Oh shes after more money and attention. (the mother)
60 MINUTES
SPECIAL EVENT
SUNDAY, MAY 14, AT 9.00PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
FINDING CLEO
Who will ever forget the beautiful face of Cleo Smith? She’s the courageous little girl who, in the middle of the night, was abducted from her parents’ tent at a remote Western Australian campsite. For 18 long days Australians and millions of people around the world held their breath, desperately hoping, though not really believing, that Cleo would be found safe and well. But she was, thanks to one of the most meticulous and determined police investigations ever undertaken. In a 60 MINUTES exclusive, Tara Brown reports the untold story of Cleo Smith’s kidnapping and rescue. Brown speaks with Cleo’s parents, Ellie and Jake, to find out how their daughter is coping 19 months on from her horrifying ordeal. She also reveals dramatic new footage taken in the first few hours following Cleo’s disappearance, and uncovers extraordinary new insights into the case, all of which culminated at the moment she was found in the happiest four words ever heard from a four-year-old:
“My name is Cleo.”
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producers: Garry McNab, Sheree Gibson
THIS WEEK ON 60 MINUTES
SUNDAY, MAY 21, AT 8.45PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
WEAPONS FOR PEACE
It might sound like twisted logic, but military forces everywhere argue that the greater the firepower they possess, the greater the chance of maintaining peace. In other words, massive weaponry is the best deterrent to war. Right now the theory is being tested like never before, and much of it is happening in Australia’s backyard, the Indo-Pacific region. The United States wants the world, and more particularly China, to know of its increasing presence there, and to do that it’s putting on a spectacular show. Reporting from the hotly contested South China Sea, Amelia Adams reveals the U.S. military in full-flight is an extraordinary sight to behold.
Reporter: Amelia Adams
Producers: Natalie Clancy, Hannah Bowers, Sheree Gibson
WHAT THE FIVE EYES SEE
Showing off deadly weaponry in massive war games is a tactic China and the United States both use to try to avoid full-on combat. But the truth is the two countries, as well as other nations including Australia, are already battling it out in an invisible war. There are no frontline soldiers but there are significant skirmishes. Until now these conflicts have been kept quiet, but key members of a secretive alliance of top cops from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand are about to change that. In exclusive interviews with Nick McKenzie, the group known as the “Five Eyes” disclose startling information about the trouble they’re seeing.
Reporter: Nick McKenzie
Producer: Amelia Ballinger
https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1660095572102070273?s=20
THIS WEEK ON 60 MINUTES
SUNDAY, MAY 28, AT 8.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
A MIND OF ITS OWN
60 MINUTES reporters are often tasked with unusual assignments. This week, in a first for the program, Tom Steinfort interviews a robot. Ameca, as it likes to be called, is the most advanced lifelike robot in the world. A marvel of generative artificial intelligence, it’s curious, chatty and full of attitude. As Steinfort discovers, this super machine really does have a mind of its own. But while having a normal conversation with it is undoubtedly exciting, it is also just as frightening. And that’s because creating technology that allows AI bots like Ameca to be smarter than us might just be the most stupid thing humans have ever done.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort
Producers: Natalie Clancy, Sammi Taylor
DEAD END
It’s now official. A coroner has ruled that missing Sydney con woman Melissa Caddick is dead, although precisely how, where and when she died remains a mystery. What also remains is the misery of those who were duped out of millions of dollars of their savings by Caddick’s simple scam. She claimed to be a financial whizz, promising huge returns to investors. Instead, she spent their money on herself, purchasing designer dresses, custom-made jewellery and lavish overseas holidays. Tom Steinfort has been reporting on the Caddick case for more than two years and this Sunday on 60 MINUTES reveals new vision he has obtained showing Melissa, her husband Anthony Koletti and her brother Adam Grimley on a night out before her disappearance. Steinfort’s latest investigation has also uncovered information which could provide a long-awaited glimmer of hope for Caddick’s many victims.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort
Producer: Tracey Hannaford
https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1661637192324718592?s=20
60 MINUTES
SPECIAL EDITION
SUNDAY, JUNE 4, AT 8.40PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
BEN ROBERTS-SMITH – INSIDE THE TRIAL
For many Australians, it’s almost too difficult to even imagine. In a landmark defamation trial, the country’s most revered and decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has been found to be a murderer and a war criminal.
Today, Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko delivered his judgement in the case. It came after Roberts-Smith sued Nine Newspapers and reporters Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters, following damning articles they wrote about the Victoria Cross recipient in 2018.
The journalists’ investigation revealed that far from being a hero of the Afghanistan war, Roberts-Smith broke moral and legal rules of military engagement, including being involved, directly and indirectly, in the murders of a number of innocent Afghan civilians and other persons-under-control (PUCs). He also engaged in multiple acts of violence including bullying and intimidation of fellow SAS soldiers.
Roberts-Smith was not in Sydney to hear Justice Besanko’s decision, instead preferring to holiday in Bali.
Outside the Federal Court, McKenzie and Masters re-enforced the importance of the role journalists have in exposing truth, even in cases where revealing wrongdoing could have embarrassing and serious national security implications. They also acknowledged the bravery of the SAS soldiers who spoke out to defend the truth.
Since 2019, 60 MINUTES has supported the reporting of McKenzie and Masters by broadcasting multiple stories about Afghanistan war atrocities committed by Australian soldiers. In a special edition of the program this Sunday, Tom Steinfort reveals even more information about what really happened in Afghanistan. As part of his report, Steinfort, cameraman Scott Morelli and sound recordist Matt Brown made a dangerous journey to Kabul to speak to Afghan witnesses to Robert-Smith’s alleged crimes. It’s believed the 60 MINUTES team are the first Australian media to travel to Afghanistan since the Taliban reclaimed control of the country in August 2021.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort
Producers: Garry McNab, Dora Weekley
https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1664174069519110145?s=20
SPECIAL TIME – 7.00PM
SUNDAY, JUNE 11, ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
EAT, PRAY, PROFIT
It’s an amount of money that’s truly mind-boggling. The largely unregulated world of wellness is estimated to be worth $7 trillion. Remarkably, it’s three times more than the traditional pharmaceutical industry. And Australia is leading the charge in the wellness boom. Living among us are an increasing number of new-age gurus who believe, for an often very healthy price, they can fix our many real and imagined ailments. They claim things like coffee enemas, carnivore diets, intravenous drips, even vagina-scented candles will provide much needed zest for users. On 60 MINUTES, Tom Steinfort realigns his chakras and sets forth on an eye-opening journey to discover if the wellness craze is giving us a new lease on life or is just an easy way to empty our wallets.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort
Producer: Tracey Hannaford
SPARE US!
Spare a thought for the spare. Prince Harry has endured a hell of a week explaining his hell of a life to a judge in a London court. He claims that for years the English tabloids harassed and hounded him into misery by hiring private eyes to constantly follow him, as well as hacking his phone to get the scoop on his secrets. Harry says he’s now had enough and it must stop. But as Sarah Abo reports, for a man who has recently released a money-making autobiography and given multiple television interviews spilling the dirt on his famous family’s squabbles, Harry’s demand to hold the newspapers to account could just as easily be seen as a case of breathtaking hypocrisy.
Reporter: Sarah Abo
Producer: Natalie Clancy
THIS WEEK ON 60 MINUTES
AT A SPECIAL TIME – 7.00PM
SUNDAY, JUNE 18, ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
IN CHINA’S SIGHTS
It’s well known that China won’t stand for any criticism. There, opponents of the communist regime are simply not tolerated. But it seems Beijing now thinks it also has the right to ignore international borders and silence dissent anywhere it sees fit. Around the world it’s setting up illegal outposts called “Chinese Overseas Police Service Stations”, and as the name implies, the objective of these offices is clear. Our law enforcement agencies deny there are any of these stations in Australia, even though Chinese authorities openly publicise their existence. But as Tara Brown reports in a special 60 MINUTES investigation, that’s not the end of the intimidation. China is also using disgraceful new tactics to target Australians who dare to speak out.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producer: Laura Sparkes
THE STING
Volunteering to help further the cause of science is a noble endeavour, but as Tom Steinfort discovers, being a human guinea pig can also hurt like hell. He has just experienced a spectacular but rather painful adventure around Australia with a group of researchers on an extraordinary mission. While most people would instinctively run from the dangerous creepy crawlies of the outback, these brave scientists deliberately seek out spiders, scorpions and centipedes, and then invite them to attack. Their aim is to get bitten to understand the pain of the stings. They then use the information, as well as the venom they collect, to develop much-needed medicines and painkillers. It’s amazing work that’s already saving lives.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort
Producer: Serge Negus
Along with all their obsession with millionaire fraudsters, Ghislaine Maxwell, the Royals and every tabloid story ever, 60 Minutes is really becoming a one-trick pony with the style of stories they’ve been doing.
Maybe China’s pissed off at us because of all the 60 Minutes stories 
It comes weeks after Ridgway made a gobsmacking confession to this masthead and 60 Minutes about how he had forged his wife’s signature hundreds of times on loan documents and share transfers and put her on boards without her knowledge or consent.
The promo for that story was so sensationalist as well. It was almost laughable.
The once powerful current affairs show is slowly drowning
It drowned two decades ago.
SUNDAY, JUNE 25, AT 8.30PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
SECRETS AND SPIES
The murky business of espionage usually exists in the shadows. But not this week on 60 MINUTES. In an intriguing and at times robust encounter, Tara Brown interviews a woman our spy agency, ASIO, claims is an agent tasked by Russia to gather sensitive information. Her name is Marina Sologub, and up until earlier this year she’d been living and working in Adelaide for three years. Now she’s in immigration detention waiting to be kicked out of the country. As Brown reports, cases like this would normally be kept top secret, but quite remarkably a very bold Sologub is refusing to go quietly, denying accusations she’s a spy, and vowing to fight her deportation to the bitter end.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producer: Amelia Ballinger
A FEW GOOD WOMEN
He has killed thousands of soldiers and civilians and flattened countless towns and villages, but 17 months on from his illegal invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin is still a long way from victory. It’s a major embarrassment for the Russian bully, who originally expected to win the war within days. And now, along with the defiant Ukrainian forces, Putin is also facing other formidable foes. Tom Steinfort travels to north-eastern Europe to meet a group of fearless females, including the prime ministers of Finland and Estonia, who despite the dangers are bravely standing up to the dictator, determined to play their part in his defeat.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort
Producers: Natalie Clancy, Sheree Gibson
Promo
Standing up to a tyrant. SUNDAY on #60Mins, from prime ministers to protestors, the incredible women leading the campaign to stop Vladimir Putin’s illegal war. pic.twitter.com/60PqiLd4QP
— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) June 21, 2023
THIS WEEK ON 60 MINUTES
SUNDAY, JULY 2, AT 8.40PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
SCAMDEMIC
Falling victim to a scammer is an awful feeling. It’s not only the theft of money or personal information that stings, the thought of being tricked by lowlife crooks is enough to enrage anyone. Statistics show more than 95 per cent of Australians are exposed to telephone, text and internet scams each year. Even more alarming is the amount of money these thieves are stealing from us. Last year it exceeded three billion dollars. But on 60 MINUTES, Amelia Adams reports there is finally some positive news. A major fightback is underway and it’s one that aims to turn Australia from an easy target into an impenetrable fortress.
Reporter: Amelia Adams
Producer: Serge Negus
WHO’S THE BOSS?
For 24 years there was no dispute about who was the boss in Russia. Vladimir Putin seemed to proudly wear the label of the world’s most feared strongman. But last weekend, all of sudden, his iron rule was challenged. Putin stumbled and for the first time appeared weak and vulnerable. The man threatening to topple the Russian tyrant was Yevgeny Prigozhin, arguably an even nastier piece of work than Putin himself. As the head of the Wagner group, he controls the brutal mercenaries who have been fighting alongside Russian forces in the illegal war against Ukraine. Tom Steinfort reports that what worries the world now is figuring out what Prigozhin’s next move could be. And where.
Reporter: Tom Steinfort
THIS WEEK ON 60 MINUTES
SUNDAY, JULY 9, AT 7.00PM ON CHANNEL 9 & 9NOW
LOVE TRAP
It’s a crime so malicious it’s difficult to understand how anyone could even think of it. It began innocently when a Brisbane flight attendant, Jess, had a chance meeting on an aeroplane with the Australian actor Lincoln Lewis. However, unknown to both of them at the time, this harmless encounter would set off a catastrophic chain of events. Somehow, someone with a particularly warped mind got wind of their friendship, and using social media, assumed Lincoln Lewis’ identity, then tricked the young woman into a dangerous long-distance relationship. For more than a decade Jess and other helpless victims lived in fear as they were constantly stalked and harassed. But when detectives finally caught the culprit there was another startling twist. As Tara Brown reports, it’s little wonder police now describe this as Australia’s worst case of “cat fishing”.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producers: Tracey Hannaford, Naomi Shivaraman
THORPE CONTROL
Where to begin when trying to explain, who is Lidia Thorpe? Maybe a start is to think of her as the Nick Kyrgios of Australian politics. She’s edgy, unpredictable, sometimes angry, often funny, and for a politician, refreshingly candid. As Karl Stefanovic discovers in an exclusive interview with the independent Senator, Lidia Thorpe is also hugely committed to her job in the Australian parliament. She tells Stefanovic her drive comes from a tough upbringing which has not only given her resilience, but a will to always fight for the underdog. It’s a resolve that might make Australians reassess their view of the controversial politician, and possibly even wish for more Lidia Thorpes in Canberra.
Reporter: Karl Stefanovic
Producers: Natalie Clancy, Lisa Brown
Absolutely trashy tabloid featherweight interview of Lidia Thorpe by a giggly Karl Stefanovic last night.
What an absolute joke 60 Minutes has become. 100% trash. ‘ACA Sunday’ fronted by a parade of lightweight idiotic ‘reporters’ like Karl and Steinfort.
A shadow of its former self being flogged on every level by Seven’s Spotlight.
We on the 7 payroll are we mate?
Feel you’re going a bit overboard there.
You clearly didn’t watch the Lehrmann interview, did you?
To give it credit, when they do investigative journalism on hard hitting topics, they do well.
The sad thing is that the current iteration is just the same type of stories over and over again on rotation.
