The Briefing

Headlines:
Trump boasts of high-powered delegation to China
Aussie hantavirus passengers to begin their journey home
Labor has a new senator, as Tammy Tyrell switches sides
Budget reactions see major Aussie banks lose value
Deep Dive:
Coles misled its customers over false discounts, a Federal Court ruled today. The supermarket raised prices only to slightly drop them, and then presented the new, higher, prices as “Down Down” discounts. Coles shoppers were misled over hundreds of common supermarket items, the judge found.
In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Joel Gibson, consumer expert, to talk about what penalties Coles could face and whether we’ll ever be able to trust supermarkets again.
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Thursday Headlines:
Coalition to stop non-citizens from accessing welfare
Trump arrives in Beijing for talks with Xi Jinping
Aircraft secured to bring Aussies home from hantavirus outbreak
US Court overturns Alex Murdaugh's murder convictions and orders new trial
Evidence of dentistry found in Neanderthals
Deep Dive: This week, in the shadow of the budget, the federal government dropped its long-awaited response to gambling harm.
It’s left critics not only underwhelmed with the response, but also angry at the decision to try to bury it under headlines focusing on the 2026 budget.
In this episode of The Briefing, Independent MP Kate Chaney joins Sacha Barbour Gatt to dissect the government’s response and what needs to happen next to address gambling harm in this country.

Further listening from the headlines:
Budget reactions, from love to hate
China’s quiet role in the Iran war
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Headlines:
Politicians react, and budget battle lines are drawn
Iran still has missiles, according to US intelligence
FBI director grilled over his drinking
Inquest begins into taser death of 95yo Clare Nowland
Scrapped: plans for Gold Coast Trump tower
Deep Dive:
On the day after the Federal Budget we get a preview of a year’s worth of political messaging. The Coalition are calling the tax reforms an assault on aspiration, while the Greens have said the budget helps big corporations and cuts off disabled Australians. Barnaby Joyce thinks you might be better off buying a boat than investing.
In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Tim Lester, Politics and National Security correspondent for Channel 7.
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Jim Chalmers has handed down his fifth federal budget overnight, revealing a $45 billion improvement to the bottom line.
But amidst the numbers and policies, what are the things you should know about?
In this episode of The Briefing, Sacha Barbour Gatt and Chris Spyrou take you through the biggest announcements, from changes to negative gearing to a little tax time sweetener.
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Headlines:
Soldier Lachlan Muddle dies in parachuting accident
Another hantavirus infection, as Aussies wait in Netherlands
Chalmers gives a final pre-budget preview
UK is heading towards a leadership spill
Canvas hack resolves with hackers supposedly deleting data
... and Wordle is becoming a TV game show
Deep Dive:
Australia is a data centre destination: investors and developers love our stable infrastructure and the submarine internet cables that connect us to the rest of the world. That means that we have a lot of data centres, and more on the way.
So: what exactly is a data centre? Who owns them? Who uses them? And where are they being built? In this episode of The Briefing, Natarsha Belling is joined by Dr Bronwyn Cumbo from the University of Technology Sydney.
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