The Morning Edition SMH & The Age

This week we look at two stories about our public servants. The first story is about the faceless kind of public servant who toil in government departments, and the second story is about the political public servants at the heart of the Albanese government, as we discuss the different public and private roles of ministers. 

Joining Jacqueline Maley is national affairs editor James Massola and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.
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For years, it has been the biggest question in geopolitics. Who will win the struggle for world domination? China? Or the United States? American president Joe Biden has dubbed it the “fight to win the 21st century”.

But behind the grandiose rhetoric, there is one tiny country stuck in the middle of these two superpowers. Taiwan, the independent country that China claims as its own.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on how Taiwan’s new president - a former political ‘hot-head’ inaugurated earlier this week - might manage his country’s struggle for sovereignty. And his citizens’ growing fear of invasion.
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It’s not everyday that an Australian artwork gets thrust into the global spotlight, let alone becomes a punchline on a hugely popular American late night talk show.

But all that changed last week, after news broke that Australia’s richest woman demanded that her portrait be taken down from the walls of The National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra.

Today, investigative reporter Eryk Bagshaw, who helped break this story on why it’s gone viral, and how Gina Rinehart’s lengths to remove the portrait speak to the heart of Vincent Namatjira’s artwork, a satire about wealth and influence.
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Iran state media confirmed on Monday that president Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash on a foggy mountain side in a hard-to-reach corner of north-west Iran.

Was his death an accident, or not? And might it escalate the ever-growing tensions between Iran, and Israel, its sworn enemy, which some have speculated is behind the accident?

Today, digital foreign editor Chris Zappone on the hard-line cleric who oversaw a morality crackdown in Iran that led to nationwide protests. And what impact his death could have on stability, or instability, in the wider region.


For more, see the BBC's 'Mahsa Amini: How one woman's death sparked Iran protests'.
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Defence force whistleblower David McBride was jailed last week for more than five years for leaking documents to the ABC.His information formed the basis of what became known as the Afghan Files, which aired allegations war crimes were committed by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.McBride has been lauded as a poster boy in the fight for greater protection for whistleblowers in Australia, but, like many of our whistleblowers, it’s not so simple.So, who is David McBride? Heroic whistleblower, or, something else?Today, Good Weekend senior writer Jane Cadzow on the dichotomy of the whistleblower.


Cadzow’s profile of David McBride: https://www.smh.com.au/national/david-mcbride-on-whistleblowing-his-famous-dad-and-a-possible-jail-sentence-20240129-p5f0vq.html?collection=p5f0ve&gb=1
ABC’s The Afghan Files: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/killings-of-unarmed-afghans-by-australian-special-forces/8466642
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The government handed down its third federal budget this week, and it was the usual blizzard of figures. 

Treasurer Jim Chalmers gave us hand-outs, grand plans for the future and some heroic predictions on inflation figures. 

Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe and national affairs editor James Massola join Jacqueline Maley to unpack the budget as a political document - will it help the government win the next election, and will the voting public believe all the promises made about the future of the economy?

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.
Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.