RN Drive - Separate stories podcast

Most of us would think of Australia as a trustworthy country, largely free from corruption and dirty money, at least in a global context. But, if that's right, why has Australia been pointed to as one of the top targets in the world to launder money through real estate? And why have several major institutions in Australia been linked to money laundering? Nathan Lynch is an expert on financial crime and the author of a new book, The Lucky Laundry.

The family of Australian engineer Rob Pether is hoping the new government will mark a renewed focus on the fate of the father of three who's now been in an Iraqi prison for more than 14 months.

The NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has told people today they're "crazy" if they haven't yet had their third COVID booster shot yet. Health authorities have warned a new wave of infections driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Omicron has started and is expected to peak later this month.

After three years of working from home, with nothing to wear and nowhere to go, as calendars begin filling up with weddings and major social events, have we forgotten what a dress code is? How do you define “casual”? What is “formal” now? What does “black tie” even mean?

You'd be forgiven for thinking the news has been inundated with flood stories in recent months and with each new flooding event, it seems to be the same communities and industries that are devastated. The Hawkesbury River at Windsor, in Sydney's north-west, has already exceeded the March flood peak of 13.8 metres and oyster farmers have been racing to save their crops.

Labor has also committed to recovering 450 gigalitres of water for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan but with less than two years until the deadline and only two gigalitres secured, how they are going to get there remains a challenge.

Whether it's “can't we all just get along” or “agree to disagree”, not everyone embraces an argument when it arrives. But Lee Siegel argues that argument is essential: to the individual, to art, and to society. Argument leads to change and it helps us to understand the world. Whether that argument plays out in political platforms, in art, or, increasingly, online, it's a way of understanding the other side and convincing them that your point of view is better.

An election in Papua New Guinea is a colourful affair but the results can set off a deadly chain reaction of events. As polling opens in 2022, there are concerns that the deadly violence of 2017 may be repeated, where the election was marred by widespread fraud, malpractice and extensive vote rigging, according to analysis from ANU.

Australia needs a major policy overhaul if it is to meet net zero targets by 2050 and radically transform itself into an energy superpower. But how to do it?

Melbourne aged care facility St Basil's has been charged with failing to implement a safe working environment during a covid outbreak in July 2020.

Apps like Tinder and online match-ups have made meeting potential partners easier,  but have digital break-ups replaced the art of what they used to call ‘conscious uncoupling'?

As rain continues to bucket down many parts of New South Wales, the Bureau of Meteorology has issues flood warnings for multiple rivers. For some river dwellers this is the fourth time in 18 months that their lives have been upended.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has left Ukraine after a 12-hour visit to the war-torn towns of Irpin, Hostomel and Bucha devastated by Russian troops, bodies strewn across streets, homes now a pile of rubble. Mr Albanese also visited Kyiv, announcing a further $100 million in military aid, including 20 bushmaster vehicles, promising to stand against Russia's invasion.

Stanley Jordan is a guitar virtuoso who has been pushing the boundaries with his playing for over four decades.

Ever thought about storing your poo for future purposes? Depositing your number two in a bank so to speak? Find out more about the need for poo banks.

This week we're asking the tough questions on political school visits, extreme water conservation measures and Kanye-inspired burgers. Writer, author and director Eliza Reilly and actor Remy Hii face off in this instalment of Let's Get Quizzical to see who knows more about the news, politics and popular culture that unfolded this week.

Australia's thawing relationship with China is skating on thin ice, while climate protests start to heat up again, and according to this year's census the millennials are taking over. Guests Jacqueline Maley, Columnist and Senior Writer for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age Bob Brown, Former leader of the Greens Party and Patron of the Bob Brown Foundation Producer Ali Cheevers

The Prime Minister will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris in a bid to mend the relationship with an important old ally. The Morrison Government's axing of the $90billion dollar submarine deal with French company Naval Group infuriated the French, and saw President Macron accuse then Prime Minister Scott Morrison of lying.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has become the first Japanese leader to attend a NATO leaders summit as NATO turns its focus to China and the Asia Pacific. At the meeting in Madrid, NATO adopted a new Strategic Concept which singled out China for the first time.

Effective from today, the CBA is increasing its owner-occupied fixed rates by 1.4 per cent. That means for its one year product the rate is fixed at almost five per cent and its five year product is fixed at 6.69 per cent. So how likely will the other banks follow suit?

An inquest has found little could have been done to save Hannah Clarke and her three children from her estranged husband. With nine women dying a week across the country, at the hands of current or formers partners, how do we stop our systems from continually failing victims of domestic violence?

Former Managing Director of the ABC, Mark Scott joins RN Drive to celebrate nine decades of the ABC and reflect on his legacy.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has unveiled its 30-year roadmap for securing energy supply while moving to renewables, requiring more than $320m of investment and creating 25,000 jobs.

Real progress by March. That's the deadline Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given for the next stage of EU Free Trade negotiations.

The worlds of classical music and urban culture very rarely rub shoulders. However, KLASSIK underground, aims to bring these worlds together by combining classical music with other art forms such as dance, street art, poetry and video installations - to create innovative music events. In the Drawing Room, Australian violist and creative producer, Tahlia Petrosian, talks about how she's bringing together laser artistry with Shostakovich.

Earlier this month, Jason Clare visited his primary school teacher as he embarked on his new role as the federal education minister and today the foreign affairs minister Penny Wong is in Malaysia where she's visiting her home town and the very school she went to until she was eight years of age. But sentiments aside, the trip has also been marked as a reset of Malaysia and Australia relations.

The recent discovery in Newcastle of a parasite called varroa mite, has resulted in the destruction of thousands of hives in New South Wales and closed the borders to surrounding states. The almond industry is at particular risk because pollination starts earlier than in other crops and the race is on to contain the virus.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government's more ambitious action on climate change will help to resume stalled trade negotiations with the European Union.

Melbourne has retained its place as one of the world's most liveable cities ranking 10th. But besides the laneways and the lattes, what makes Victoria's capital so captivating?

The Queensland Government will make cabinet papers and submissions public within 30 days of decisions, parting with the existing 20 to 30-year waiting period before documents are released from the state archives.

The Federal Court has ordered Origin Energy to pay $17 million in penalties for failing to comply with their obligations to protect customers experiencing hardship and payment difficulties. It's the largest amount ever imposed for breaches of the National Energy Retail Law and Rules.

Our Blood Runs in the Street is a visceral and raw examination of the violence and persecution experienced by the LGBTQI community in Australia. Blending physical theatre with verbatim text, the production looks at a spate of brutal bashings and murders in Sydney that brought terror to the LGBTQI community for decades. In the Drawing Room, award-winning director, Shane Anthony, talks about how he went about bringing these challenging and important stories to the stage.

This week, 14 million people in Tokyo are being told to minimise their power use as Japan endures an unusually intense heat wave.

Experts are warning that Australia could see a rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisation as the new BA.5 variant looks set to become the dominant strain in Australia. That news comes as Queensland's Chief Health Officer warns of a likely increase in his state and the ACT records their highest hospitalisation levels to date.

As of next week, Workforce Australia will be the new way to find a job and claim unemployment benefits. The difference is, it will use a ‘points system' to ensure welfare payments but a new ACOSS report has shown that the current government job-seeking program isn't working and there are some elements that need to change.

With state and territory borders shut during the pandemic, it shouldn't be a surprise that the latest census reported only 58,155 Australians own a caravan. That's compared to 67,015 in the 2016 census. But the census was taken in August. Since then, the price of almost everything has gone up and there's also been a spike in rental stress. So how is this affecting caravan parks at the moment?

Thirty-five new MPs have spent their first day in Parliament House, learning the ropes of parliamentary procedure and navigating one of the largest buildings in the southern hemisphere.

Leaders from the world's seven richest nations have vowed to sustain and intensify sanctions against Russia and support Ukraine for "as long as it takes" during the G7 leaders meeting in Germany.

Il Trovatore is perhaps Verdi's most complicated opera, with betrayals, abductions, revenge and hidden identities. The character of Leonora is led by her heart and lacks reason. For singer, Leah Crocetto, who is taking on the role in Opera Australia's latest production, it's not a character she easily identifies with. In the Drawing Room, Leah talk about how she's learnt to channel her inner teenager for the role and shares how a rejection from the Met Chorus changed the trajectory of her career.

The massive earthquake that hit eastern Afghanistan highlights the ongoing challenges of aid groups delivering aid since the Taliban took power in 2021.  

Coastal wetlands are seen as crucial for carbon storage. As efforts kick off to rehabilitate them, corporations show an eagerness to buy official 'blue carbon' credits to offset their emissions.

They've been described as an untapped resource, with a renewed push for pensioners to fill workforce shortages across the economy, but first there needs to be a rule change.

Labour experts say that we should change careers every decade. But is change something we should endure, or an opportunity to pursue our passions? Garrick Atkin, organisational psychologist

"Highly unorganised and erratic”. That's how authorities are labelling the latest round of climate protests to gridlock Sydney's CBD.  10 people have been arrested under the state's new anti-protest law, including a 22-year-old woman who blocked the entrance to the harbour tunnel with her car.

As some parts of the country commenced their winter school holidays, queues at airports over the weekend saw some travellers' excitement turn to frustration and anger.

What magic happens when a musical genius is exposed to Beethoven, Vivaldi, and AC/DC at a young age, and loves them all? William Barton is a composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and one of Australia's leading didgeridoo players. His latest song is a cover of the classic rock song Johnny B. Goode, as part of Chess Records' seventieth anniversary album, Everybody Knows I'm Here.

This week we're asking the tough questions on megaphone diplomacy, new and unique crabs, plus comebacks for the ages. Legendary broadcasters Angela Catterns and Ian Rogerson face off in this instalment of Let's Get Quizzical to see who knows more about the news, politics and popular culture that unfolded this week.

The housing crisis on the NSW south coast has become so bad, one local council is taking desperate measures to address the issue. Eurobodalla Shire Council Mayor Mathew Hatcher is urging 7,500 holiday home owners to rent out their properties.

Today's guests discuss Anthony Albanese's travel itinerary, the complexities of trading with China and how the energy war will end.

Robert Dessaix is an essential part of the Australian literary world. As a writer, a performer, and an interviewer, he's explored the meaning of life and the stories behind the stories. For that work, he's the recipient of the 2022 Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. In the Drawing Room, Robert shares how he likes to connect ideas and talks about his latest release, Abracadabra.

People are digging through rubble with their bare hands in a desperate search for survivors, following the devastating earthquake which has killed at least 1,000 people in Khost, in the country's east. The disaster inflicts more misery on a country where millions are already experiencing hunger and poverty with the health system under enormous strain since the Taliban retook power.