Tuesday Headlines:

• Sportsbet and TAB execs to be grilled at Senate inquiry into gambling reform today
• One Nation climbs in the polls as Hanson refuses ABC and Guardian entry to Victorian press conference
• Ralph Carr unmasked as rapist after suppression order lifted
• Kmart sells out of dupe Meta camera glasses amid global privacy concerns
• Ariana Grande steps back from public life amid scrutiny over her weight

Deep Dive: For years, Australia watched from a distance as bird flu tore through wildlife on every other continent - before it finally reached our shores in June.

What began with a few lone migratory birds is now spreading through our native populations, and while conservationists welcome the more than $113 million already invested to get us prepared - they say now that it's here, more needs to be put on the table.

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou speaks with Jack Gough, CEO of the Invasive Species Council, who's urging the Albanese Government to commit at least $200 million to help our wildlife survive what's coming. He explains what that money would go towards, what species are most at risk, and how the strain can move from low risk in humans to a higher one.

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Five months after the Kyle and Jackie O Show was pulled off air, Kyle Sandilands will be back behind the microphone with a paid subscription show that launches next week.

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou sits down with the veteran broadcaster for a wide-ranging chat about what really brought down the most expensive act in Australian radio.

Sandilands responds to the workplace bullying allegations at the heart of his former co-host's lawsuit against their old employer, explains why he chose to settle his own multi-million-dollar case rather than fight on, and reflects on the mistakes that have marked his 25 years on air - the moments, he says, that taught him where the line sits.

Then it's over to you: we put your questions to him, and he talks up a possible reunion with Jackie, floats getting Karl Stefanovic on the payroll, and names the controversial figure he's booked for the show's first week.

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Monday Headlines:

• Motorists warned to expect fuel shock as excise ends
• Donald Trump cancels Iran strikes subject to deal being made rapidly
• Authorities await results from South Australia mass bird death event
• Alan Jones indecent assault trial getting underway today
• Housing market downturn spreads across Australia
• Australia wins the Comm Games

Chris' chat with Kyle Sandilands is out now.

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Victoria has a new premier this week - and within hours of being sworn in, Ben Carroll did the one thing his predecessor spent months refusing to do: call a royal commission into the CFMEU.

Jacinta Allan's resignation was driven in large part by a corruption scandal engulfing the state's Big Build, where a landmark report earlier this year alleged the construction union had siphoned $15 billion from taxpayers while the government turned a blind eye.

Reporters at The Age have been documenting the organised crime, intimidation and misconduct across the union's Victorian operations since 2024.

In this episode of The Briefing, we revisit Chris Spyrou's conversation with award-winning investigative journalist Nick McKenzie from The Age, recorded back in February when that explosive report first landed.

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Welcome back to our new weekend format, The Briefing: Our Take.

Every Saturday we're loosening our ties and kicking off our shoes to take you behind the scenes of the week that was; stories we loved or debated, what you, the listener, thought of a topic or conversation, the Weekend Quiz and capping it off with a Weekend Briefing favourite: The List.

In this episode we talk about the feedback we got ahead of Chris' sit-down with Kyle Sandilands, comments on Hannah Ferguson’s run against the PM and Jacinta Allan’s resignation.

We also stop by the red carpet of the new Spider-Man movie and quiz friend of the show Justin Hill on everything that happened in the news this week – make sure you play along!

The Weekend Quiz (just questions, no answers):

1. What’s this sound? (listen to hear it!)
2. Europe is threatening to boycott what ... and for a bonus point, why?
3. Victorian premier Jacinta Allan resigned this week. Who was named her successor?
4. It was revealed this week that it cost $45,000 for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to manage which loveable marine chaos agent?
5. Who announced this week they’d be running as an independent against Anthony Albanese in the seat of Grayndler at the next federal election?

The Weekend List:

• To Watch: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (Justin Hill)
• To Listen: Wet Leg (listener Chris – you can watch the Coachella performance here)

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Friday Headlines:

• US completes ‘heavy wave’ of strikes against Iran
• Australian family beg for government help as son faces death penalty in Syria
• Labor housing plan already 100,000 homes behind schedule
• UEFA agrees to boycott FIFA competitions over controversial World Cup sell-off plans
• Revealed: Neil the Seal's damage and care bill

Deep Dive: A new push is starting for access to Voluntary Assisted Dying to be expanded to telehealth services, in a move that advocates say would directly benefit people living in the regions or who are too sick to travel.

Labor this week endorsed a change in law that'd lift a ban on the practice, but the Prime Minister doesn't agree, saying allowing it would threaten the strict safeguards in place to ensure VAD is only accessed by people who genuinely want and need it.

In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt is joined by Go Gentle spokesperson Andrew Denton to discuss why there's a debate on this issue and what's next in the fight to allow VAD via telehealth.

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Thursday Headlines:

• Pause in fighting between US and Iran over as Trump threatens to ‘beat the f****** shit out of Iran’
• SA police call off search for missing 3-month-old boy
• Bird flu has first local transmission
• Rate hike unlikely after inflation numbers lower than expected
• OpenAI's rogue agent also hacked other companies

Deep Dive: Australia's no stranger to famous faces trading their day jobs for politics. Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, broadcaster Derryn Hinch, Olympians Nova Peris and Zali Steggall, as well as former journalists Zoe Daniel and Maxine McKew.

But only one of them has unseated a sitting Prime Minister.

Hannah Ferguson is looking to become the second.

In this episode of The Briefing, Chris Spyrou is joined by Ferguson to unpack her independent tilt at Anthony Albanese in his seat of Grayndler - why she won't be joining forces with the Greens or Teals, and some of the policy platforms and values at the heart of her campaign.

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Wednesday Headlines:

• One Nation support plateaus in new poll
• Search for missing baby boy in South Australia continues today
• Human casualties confirmed after magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits Japan
• Ben Carroll calls for Royal Commission as Opposition criticises his integrity
• 3.6 million people track Qantas flight to France

Deep Dive: Jacinta Allan has stepped down from the Victorian Labor leadership after less than three years in the role.

With an election just four months away, how does her decision affect the party's chances of winning? And can Labor get back on top in Victoria?

In this episode of The Briefing, Channel 7's Political Editor, Mark Riley joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to explain.

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