The Morning Edition

A tax on tobacco seemed like a great idea to deter smokers and raise revenue. 

But, as the price of cigarettes soared, major criminal organisations saw an opening, and began to pump cheap, illegal cigarettes into Australia. 

And violence came along with it as warring gangs fought for control of the trade in our major cities. 

Today, with your Morning Edition team on a summer break, we return to an episode with senior economics correspondent Shane Wright on the tobacco tax problem.

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Hi and Merry Christmas!

Your Inside Politics team is on a little hiatus over summer before we return at the end of January.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy some of our favourite episodes of the year, starting with a trip down memory lane to election night with our former chief political correspondent David Crowe before he passed the baton to BFF of the podcast Paul Sakkal.

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We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns mid-January.

It was another big year for the human headline that was U.S President Donald Trump, and political and international editor Peter Hartcher was an essential listen each week on our podcast as we tried to make sense of it all.

This episode was recorded in May, just as Trump was poised to introduce what he called his ‘big beautiful bill’, which was predicted to tip government debt over the one trillion mark.

What did it matter? Because, Hartch...

We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns mid-January. 

Well, the mushroom murders was the criminal case of the year and in this episode, we take you inside the court on the day Erin Patterson was sentenced to life imprisonment. 

Patterson received a triple-murder conviction for the now infamous lunch of beef wellington that a jury trial found she laced with death cap mushrooms and served to her in-laws.

Since we recorded this episode with court reporter Erin Pearson, Patterson has applied for leave to appeal her conv...

We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns mid-January. 

Today, we return to an episode recorded in October with senior columnist Jacqueline Maley, when more torrid tales emerged of the former prince, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, and his connection to sex offender and disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein.

When this was recorded, the royal had just been stripped of his Duke of York and Prince title. British MPs have since announced a parliamentary inquiry into the Crown Estate, after revelations the former prince had not paid rent on his mansion for mor...

Hi, it’s Samantha Selinger-Morris here, the host of The Morning Edition. We’re bringing you the best episodes of 2025 before your Morning Edition team returns mid-January. 

This one is about Belle Gibson. 

One of the original wellness influencers, Gibson claimed to have healed herself from terminal cancer through healthy eating. The problem was, she never had cancer. 

This episode was recorded shortly before the release of the worldwide hit television series Apple Cider Vinegar, which was based on the work of two of our journalists, Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano, in exposing Gibson’...

In this bonus episode of Inside Politics, former primer minister Tony Abbott joins host Jacqueline Maley and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal.

Abbott has penned a new book, Australia: A History, describing a more positive view of our past. He also discusses the current political and cultural challenges facing the Liberal Party, as well as reflecting on his own political career, including his relationship with Julia Gillard and the accusations of misogyny.

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This week it feels wrong to talk about politics in the wake of the horrific antisemitic massacre at Bondi Beach on Sunday. Australians and Sydneysiders in particular are still trying to make sense of the senseless. 

But the fact is that the response to the massacre has been deeply political, and things got divisive very quickly. 

So this week on Inside Politics we are going to discuss the political response to the incident and how it might affect our national life in the months and years to come.

Jacqueline Maley is joined by po...

On the evening of the shooting at Bondi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese  said: “An attack on Jewish Australians is an attack on every Australian” – that was indeed proven when the entire community sprung into action, those who ran towards the disaster, not away from it. 

There are tales of heroism, like the couple who first tried to stop the gunmen and paid with their lives, the man who single-handedly wrestled the rifle out of the shooter’s hands and those who shielded their loved ones and strangers from bullets. 

Today, chief reporter Jordan Baker, on the acts of...

When Michael Visontay heard of the shootings at Bondi Beach on Sunday, his first instinct was to call his son, who often swam there. Then came the sickening feeling of dread, when his son didn’t answer his phone.

Something that thickened this dread even further, was a family history that taught him to always be alert to possible threats. His father and grandfather survived the Holocaust after living in concentration camps. His maternal grandmother was killed in Auschwitz.

Visontay is far from alone. Australia has a higher proportion of Holocaust survivors than any country in...

We’re releasing an additional episode today featuring one of our reporters, Elias Visontay, who was at Bondi Beach with a friend on the day of the terror attack. Elias recounts his first-hand experience as the gunmen fired bullets at the unexpecting crowd.

You can read his story on our websites here.

And if you’re struggling with the bad news at the moment, support is available on Lifeline 13 11 14 or NSW Health mental health line, available 24/7 on 1800 011 511.

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Sunday’s Bondi Beach terrorist attack, which targeted a Hanukkah celebration, was the worst mass shooting in Australia since Port Arthur. Some in the Jewish community have been fearing a deadly attack for years.

This episode features the stories of witnesses, such as reporter Elias Visontay, and mother-of-three Jacqui Cohen, who took cover with her 12-year-old daughter.

Crime and justice reporter Amber Schultz, who spoke to the mother and wife of the suspected gunmen, also details what is known about the shooters, their motive and how they had access to weapons in a country lauded fo...

As we record this on Sunday night, 12 people, including the shooter, have been confirmed dead in a mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, with the New South Wales Police Commissioner declaring it a terrorist incident. The number of dead has since increased to 16, including a child.

Dozens of people had been gathered to mark the first night of Hanukkah, the most joyous holiday on the Jewish calendar, before two gunmen opened fire on them.

Among the injured is a survivor of the October 7 attack in Israel, who said he moved to Australia only two we...

Today, we're delving into the expenses scandal, if indeed we are calling it a scandal, that has engulfed the Communications Minister Anika Wells. A $100,000 taxpayer funded flight to New York snow-balled into a drip-feed of information about flights to the Formula 1 grand prix, the Boxing Day tests and even a family reunion at Thredbo. All of this dropping at precisely the moment the minister wanted to be talking about the social media ban that was instituted this week.

So, what are the rules around taxpayer-funded travel for MPs? And do the pass the 'pub test'?

Jo...

The video is, according to those who have seen it, horrific to watch. Two sailors cling to the debris of a blown-up boat in the Caribbean, when they’re killed by a US military strike. 

This occurred after the first strike on their boat failed to kill everybody on board.

It has sparked outrage, and led to accusations – by Democrat and Republican lawmakers alike – that the US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has presided over a military mission that may have been marked by war crimes.

Today, Andrew Bell, an expert on law and eth...

Our mastheads have discovered that a number of sex offenders have committed crimes - in our communities - after serving their time in prison.

And here’s the thing. They committed these crimes while under a “supervision order”. This little known order, issued by a court, is meant to keep a “ring fence” around these known offenders, to keep tabs on them and monitor their movement. But it has also served to keep crimes by these violent predators largely hidden, due to a veil of secrecy created by legislation that protects them.

Today, senior reporter Chris Vede...

Parents across the country have been wringing their hands for months about how the social media ban will work – and more so, if it will work. So, what exactly does the ban cover? And how will it be enforced? Today, reporter Bronte Gossling on the main methods children plan on using, to circumvent what the federal government has called a “world-leading” ban. And why most Australian parents say they won’t enforce it.

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When American author Anne Applebaum travelled to the frontlines of the Sudanese civil war this year, she gave herself a stern remit. Bear witness to, and report on, a lawless world that - since the United States has pulled most of its aid - is now run by warring militias, clans and families. Crucially, she would keep emotion out of it.

But then she met with people who were so thankful for the meagre aid the United States was still providing, that she felt “ashamed”.

Today, Anne Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlantic, on how S...

This week the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was on his honeymoon after his low-key Lodge wedding last weekend, while Senate estimates rolled on in Canberra, uncovering some interesting secrets.

Notable was the head-scratching amount that Communications Minister Anika Wells spent on flights to New York, made public ahead of the mammoth social media ban coming into effect.

Chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos join host Jacqueline Maley for this week's Inside Politics.

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When Mark Leishman and his wife Kathy first sought out the help of George Dimitriou, they were suffering with cash-flow problems at Mark’s business. 

By the time their working relationship with Dimitriou finished - and after they discovered he was only pretending to be an accountant - their Newcastle home was repossessed, and they lost, they say, $4 million.

Today, chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont on George Dimitriou, a serial conman and high-school drop-out who conned vulnerable people out of millions of dollars with the help of, allegedly, a bank loans manager, and a series of l...

New figures out on Monday show that the median house values in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane have become, well, kind of insane. They’re the kind of figures that make people who’ve been desperately saving to break into the housing market tear at their hair by the roots.

But new research shows that allowing Australians to subdivide their properties could mean a million new homes being delivered in the nation’s five largest capital cities.

Today, senior economics correspondent Shane Wright, on whether this solution, which has eased price pressures in New Zealand, could be acc...

It really was the stuff of nightmares. A Swiss tourist, who was swimming with dolphins off the NSW coast, was suddenly mauled by a three-metre bull shark. 

The 25-year-old died from her injuries, despite her heroic boyfriend, an exchange student also from Switzerland, fighting off the shark and carrying her to shore.

Today, environment and climate reporter Caitlin Fitzsimmons, on why the number of people killed by sharks in Australia is rising.

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When Pauline Hanson marched into the Senate last week wearing a burqa, it felt, for a moment, like we were back in the 1990s. 

Those were the sorts of stunts – and anti-immigration rhetoric – that the former fish and chip shop owner from Ipswich used to pull when she first swept into power. 

But, with a high-profile member of parliament on the verge of defecting to her party, and polling placing support for One Nation at its highest level since 1998, it appears that we are witnessing the second coming of One Nation.

Today, columnist and fo...

Well, Barnaby Joyce finally announced his resignation from the Nationals this week, paving his way to join One Nation, in a week where Pauline Hanson recycled a burqa stunt from 2017.

And it’s amid this turmoil that we have a special guest with chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and Jacqueline Maley - Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.

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We feel like we’ve known him since he was in nappies. But now, at 21, the fame enjoyed by Robert Irwin - the son of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin - has been supercharged after winning one of America’s top reality television shows, Dancing with the Stars.

Today, culture editor-at-large Michael Idato on the Irwin family empire and how Robert Irwin’s brand of "nice" has won over America.

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Donald Trump has long tried to stamp American institutions - and the daily life of his country’s citizens - with his ultra-conservative ideology, openly waging war on diversity, transgender rights and women, among other targets.

But now he wants American diplomats in Canberra to report back to him about the way we live.

Today, North America correspondent Michael Koziol on why Trump wants detailed information about the crime that takes place on our shores.

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The Bureau of Meteorology has been plagued with public stuff-ups, including, just a few years ago, a false tsunami alert sent to half of the country.

This is a problem because farmers use the site to plan harvests, fisherman use it navigate the seas, and the rest of us rely on it to decide if we need to bring an umbrella, or can safely travel from one suburb to the next.

Today, climate and energy correspondent Mike Foley on the bureau’s latest disaster: a problematic website revamp that went tens of millions of dollars ov...

Shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Australia banned the importation of Russian crude oil. Even so, Russian oil is still making its way to our shores, and into our petrol.

Kateryna Argyrou calls this blood oil - money from which goes to fund the Kremlin’s war machine.

Today, Argryou, who chairs the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations and is also honorary consul of Ukraine in Sydney, joins Europe correspondent David Crowe.

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Recently on this podcast we have been highly fixated on the problems within the Liberal opposition and we have neglected the government somewhat. So this week we are going to focus on Labor, and to that end we have a real treat for listeners. Sean Kelly, a columnist for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, was previously a Labor staffer with Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. He is the author of a book called The Game: A Portrait of Scott Morrison, and he has just published the latest quarterly essay – which is called The Good Fight, What Does Labor Stand F...

It’s a Sunday at a park in Singapore, and, as journalist Zach Hope observed, it’s the servants day off.

They lounge on picnic rugs, shaking off the week of cooking, cleaning – and raising other people’s kids. Singapore has more than 300,000 migrant domestic workers, or “helpers”, as they’re called and many care for the children of expats, including Australians.

Today, South-East Asia correspondent Zach Hope on this extraordinary workforce and the system, he says, is premised on profound sadness.

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There can be no mistaking it – it is that time of year known as the killing season. Because, as of this morning, there are two state political leaders who’ve lost their jobs. One whose job is rumoured to be on the chopping block. And all this, as rumours swirl that federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, might not last through to the new year. Today, state political editors Chip Le Grand and Alexandra Smith, on why all this turmoil, now. And what it means for you.

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Donald Trump has long sworn that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was no big deal, that he didn’t know about his abuse of girls and women, and there was nothing of consequence in the so-called Epstein files.

Then came last week, when a group of Democrats, and later Republicans, released thousands and thousands of pages of emails and correspondence from Epstein, which could suggest that Trump knows more about Epstein’s conduct than he’s been letting on.

Today, North America correspondent Michael Koziol, on whether Republicans will vote for the full release of the fi...

Four years ago, when our senior economics correspondent, Shane Wright, pointed out the failings of our central bank, government leaders, including the federal treasurer, sat up and took notice.

Well now, he’s at it again. And this time, he’s got his sights on what he calls an unspoken economic problem that is driving down our quality of life.

Today, Wright on how our convoluted system of government is hurting all of us, wasting billions of dollars each year. And what it might take, to fix it.

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This week in federal politics there was really only one show in town, and that was the compelling and 'can't look away' car crash that is the Liberal party's continued ructions on its net zero policy.

They culminated, or maybe even concluded, on Thursday afternoon, when the Liberal Party met and finally came up with a policy.

Today, host Jacqueline Maley is joined by chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and chief political commentator James Massola.

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“Did women ruin the workplace?”

This was the question that was put forward in a New York Times podcast that - no surprises here - quickly went viral.

The main thrust of the argument was that women are gossipy and overly emotional, and so, as we take over more and more businesses, we are a threat to the pursuit of truth and innovation. 

To say that women from the across the globe shot back is an understatement. 

Today, senior writer Jacqueline Maley on so-called “conservative feminism” and the political and cultural forces tha...

How could dozens of white supremacists be allowed to rally outside of the NSW parliament building, on Saturday morning? And why didn’t the police who watched them congregate make them disperse, once they heard them use antisemitic tropes about power and influence, and chant a Hitler Youth slogan?

These are just two of the questions facing our government and police force, in the wake of an incident that has not only created fear, but led to two MPs facing threats of death, and rape.

Today, state political editor Alexandra Smith, on what this incident tel...

Tributes have flown in – from the likes of actor Russell Crowe and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – for John Laws, the polarising broadcaster who died over the weekend at 90.

But, it has to be asked: why are we still talking about him, decades after his peak, when he played a key role in helping prime ministers either nab, or keep their hold on power?

Today, Dr Denis Muller, a former journalist and media ethicist from the University of Melbourne, on the mixed legacy of the so-called “voice of the people”.

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Have you ever taken on a 10km run, or a half marathon - maybe pushed yourself just a little too much, without properly researching what you should be eating, to fuel your efforts? 

Many have. And it’s no wonder endurance activities are an increasingly popular coping mechanism for those of us struggling to deal with the mental load of everyday life.

But experts across the globe say they have been seeing athletes - and regular people - who have been under-eating and suffering from a little-known syndrome called REDs, or relative energy deficiency in sport...

It’s been a rather torrid week for the Coalition, with yet more messy fighting over whether it will dump its commitment to Australia achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

This was followed by controversial comments by former frontbencher Andrew Hastie on late-term abortions.

Today’s guest is Senator Jane Hume, a Liberal moderate, joining chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and host Jacqueline Maley.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese swept back into power in part on the back of an $8.5 billion investment in Medicare, what he described as the “single largest investment in Medicare since its creation” more than 40 years ago. Who could forget him waving his Medicare card at every opportunity on the campaign trail?

Today, health reporter Angus Thomson on whether Albanese is delivering on two of his biggest initiatives: free GP visits and urgent care clinics designed to care for you when your GP and the hospital aren’t an option.

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