ABC News Programs
The most recent 250 transcripts from the ABC's Radio and TV Current Affairs programs.
Melbourne water restrictions eased
Samantha Donovan, PM
Posted | Updated
The Victorian Government has announced that Melbourne's water restrictions will be eased from stage 3a to stage 3 from early April. The Victorian Opposition says rain, rather than Government investment in water infrastructure, is the reason for the announcement. Political pundits believe it is a carefully timed announcement to get voters on side before the state's election in November.
WA prisoner passes out during transport
David Weber, PM
Posted | Updated
Western Australia's Attorney-General says he has serious concerns about the case of a prisoner who passed out in the back of a transportation vehicle. James David Yarran collapsed last week while being driven from a funeral in Fremantle to Casuarina Prison.
Greens accuse Labor of lying about drugs
Felicity Ogilvie, PM
Posted | Updated
With only days to go until Tasmanians vote in the state election, the Labor Party is warning voters that the Greens plan to legalise heroin and give prisoners the right to vote. The Greens say Labor is lying about the party's drug policy.
Question Time focuses on border protection
Samantha Hawley, PM
Posted | Updated
In Question Time, the Federal Opposition has shifted focus from home insulation to border protection.
Depression-era hardship faces US
Mark Colvin, PM
Posted | Updated
Henry Cisneros was secretary of housing in the Clinton administration. He analyses the possible dangers to the US economy as it struggles to emerge from recession, notably the possibility that Chinese economic growth will fail. He describes how some parts of the country are still undergoing hardship comparable to the Depression era.
Downturn hard on young people, men, retail workers
Bronwyn Herbert, PM
Posted | Updated
A new study by the ABS has shed light on the impact of the economic downturn. It undercuts the congenial narrative that the pain was shared around as workers stayed in jobs on shorter hours. Young people, male workers and retail sector workers were hit hard as the economy and the labour market deteriorated.
Downturn hard on young people
Stephen Long, PM
Posted | Updated
A new study by the ABS has shed light on the impact of the economic downturn. It undercuts the congenial narrative that the pain was shared around as workers stayed in jobs on shorter hours. Young people, male workers and retail sector workers were hit hard as the economy and the labour market deteriorated.
Queensland: where size does matter
Charlotte Glennie, The World Today
Posted | Updated
A row has broken out in Queensland over claims by the former opposition leader, Lawrence Springborg, that he's broken the state record for growing the largest ever pumpkin. A Toowoomba horticulturalist is also claiming the honour.
New Shakespeare play set for publication
Emily Bourke, The World Today
Posted | Updated
After being dismissed in the 18th century as a forgery, a play by William Shakespeare is set to be published. Scholars have now confirmed Shakespeare collaborated with another dramatist in writing the romantic-tragi-comedy Cardenio, which will now be published under the title Double Falsehood.
Artefacts found on site of proposed road
Felicity Ogilvie, The World Today
Posted | Updated
Archaeologists have unearthed Aboriginal stone tools near Hobart that may be up to 40,000 years old. A road was planned for the site. Now the Tasmanian Government can't agree with Aboriginal communities on the best way to protect the area and still get the road built.
Film maker hopes to shoot 'bodies-in-the-barrels'
Loukas Founten, The World Today
Posted | Updated
A Victorian film maker wants to make a movie about what became known as the bodies in barrels killings in South Australia. While some Snowtown residents want to move on from their town's association with the murders a decade ago, others say they should embrace the project.
Lack of clean water kills 4,000 children a day: UN
David Mark, The World Today
Posted | Updated
The World Health Organisation and UNICEF have released a report that's found more than 2.5 billion of the world's people live without proper sanitation and access to clean water. It's also found the lack of sanitation spreads diseases which kill 4,000 children every day.
US financial crackdown could break up big banks
Peter Ryan, The World Today
Posted | Updated
US financial institutions that pose a grave risk to the economy could be broken up under proposed legislation announced in Washington. The reforms are also designed to provide greater consumer protection, to appease taxpayers who've bailed out parts of the financial sector.
Kennett suggests surgery for PM's plan
Eleanor Hall, The World Today
Posted | Updated
Jeff Kennett joins The World Today to discuss the Prime Minister's hospital reform plan. Kevin Rudd has been highlighting Victoria's case-mix system, introduced by Mr Kennett, as the model for his national funding proposal, but the former Victorian premier is yet to come aboard.
Johnson hits back at fraud allegations
Nicole Butler, The World Today
Posted | Updated
The Federal Liberal MP, Michael Johnson, has hit back at allegations of fraud and misusing a campaign bank account. He's admitted to receiving commissions for introducing foreign and Australian business leaders but says the practice is unconventional, not illegal.
Victoria Police admits more racial tension
Kellie Lazzaro, The World Today
Posted | Updated
Victoria's police commissioner concedes there are racial tensions between young African men and some police officers, but he says work's being done to change intolerant attitudes. A survey of African youth in Melbourne has found many feel unfairly hassled and discriminated against by police, while some have reported they were racially taunted and even assaulted.
Former PM pushes for higher super
Lyndal Curtis, The World Today
Posted | Updated
Paul Keating has given the argument for higher superannuation contributions a kick along, expressing some hope that the Federal Government may agree to it. But he's also kicked the Government for budget changes that cut concessional voluntary super contributions.
Reserve highlights European concern
Stephen Long, The World Today
Posted | Updated
The Reserve Bank says instability in some European economies may be a concern for global sharemarkets. The minutes of its most recent policy meeting show the bank decided to raise interest rates because of concerns Australia's economy was nearing capacity and house prices were rising strongly.
Injury ends Beckham's World Cup dreams
Emma Alberici, AM
Posted | Updated
David Beckham had dreamed of becoming the only English footballer to play in four World Cups but now doctors say there's no chance of that. The former England captain ruptured his Achilles tendon during a match at the weekend.
Hand bacteria could be used to solve crimes
Timothy McDonald, AM
Posted | Updated
Police routinely use fingerprints and DNA to link criminals and victims to a crime scene. Now researchers at the University of Colorado may have found a way to use the unique characteristics of bacteria to help police hunt down criminals.
Plan promises 25 per cent cut in emissions for just $4 a household per week
Alexandra Kirk, AM
Posted | Updated
ClimateWorks, a non-profit organisation set up to tackle climate change, has released a study estimating the cost of cutting emissions by 25 per cent by 2020 could be as little as $1.8 billion, or $185 a household a year. It combines a carbon price with targeted or direct government action, which is a mix of Labor and Coalition strategies.
Obama shortens visit to Australia and Indonesia
Lisa Millar, AM
Posted | Updated
The White House admits the US President Barack Obama's visit to Australia and Indonesia has been delayed and condensed, but it says the trip is critical to build on partnerships in the region. On the agenda for talks in Canberra are climate change, trade and terrorism.
Fed Oppn optimistic about election chances as Govt popularity retreats
Lyndal Curtis, AM
Posted | Updated
Voter satisfaction with Kevin Rudd's performance has dropped to its lowest level since he became the leader of the federal Labor Party, according to a new opinion poll. The result is offering hope to the Opposition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce, who says his side can win at the next election even though it's planning to impose a big new tax to pay for paid parental leave.
Former chief scientist questions safety of using recycled water for drinking
Tony Eastley, AM
Posted | Updated
A water quality expert says mixing recycled stormwater into the drinking water supply is a risk that's not worth taking. Professor Don Bursill is a former chief executive of the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment and was the chief scientist with South Australia's Water Corporation for 16 years.
Both sides of SA politics chase water votes
Nance Haxton, AM
Posted | Updated
The Liberal leader in South Australia, Isobel Redmond, is pushing recycled stormwater as a safe and reliable solution to Adelaide's drinking water shortage. But the Labor leader Mike Rann says the water wouldn't be safe to drink, so the State Government is building a desalination plant instead.
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Will Australia's flawed disability support system be reformed in time to save families now at breaking point?
One Golden Hour: Mark Corcoran with Generation Y in Afghanistan.
Barrie Cassidy interviews the manager of opposition business, Christopher Pyne.
Ben Atherton on the adverse outcomes of 'neutered bureaucracy speak'.
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