The Briefing

An energy crisis across Australia took us to the brink of blackouts last week.  A cold snap; the war in the Ukraine; and escalating global coal and gas prices formed a perfect storm where we were being urged to turn the dishwasher off.  The crisis prompted the market operator to suspend the short term market and take control over supply.  Mark Ludlow writes for the Australian Financial Review on energy.  He says the long term solution is renewables with storage, but how do we manage that transition whilst avoiding crises like last week’s.  The Energy Security Agency has proposed a capacity mechanism which would essentially keep quickly dispatchable power on standby for moments of shortfall.  So, how would it work and how likely is it to be passed by a Senate stacked with Greens and independents? Today's Headlines:- NSW and QLD reveal budgets- Greens slam proposed energy solution- Single Covid and flu jab nears final stage- Higgins rape trial could be delayed after Logies speech- Mixed reaction to FINA's trans policy Follow The Briefing Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Juni 202221min

It’s January 1982, Lyn and Chris Dawson appear to have the perfect marriage. He's a star footballer and popular high school teacher. She's a devoted wife and mother who worked as a nurse. Lyn Dawson goes missing shortly afterwards. Chris Dawson was charged with the 1982 murder of his wife, Lynette.  The cold case was at the center of widely popular investigative podcast series Teachers Pet, which focused on the disappearance and probable murder of the Sydney mother-of-two.   Chris Dawson has pleaded not guilty. We're joined by the Australian's Matthew Condon to go behind the cold case that sparked the Teacher’s Pet Podcast and get the latest on the trial of Chris Dawson. Today's Headlines:- World swimming body rules on trans athletes- $2B to be paid out in Toyota class action- Too late to stop coalition jobseeker system- Assange faces extradition to UK- Hamish Blake wins Gold Logie Follow The Briefing Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19 Juni 202221min

Pete Helliar is one seriously funny dude. He is also seriously busy.Pete is a regular host on The Project and the creator and star of 10's How To Stay Married. He has created and co-produced two series of the award winning It’s A Date for ABC TV.He hosts a podcast called You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, has written children’s books and his latest stand up special is streaming on Paramount Plus now.But what is Pete about behind the smiles and the jokes? How much of his real life is channeled into his work? And why, even with enormous television success, does he continue to return to stand up?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Juni 202231min

Tik Tok has been the fastest growing social media app ever. In just five years it has had over 2 billion downloads and now reports 1.6b regular users - about half of Facebook, already. Many of its users are young and so there’s obviously concern that it's being used to sell and promote drugs. Dr. James Martin is a senior lecturer in Criminology at Deakin University who specialises in the online drug trade. How concerned should we be about TikTok and where does it fit into the much bigger and more established world of online drug sales, namely the dark web and the encrypted messaging apps. Today's Headlines Family and domestic violence leave to be introduced First national cabinet since election Russia sanctions 121 Australians Penny Wong to visit Solomon Islands Fresh day of evidence in Chris Dawson trial Follow The Briefing DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE BRIEFING NEWSLETTER. LINK IS IN OUR BIO ON INSTAGRAM Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Juni 202220min

The Reserve Bank of Australia provides forward guidance for the economy. One of the key levers of fiscal policy is interest rate projections. RBA boss Philip Lowe predicted he couldn’t see interest rates rising before 2024 – and many Australians took out mortgages based on that advice. Well we now know he was wrong. John Kehoe, the economic editor at the Australian Financial Review, joins us to explain how and why Philip Lowe got it so wrong....and what the consequences will be in the housing market and the broader economy. Philip Lowe conceded his comments were “embarrassing”. Given so many Australians have massive mortgages, should he face consequences for his comments? And what authority will his predictions have in the future. Today's Headlines NSW and VIC commit to paid preschool year Energy regulator suspends trading PM to make fresh climate pledge US federal reserve lifts rates 180,000 workers get minimum wage rise Follow The Briefing DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE BRIEFING NEWSLETTER. LINK IS IN OUR BIO ON INSTAGRAM Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Juni 202225min

The concept of the four-day working week has been around for almost a century, but like the idea of working from home which needed a pandemic to make happen, the four-day week concept hasn’t really taken off in Australia until recently. Researchers have found a four-day work week without a pay cut improves both productivity and a sense of wellbeing, less stress and burnout, and a better work-life balance among workers. Joe O’Connor is the CEO of 4 Day Week Global who’s running a huge trial in the UK. Joe joins us on The Briefing to talk about the possibility of a four-day week taking off in Australia. Today's Headlines Minimum wage decision imminent RBA warns of more rate pain + sharemarket spirals Power companies on notice Airport mask mandate lifted Follow The Briefing DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE BRIEFING NEWSLETTER. LINK IS IN OUR BIO ON INSTAGRAM Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Juni 202220min

Johann Hari’s new book Stolen Focus is all about the crisis in concentration sweeping the world. The book goes into why it’s happening, how much it’s affecting us, and what can be done to tackle the problem. Johann joins us to explain there are so many things competing for our attention, it makes it really hard to focus. Can we fight back against it as individuals... by being more disciplined... or is there a bigger war we need to wage on the forces that are stealing our attention? There is a lot we can do to change our own behaviour, but will it ever be enough when we’re up against the best engineers in the world, who work for the social media companies that so often fight for our focus. Today's Headlines Australia qualifies for FIFA World Cup 2022 East coast facing power outages Trump had “no chance” of winning election Defence Minister forges ties with Japan Monique Ryan reports ‘racist, misogynistic’ letters to police Rebel Wilson: newspaper issues apology Follow The Briefing DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE BRIEFING NEWSLETTER. LINK IS IN OUR BIO ON INSTAGRAM Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Juni 202221min

Australia’s new government has appointed an Assistant Minister for the Republic. Matt Thistlethwaite has been tasked with taking the Labor Party’s policy of making Australia a republic from policy to reality. Mr Thistlethwaite joins us on the Queen’s Birthday holiday to talk about what his plans for a republic, what our new nation’s leader would be called….and if we’ll get to KEEP our Queen’s birthday long weekend!! On today’s Briefing…is Australia going to become a republic? Follow The Briefing DON'T FORGET TO SIGN UP FOR THE BRIEFING NEWSLETTER. LINK IS IN OUR BIO ON INSTAGRAM Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAU See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Juni 202221min