The Briefing

Thursday Headlines: Teens skirting social media ban told it won’t last forever, Australia records highest number of Indigenous deaths in custody in four decades, US considers forcing tourists to disclose their social media history before entry, Italian cuisine becomes world’s first to win UNESCO status, and the best AU/NZ song of the 21st century revealed.

This week, our top defence bosses joined their US counterparts in Washington for AUSMIN. Some experts say the latest meeting was an important win for Australia after a rollercoaster year in our fragile security alliance with America. As the presence of US troops and defence personnel grows in Australia, are we preparing for an imminent conflict on our doorstep? 

In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Defence and Security expert Jennifer Parker to unpack this week’s developments at AUSMIN and why Australia needs to prepare for greater uncertainty in the Indo-Pacific. 

Headlines: A 36-year-old man has been arrested after a woman was allegedly assaulted and then ran over, the federal Coalition is preparing a hardline immigration policy, and a 68-million-year-old dinosaur fossil is going under the hammer. 

Australia’s world leading social media ban has officially come into force, with hundreds of thousands of kids getting kicked off platforms today. 

We’ve heard a lot about how teens are feeling, but what about teachers and parents? 

On this bonus episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt speaks with teacher and dad, Dr Ryan Stewart about how he’s navigating the ban with his own kids and students. 

Wednesday Headlines: Anika Wells refers her own expenses to the independent watchdog, Toyah Cordingley’s killer sentenced to life in prison, another death linked to a 000 failure, Donald Trump launches attack on European leaders and threatens to ditch Ukraine, and thousands of fans miss the start of Lady Gaga’s Brisbane show due to a technical glitch. 

The rivalry between Australia’s two biggest cities runs so deep it literally forced the country to build a brand-new capital. Canberra wasn’t chosen for political symbolism; it was created a bid to simmer the fighting between Sydney and Melbourne.

This beef covers everything from weather to nightlife, tourist attractions, footy, house prices and coffee – creating one of our longest rivalries between cities.  

In this episode of The Beefing, Helen Smith unpacks if Sydney has the looks and Melbourne has the personality - or whether it's more complicated than that.