7am

In December last year, in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, Anthony Albanese promised the biggest national gun buyback since Port Arthur. He wanted states and territories to agree to new gun laws by March and legislate them by July. But that first deadline has passed – and the national response is fracturing. Queensland and the Northern Territory are refusing the buyback, Tasmania is rejecting a cap on the number of firearms a person can own, and a national register is not expected to be running until 2028. The Royal Commission into Antisemitism has also weighed in, saying Australia should waste no time in implementing the buyback. So today, 30 years after Port Arthur, we’re returning to our January episode – where Nicole Johnston speaks with Ebony Bennett from the Australia Institute on why Australia has more guns than ever, and why reform is still so difficult. This episode was originally published in January, 2026.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Deputy director at The Australia Institute, Ebony Bennett  Photo: AAP Image/Joel CarrettSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Albanese government has moved quickly on the royal commission into antisemitism, accepting all the recommendations from its first report, before public hearings begin.  It comes at a volatile moment in national politics, after the issue was seized on by the opposition in the wake of the Bondi terror attack, and as the issue of the conflicts in Iran, Gaza and Lebanon continue to expose deep division across the country. Meanwhile, One Nation is trying to turn its momentum in the polls into something more lasting, backed by a private plane from Gina Rinehart and millions in donations from her allies.  Today, ABC Radio Melbourne’s Raf Epstein, on the royal commission, the politics of One Nation, and whether the divisions running through the country are likely to deepen.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: ABC Radio Melbourne, Raf EpsteinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first report from the Royal Commission into Antisemitism has landed at a volatile moment.  Australia’s terrorism threat level is already listed as probable, and the war in Iran is adding new pressure to an already fragile security environment that risks fuelling grievances, inflaming extremism, and increasing the risk facing Jewish communities in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.  But the interim report leaves some of the hardest questions for later, including whether warnings before the attack were properly acted on and whether security agencies were on the same page when it came to identifying the threat.  Today, counter-terrorism expert Greg Barton on what the report reveals, and why the threat facing Australia may be growing faster than the systems built to stop it.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Counter-terrorism expert at Deakin University, Professor Greg Barton Photo: AAP Image/Mick TsikasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Iran’s war time propaganda videos featuring AI rap music and Lego characters are getting millions of views online. They praise the Islamic Republic, and mock Trump. But their message is also dark, anti-semitic and leaning into conspiracy theories.So how has a regime that’s shut down the internet, and isn’t known for its sense of humor captured the zeitgeist so well? Today, Holly Dagres, an Iranian-American analyst from the Washington Institute on Iran’s viral meme war and what it tells us about the regime.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Senior fellow at the Washington Institute, Holly DagresSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was a relationship that saw both Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson rise to power. Now, the Tucker-Trump bromance is officially over. Conservative media powerhouse Tucker Carlson has offered an apology to voters for backing the president, as their relationship turned sour. Today, Jason Zengerle, staff writer for the New Yorker, on the end of Tucker and Trump – and what it means for the MAGA movement.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Staff writer for the New Yorker, Jason Zengerle Photo: EPA/JUSTIN LANESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From his diagnosis with oesophageal cancer in 2024 to openly wrestling with end-of-life decisions, beloved ABC broadcaster James Valentine took his listeners along with him as he stared down his own death. Now, after his passing, that openness continues – with James’ decision to share the fact that he ended his life through voluntary assisted dying, or VAD. Today, Go Gentle Australia founder Andrew Denton on James’ decision, and why some Australians still have trouble accessing VAD, despite it being legal in all but one Australian territory.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Go Gentle Australia founder, Andrew Denton Photo: AAP Image/Dan HimbrechtsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump has compared himself to Abraham Lincoln and JFK after an alleged shooter, dubbed in his reported-manifesto as the “friendly federal assassin”, charged a security point armed with guns and knives. For a moment, the White House Correspondents dinner continued, the president and his guests unaware until the secret service pulled him from the stage, forming a human shield. This marks the third alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump in two years. As political violence targeting both sides of the aisle grows to unprecedented levels. Today, SMH columnist and former assistant managing editor of NPR in Washington, Bill Wyman on America’s surge in political violence and Trump’s role as both target and provocateur. If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: SMH columnist Bill Wyman Photo: PA/AlamySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In October 2022, Dan Duggan was arrested at a Woolworths in Orange, regional New South Wales, after dropping his kids off at school. American prosecutors claim the former US Marine pilot helped train Chinese military pilots in South Africa more than a decade ago, in breach of US arms trafficking laws. Duggan denies that, and says he believed he was involved in lawful civilian flight training. He’s now facing extradition to the United States. But before the arrest, the charges, and before the extradition fight, Duggan was living as an Australian citizen, running a flight business in Tasmania, and building a life with his wife Saffrine and their children. Today, Dan Duggan’s wife, Saffrine Duggan on her husband’s fight for freedom from jail, and journalist and member of the Free Dan Duggan Campaign, Michael Sainsbury, on how an Australian pilot became the target of US prosecution. This is part one of a two-part episode.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Saffrine Duggan and journalist and member of the Free Dan Duggan campaign Michael Sainsbury.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Duggan’s case is now an extradition battle. Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus approved the Australian citizen’s extradition to the United States and the Federal Court has rejected the latest attempt to stop it. Duggan’s supporters say this is no longer just a legal case – they believe it’s also shaped by geopolitics and the growing rivalry between the United States and China, and by Australia’s willingness to go along with Washington. Today, journalist Michael Sainsbury, and Saffrine Duggan, on why the Australian government signed off on Duggan’s extradition, what he could face in the United States, and why his supporters say he has become caught in something much bigger than one man. This is part two of a two-part episode.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Saffrine Duggan and journalist and member of the Free Dan Duggan campaign Michael Sainsbury. Photo: AAP Image/Dan HimbrechtsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan introduced the state's treaty bill into parliament, she said it would pave the way for a formal apology, the introduction of Aboriginal truth-telling into the school curriculum, and a better future for Indigenous Australians in the state. The treaty is the culmination of almost a decade of work that established the First Peoples’ Assembly – which led the negotiations – and delivers on ‘Voice, Treaty and Truth’, making Victoria the first state in the country to do so. Now, that treaty is in its next phase. This week, we'll have the election results of who will sit on the next First Peoples’ Assembly – and tomorrow, the process of setting up the delegation that will actually decide what the treaty will look like begins. Today, the co-chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly, Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg, on what they hope Victoria’s treaty will deliver – and how its success will be measured. This is part one of a two-part episode that first aired in September 2025.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Co-Chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, Ngarra Murray and Rueben Berg. Photo: AAP Image/Pool, Justin McManusSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.