Background Briefing

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Background Briefing brings you true stories not everyone will want you to hear.

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Episodes

Summer special: Welfare to worse

Whistle-blowers from inside Australia's lucrative employment services industry are claiming profits are being prioritised over the needs of vulnerable welfare recipients. Reporter Andy Burns investigates alleged murky behaviour inside the government's 350-million-dollar "Parents Next" program. She follows allegations that some private providers are benefitting at the expense of single mothers, some of whom are homeless.This is a repeat of a program that aired in August 2019....

Dec 28, 2019•45 min

Summer special: Flight of Fancy

When he rediscovered the elusive night parrot in 2013, John Young became a hero in the bird world. But his reputation is now in tatters after the veracity of his latest fieldwork was criticised by a panel of experts. Did the charismatic naturalist fake evidence of the green and yellow feathered creature? Ann Jones investigates a scandal that threatens to undermine conservation efforts. This is a repeat of a program that aired in March 2019....

Dec 21, 2019•43 min

Licence to drill

Sydney hip-hop group OneFour are one of Australia’s most popular new musical acts. A month ago they were on the cusp of making it, with millions of streams, major label offers and a national tour. Today half the group is behind bars. Osman Faruqi investigates the rapid rise and fall of an Australian hip-hop phenomenon and why one of the country’s most high-profile police strike forces wants to shut them down.

Dec 14, 2019•40 min

The problem with winning

Australians lose more money gambling than any other country in the world. But what if you found out the odds were stacked against you? Steve Cannane lifts the lid on how one of the world’s most successful sports betting agencies, bet365 uses secret tactics to gain an advantage over its customers.

Dec 07, 2019•44 min

'Should have been a wedding, not a funeral'

People are dying in Queensland mines. Seven workers have been killed since July last year and the pressure to act is mounting. Soon, some mining bosses could serve jail time if their negligence results in a workplace death, but is it too little too late? Katherine Gregory investigates.

Nov 30, 2019•43 min

"No water, no us"

What happens when we run out of water? That might seem a long way off, but after years of drought, taps are running dry in towns all over central New South Wales. The region's dams have gone from overflowing to almost empty in just three years. So where did all the water go? Reporter Meredith Griffiths explores life after day zero.

Nov 23, 2019•42 min

Where to now?

Its been two years since a campaign of brutal violence and mass rape forced almost a million Rohingyas to flee Myanmar. The International Criminal Court has now agreed to investigate possible crimes against humanity committed against them. In the weeks leading up to this major development, Sarah Dingle travelled to the world's biggest refugee camp in neighbouring Bangladesh, where close to one million asylum seekers are being hosted. But as she discovered, compassion is turning into resentment a...

Nov 16, 2019•44 min

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