Anthony Albanese is back from the United Nations in New York to a slump in his approval rating and more economic pain.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank raised interest rates to a 15-year-high due to continued inflation pressure. So what's driving inflation? How much is government spending contributing to this issue?

Also this week, the Greens elected a new leader. NSW senator David Shoebridge is far more confrontational than former leader Larissa Waters and comes from the party's hard-left faction.

His election may signal a shift in strategy from the party, which wants to replicate the success of left-wing figures such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal hosts today's conversation with senior economics correspondent Matt Wade and federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos.

Further reading

• To avoid another rate rise, things might have to get worse
• The Greens need to let the sunshine in or risk stagnation 

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When the competing leaders of the world's two biggest economies gather for a summit, there's usually a lot to tussle over – military build-up, trade, critical minerals or AI. But that's not what happened when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met last week.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher discusses the moments that could signal a startling break with decades of American policy.

Background reading: 

• How Trump’s grovelling emboldens China and imperils the Asia Pacific

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your podcasts.

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If you live in a certain part of Australia, you have probably noticed them – big moths flying around, clinging to glass doors and gathering around lights in massive numbers.

But for all the freak-outs across the east coast, naturalists are rejoicing.

Today, national environment and climate editor Nick O’Malley talks about the return of the bogong moth after a near-total population collapse, and why they’re so important for our landscape.

Background reading: 

• After a catastrophic decline bogong moths are back, and naturalists are celebrating 

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your podcasts.

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Interest rate hikes are stressing Australian mortgage holders across the country.

But are higher rates the only way to get inflation down? Or are there alternatives to the Reserve Bank’s go-to, blunt-force measure?

Today, senior economics writer Matt Wade, on the potential – and challenges – of four alternatives to help keep inflation in check, newly floated by an Australian think tank.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your podcasts.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The past five decades have witnessed immigration on a scale the globe has never seen before, and countries around the world are convulsing with anti-immigration sentiment. Australia might be an island, but it's no different.

This is a dangerous moment, investigative journalist Eryk Bagshaw argues. Immigration has become a scapegoat because successive governments have lost control of policy levers, and infrastructure has failed to keep up. At the same time, whole swaths of the economy are dependent on temporary migrants.

Bagshaw visited migrant communities both old and new to work out what has gone wrong and what Australia must get right.

Further reading

• ‘You can’t put everything on immigration’: The suburbs at breaking point 
• The moment Australia’s immigration program went off the rails

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Today we’re going international to talk about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

It’s been an eventful few days for the PM who has, among other things, spoken about Australia’s attempts to crack down on social media, met with US President Donald Trump and given a speech in which he declared the world order in place since World War II "no longer fit for purpose”.

But all of that was nearly forgotten when Albanese stood up in what was very early on Thursday morning our time to announce an OpenAI agent infiltrated a Medicare website in June, accessing public and private files.

Joining guest host Stephanie Peatling in Canberra today is chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and, live from New York where he is travelling with the prime minister, national correspondent Rob Harris.

Further reading

• Rogue agent or human error? What OpenAI’s Medicare breach means for you

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has launched a taskforce to investigate how AI apparently went rogue hacked into a portal belonging to one of Australia’s major healthcare systems.

Albanese revealed on Thursday that an OpenAI agent infiltrated Medicare.

It is believed to be the first known case of AI hacking into a government system.

Today, technology editor David Swan explains how this breach occurred and how worried we should be.

Further reading

• Rogue agent or human error? What OpenAI’s Medicare breach means for you

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You might remember this case from Sydney in the summer of 2024 – the alleged double murder of TV presenter Jesse Baird and his boyfriend Luke Davies. Baird was a television presenter, appearing on shows such as Totally Wild and Studio 10, while Davies was a Qantas flight attendant.

A jury trial in the NSW Supreme Court began this week and we're finding out a lot more about the allegations against former NSW police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon, who has pleaded not guilty to the murders.

Today's guest is Sydney Morning Herald legal affairs reporter, Michaela Whitbourn.

Further reading

• Alleged victim of ex-cop was ‘petrified’ before his death, court told
• Alleged double murderer Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defence, court told

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your podcasts.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Republican Party is under enormous pressure, six weeks out from the midterm elections, with a new poll finding that most voters believe US President Donald Trump has hurt the economy.

It comes as Trump faces another test of his power this week: a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in a bid to negotiate peace between Ukraine and Russia.

International and political editor Peter Hartcher joins host Samantha Selinger-Morris for today’s episode.

Further reading:

• Why this new Ukraine pact is a war game changer for Australia

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your podcasts.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What will our future look like 40 years from now? How, in a world growing in complexity, will we be faring economically and otherwise?
Ahead of the release of the government's latest intergenerational report, Treasurer Jim Chalmers had warned of some "confronting" findings, but there were also some surprisingly positive predictions.
Today, senior economics writer Matt Wade discusses the unique challenges faced by Australia.

Further reading

• An ageing Australia must find ways to pay for world reshaped by AI, climate change.

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