Issue they're willing to negotiate. New modelling from the Parliamentary Budget Office shows the tax concession will cost taxpayers $247 billion over the next decade. Tasmania Senator Nick McKim sits down for this week's episode.

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Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott sits down with National Security correspondent Tim Lester for an in-depth interview covering Australia's most pressing political issues. They discuss the current state of the Liberal Party, the coalition split, whether he supports Sussan Ley's leadership, and Abbott's views on the Trump administration.

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The Australian Coalition faces its most serious crisis in decades. In this exclusive episode of The Issue, host Tim Lester sits down with two Coalition veterans - former Nationals leader Michael McCormack and Liberal Senator Richard Colbeck - as they reveal what's really happening behind the scenes.

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The Coalition has broken apart just days after One Nation eclipsed it in the first Newspoll of 2026. The Issue sits down with One Nation convert Barnaby Joyce to discuss the party’s prospects ahead of the 2028 election. Political Reporter Josh Martin grills the former National Party MP on hate laws, immigration, energy, his relationship with Pauline Hanson, and complimentary flights from billionaire Gina Rinehart.

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