7am Schwartz Media

There’s been another strike against whistleblowing.
Richard Boyle was a tax office employee when he raised concerns internally about a scheme to garnish overdue taxes directly from people’s bank accounts. When that didn’t work, he told journalists.
A court in Adelaide yesterday upheld a ruling that he’s not a whistleblower – which means he now has no defence for leaking that confidential information.
Today, Macquarie University professor of journalism and whistleblower advocate Peter Greste on why the government talks big on open democracy, but hasn’t acted to fix the system.

Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram
Guest: Macquarie University professor of journalism and whistleblower advocate Peter Greste

There’s no nice way to put it: Australian childcare is broken, and not just for those with children.
It’s prohibitively expensive, getting the days you’re after is like winning the lottery and if you do get some government subsidy, you have the pleasure of hours on the phone to Centrelink.
We’re at a critical point though. The government has promised a huge overhaul of the system and the prime minister is considering reducing the cost to just $10 per kid, per day.
Today, CEO of The Parenthood Georgie Dent on the problems at the core of this broken system and the Centre for Policy Development’s Katherine Oborne on one way to fix it.

Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram
Guest: CEO of The Parenthood, Georgie Dent; The Centre for Policy Development’s program director Katherine Oborne.

Peter Costello’s legacy was set. He was the longest serving treasurer in Australian history and under the then prime minister John Howard, he transformed our economy into what it is today.
That was until he appeared to push a journalist asking pesky questions at Canberra Airport earlier this month and all of it was caught on camera. 
Three days later, he resigned as Chair of Nine amid a storm of scrutiny around its workplace culture.
Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe, on Peter Costello’s reign at Nine and the enemies he made along the way.

Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram
Guest: National correspondent for The Saturday Paper Mike Seccombe.

Barely a week goes by when the Department of Home Affairs isn’t under the blowtorch of media or political scrutiny.
In one way, the level of scrutiny is to be expected. When a department is so huge it takes in security, intelligence, immigration and policing functions, with some 14,000 staff under the one secretary – it’s inevitable.
The question is, should one department have so much power? 
Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow on the inner workings of the super department.

Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram
Guest: Chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Karen Barlow.

Two years ago, on the day after the Labor government was sworn into office, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen called a press conference.
In those very first remarks, the new minister said the climate wars were over.
Some scoffed at the time. There were still plenty of political fights to be had over how Australia would reach net zero – but there was nonetheless a belief that Australia would move forward with climate policy. This week that changed.
Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the week Peter Dutton promised to tear up emission targets for 2030 and why the next election will be a climate election after all.

Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram
Guest: Columnist for The Saturday Paper, Paul Bongiorno.

The US has a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, and this one seems to be gathering momentum.
It’s not much different to the previous plans, except that it’s backed by the UN Security Council.
The council’s resolution says Israel has accepted the deal, and Hamas has welcomed its adoption, but it hasn’t been signed. So, why not? What’s preventing an agreement on a ceasefire?
Today, senior foreign affairs reporter for the Huffington Post Akbar Shahid Ahmed on whether Gaza is any closer to a ceasefire.

Socials: Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram
Guest: Senior foreign affairs reporter for the Huffington Post Akbar Shahid Ahmed