Background Briefing - Abc Rn

An alleyway brawl that left a Melbourne schoolboy dead, has raised questions about who’s responsible for keeping international students safe in Australia. Year 12 student Jeremy Hu, was repeatedly kicked and stomped on, and he later died of his injuries. None of his friends called an ambulance that night, and instead of taking him to the hospital, they checked him into a hotel. Reporter Jane Lee takes a hard look at the $30 billion international education industry and follows the murder trial in the aftermath of Jeremy Hu's death. A warning you'll hear some strong language and descriptions of violence. This is a repeat of a program that aired in March 2018.

After a spate of recent suicides, taxi licence holders and their families are warning of the mounting human toll of deregulating their industry. Since the arrival of Uber and other ride-sharing apps, a once lucrative investment has plummeted in value. Who is to blame? Alex Mann investigates. This is a repeat of a program that aired in August 2018.

Thousands of patients may have been put at risk of exposure to tampered drugs by the Queensland Ambulance Service. One 74-year-old grandmother from Brisbane, Barbara Cook, believes paramedics unwittingly gave her a contaminated IV injection. She also believes that she contracted a life-threatening bacterial infection as a result. With secret recordings, leaked documents and whistle-blower testimony Hagar Cohen uncovers how the service botched an investigation into one of its biggest-ever drug tampering scandals. This is a repeat of a program that aired in July 2018.

Binary option scams are one of the biggest financial scams in the world right now and Australians are targets. Scammers use flashy websites to trick victims into thinking they're trading on financial markets. But it's all a charade aimed at encouraging people to hand over their money. Reporter Mario Christodoulou speaks to a former scammer and Australian victims who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a repeat of a program that aired in March 2018.

Three years ago Marcus Rappel murdered 28-year-old Tara Costigan with an axe. The murder continues to confront our definition of domestic violence because despite a pattern of verbal aggressions, Rappel had never previously physically abused Costigan, the mother of his child. Canberra journalists Elizabeth Byrne and Susan McDonald investigate how health professionals, and law enforcement could have prevented the death, were they equipped with the right information at the right time. Family members of both Tara Costigan and Marcus Rappel speak out for the first time since the death. This is a repeat of a program that aired in July 2018.

It’s only 30 kilometres east of Brisbane but the economic gap between Cleveland and the Queensland capital is massive. Now an influential developer wants to revitalise the coastal town by building a $1.4 billion precinct on the foreshore. There’s just one problem: the region’s wetlands are protected under an international treaty known as the Ramsar convention. So who prevails in a battle between birdlife and business? Steve Cannane investigates.

Depending on who you believe, getting medical devices approved for use in Australia is either too difficult or alarmingly easy. An investigation by Background Briefing in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has revealed the number of patient deaths and injuries linked to medical devices around the world. In part two of this series, reporter Alex Mann looks at how manufacturers use gaps in regulations to get their products to market as quickly as possible.

At their best, they save lives. At their worst, they end them. There are more than 57,000 medical devices approved for use in Australia, but how safe are they? An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in partnership with Background Briefing reveals the extent of the damage caused to patients across the world. In part one of this special series, our reporter Mario Christodoulou explains why many medical devices known to be dangerous are still on the market.

Why would someone intentionally start a bushfire? And if authorities knew why, could they stop them? Background Briefing gains rare access to convicted arsonists and at-risk teens to find out. Alex Mann investigates a new approach that fire authorities say could split those with an interest in fire from those with a burning obsession. This is a repeat of a program that aired in November 2017.

It’s domestic violence with the added threat of deportation. In many South Asian cultures, the bride’s family often pays the groom. But sometimes the demands for dowry don’t stop with the wedding. Migrant women in Australia speak to Sarah Dingle for the first time about falling unwittingly into abusive relationships.

The federal government says it's been "quietly" removing children from Nauru "in accordance with our policies", but lawyers in Australia tell a different story. They've been fighting the Department of Home Affairs in the Federal Court to secure the evacuation of sick kids on the island. In part two of our special investigation, Olivia Rousset is given exclusive access to the solicitors working tirelessly on behalf of refugees, asylum seekers, and their families.

He promised to ''drain the swamp'' in Washington, but has Donald Trump kept his word? The upcoming midterm elections are shaping up as a referendum on his presidency so far. Reporter James Bennett travelled to Virginia to investigate whether the businessman and reality TV star can maintain support from working class Americans, who abandoned the Democrats in 2016.

Has the federal government been ignoring a mental health crisis among child refugees and asylum seekers on Nauru? Background Briefing has obtained dozens of questionnaires that provide a snapshot of how kids on the island were faring between 2015 and 2017. A prominent psychiatrist says the results would have been given to senior immigration department bureaucrats yet requests for medical evacuations were repeatedly denied. Olivia Rousset investigates.

Across the country, there have been more than 100 reports of needles found inside strawberries picked and packed for public consumption. The contamination scandal brought an industry to its knees and police are no closer to the truth. It's a mystery ripe for investigation. Hagar Cohen reports.

In this episode, Alex Mann investigates how Australia's alt-right movement is covertly influencing mainstream politics. He tracks operatives from a secretive fight club in Sydney to the moment one member was elected to the NSW executive of the Young Nationals.   He also confronts the men involved and asks what is their vision for Australia, and how far are they willing to go to achieve it?

On New Year's Eve, 1983, the driver of a train passing through Kempsey in NSW made a grim discovery. The body of Lewis "Buddy" Kelly was strewn across the tracks. Police said the 16-year-old's death was an accident, but his family suspects foul play. The case is one of three eerily similar mysteries. Is there a pattern here? Allan Clarke investigates.

It was a $20 million investment scheme that saw the retirement savings of more than 100 investors used as a piggy bank for company directors who borrowed funds to cover cash flow problems and even a divorce settlement. This week, Mario Christodoulou updates his investigation after sighting internal documents suggesting the firm behind the scheme was lying to regulators and associating with "undesirables".

They're legal in most states, subject to conditions, so why are women so often denied late surgical abortions? In this episode, Hagar Cohen goes inside the only private clinic in the country where pregnancies can be terminated between 20 and 24 weeks.

We now have our seventh prime minister in 10 years. What the hell is going on? This week, Background Briefing brings you a three-part special on the Liberal Party's leadership crisis. We witness the downfall of Malcolm Turnbull, speak to the conservative insurgents who challenged a sitting PM, and look at the consequences for our nation. (Language warning: This program contains profanity.)

Peter Daly projects confidence and success. He wears gold rings, gold cufflinks, and a gold watch. The market, he says, is his backyard and he knows it "damn well". But the 59-year-old is actually in a world of trouble. The corporate watchdog, ASIC, accuses his network of companies of mismanaging funds, misleading investors, and breaching the Corporations Act. Against the advice of his public relations team, Mr Daly agreed to an interview with Background Briefing. Reporter Mario Christodoulou investigates.