Four Corners
Returns Monday 1 February at 8:30pm
The 2016 season of ABC’s premier television current affairs program, will be hosted by Sarah Ferguson.
Archived topic Four Corners
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###Bad Sport
Monday 1 February at 8.30pm
Bad Sport: Four Corners investigates the criminal networks threatening the integrity of sport. Four Corners returns Monday with this must watch episode, three months in the making, with new revelations and exclusive interviews.
“We’re talking about a multi-headed monster here.” Sports Integrity Specialist
As match-fixing allegations rock the tennis world, Four Corners takes you into the heart of the scandal.
“Corruption in sport is one of the fastest growing organised crime types in the world.” Australian Law Enforcement Officer
Four Corners meets the investigators on the frontline as they play a daily game of cat and mouse.
“Interestingly where we tend to see more activity around match-fixing is some of the lower levels of tennis and where these guys aren’t playing for much prize money.” Betting Risk Analyst
With the gambling industry turning over more than a trillion dollars a year, organised crime networks are exploiting vulnerable sports like tennis, to fix matches and launder money.
“There are literally dozens of tournaments which are taking place every week and the gambling markets will take bets on any and all of those levels of tennis, so the possibility for corruption is extensive.” Former Sport Administrator
While tennis administrators have been quick to reject the allegations of a widespread match-fixing problem, Four Corners asks: are they in denial?
“There is still a huge question mark over the integrity of some tennis games.” Sports Integrity Investigator
Bad Sport, reported by Linton Besser and presented by Sarah Ferguson, Monday 1 February at 8.30pm.
Replayed on Tuesday at 10.00am and Wednesday at 11.00pm.
ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm AEDT
ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
Four Corners will be receiving an On-Air Presentation relaunch (of sorts) when the program returns for 2016:
###Shark Alarm
Monday 8 February at 8.30pm
What’s behind the rise in shark attacks and is there anything we can do to stop them? Shark attacks are turning our beaches into places of fear.
“It’s the thought of (being) eaten alive while you’re still alive.” Dave Pearson, shark attack survivor and founder of Bite Club
On the beaches around Ballina, on the north coast of NSW, that fear is palpable. With nine attacks, one of them fatal, in the last 12 months, people are asking why and demanding action.
“The feeling is, we’ve got to be on red alert to ensure that the guys that are in the water are gonna be safe.” Don Munro, President, Le-Ba Boardriders
“It’s certainly changed things for me. I wouldn’t swim in it and I certainly wouldn’t surf, no way, no.” Mark Puglisi, Ballina lifesaver
Four Corners investigates why these sudden spikes occur.
“You can have areas where there are a lot of sharks and no attacks, you can have areas where there are very few sharks and attacks.” Barry Bruce, CSIRO white shark expert
Filmed around Australia, Shark Alarm features extraordinary tales of survival.
“He tried to close his mouth but he couldn’t and those teeth, all those teeth are like the gates of hell, I’ll tell you mate they’re unbelievable.” Craig Ison, NSW shark attack survivor
Millions of dollars have been outlaid by state governments in NSW, Queensland and Western Australia on prevention and protection measures, but is it money well spent?
“In my opinion if taking five or ten of them out of the water saves someone from losing a hand, let alone losing their life, it’s worth it ten times over.” Ryan Soulis, WA shark attack survivor
Environmental activists point to the high price paid by other marine life in the quest to make the ocean safe.
“It’s not just sharks that are dying in these, this is a marine cull as far as I’m concerned.” Natalie Banks, Sea Shepherd Australia
And there’s intense debate over whether these anti-shark measures actually work.
“There’s still this misconception that the shark net is a barrier.” Barry Bruce, CSIRO white shark expert
“I do not believe that anyone can scientifically argue that they haven’t worked.” Vic Peddemors, Senior Research Scientist, Fisheries NSW
SHARK ALARM, reported by Geoff Thompson and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 8th February at 8.30pm.
It is replayed on Tuesday 9th February at 10.00am and Wednesday 10th at 11pm.
It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###Dying To Dance
Monday 15 February 8.30pm on ABC
Dying To Dance – inside the dance party drug scene.
“We’re in the 21st Century. If the Government thinks that people are going to stop taking drugs, they’re kidding themselves.” Drug User
In this provocative Four Corners story, Gold Walkley award-winning reporter Caro Meldrum-Hanna goes inside Australia’s dance party drug scene.
“It’s cheaper than alcohol. One pill’s 20 bucks and it’ll last you four hours.” Drug User
They could be your friends, your workmates, your children.
“People are like ‘it’s so dangerous you don’t know what you’re taking’, and well actually, we’re taking it anyway.” Drug User
They’re the voices of young Australians, speaking candidly about taking so-called “party drugs” and they’re more common than you would guess. Australians are the highest users of ecstasy and its main chemical component MDMA, per capita, in the world.
And despite the feel good nickname, “party drugs” can kill. Seven young Australians have died in the space of a year, hospital admissions are on the rise and concerns are growing about the increasing purity of the drugs. But this isn’t deterring them.
“Like sometimes you have a car crash but you still drive your car.” Drug User
With billions spent on enforcing anti-drug laws, some of Australia’s most eminent medical, legal and policing minds are speaking out and saying the “war on drugs” is failing.
“This law enforcement effort is not only not effective but is actually harmful. The focus on drug law enforcement has been an expensive way of achieving failure.” Drug Law Reform Expert
“We should be doing everything we can to ensure that if kids do experiment in this way when they’re young, they’re going to survive the experience.” Former Senior Police Officer
DYING TO DANCE, reported by Caro Meldrum-Hanna and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 15th February at 8.30pm AEDT. It is replayed on Tuesday 16th at 10.00am and Wednesday 17th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###Guns In The USA - Child’s Play
Monday 22 February at 8.30pm
“This is Dahlia’s gun,” says proud dad Anthony, as he unwraps a purple mini rifle and hands it to his five-year-old daughter. “I’m teaching you what’s safe and what’s not safe, ok? This is how you’re going to shoot.”
This is America, where gun ownership is seen as a normal, even essential, part of life.
“Instead of trying to scare the children into saying don’t touch this gun or else, well let’s explain to them why. What can go wrong?” Tim Guy, NRA Trainer
It’s also a country where a startling number of children and teens are killed or injured by a gun every year. Some die in horrific mass shootings but many are killed accidentally, with a weapon kept in the family home.
“That gun does not actually make your family safer. That gun is 42 times more likely to be used to take the life of a member of that household than of an intruder.” Dan Gross, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
In this fascinating journey across the United States we meet parents, teachers and gun advocates who argue vehemently that guns are not the problem.
“I think it’s really just education and just making them understand, it can be fun. And you can be safe and have a good time.” Nashville Mother
“I teach people to be prepared to fight evil when evil shows up.” Rob Pincus, Personal Defense Network
And then there’s the man bulletproofing classrooms with armour-plated whiteboards:
“It’s designed to go into schools, be something you can teach with, much like an artist’s pallet. But two hands, and this thing becomes both a defensive and an offensive weapon.” George Tunis, Armour Protection Manufacturer
As a political issue, gun ownership is red hot. President Barack Obama has made it a signature policy but the President and gun control activists face an uphill battle.
“Together we are shining a spotlight on extremist policies that the gun lobby used to pass in the dark. The gun lobby is worried about losing their profits and their influence, well guess what we’re worried about: we’re worried about losing our children.” Shannon Watts, Moms Demand Action on Gun Sense
Powerful lobby groups like the National Rifle Association, fiercely oppose any form of gun control as an attack on liberty and freedom and have helped resist attempts to strengthen gun ownership laws arguing what’s needed is more guns and better self protection.
“The only way, the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved in investing in a plan of absolute protection. The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Wayne LaPierre, Exec Vice President, National Rifle Association
“Right now there is a huge disconnect between what the American public wants, what’s in our best interest, what will actually save lives, and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.” Dan Gross, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
GUNS IN THE USA, from French broadcaster France 5, presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 22 February at 8.30pm. It is replayed on Tuesday 23rd Feb at 10.00am and Wednesday 24th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm and ABC iview.
abc.net.au/4corners
###CATASTROPHIC FAILURE: Who is paying the price for BHP’s mine disaster in Brazil?
Four Corners – airs Monday, February 29 at 8.30pm on ABC & iview
“I ended up with nothing but the clothes I had on. I lost everything I had at home, documents, photos of my children.” - Survivor
“Of course it will affect our bottom line.” - Andrew Mackenzie, BHP CEO
The Melbourne headquarters of Australian mining giant BHP is a world away from the small Brazilian village of Bento Rodrigues, but what happened in this faraway place will cost BHP billions.
“The mud would come and drag me down, I would come up, it would take me down again… I screamed, calling my children, calling them, but nobody answered.” - Survivor
Three months ago a horror mudslide swept through the towns and villages in the Gualaxo River Valley in Brazil, destroying homes, businesses and taking the lives of 19 people.
A tailings dam, holding back more than 50 million cubic metres of mining waste collapsed, unleashing a wave of mud several metres high. The waste in the dam came from the huge open cut Samarco iron ore mine, half owned by Australia’s BHP Billiton. Brazil’s chief environment officer calls it the biggest environmental disaster in the country’s mining history.
“This mud wave has killed anything that was alive in these water systems.” - Marilene Ramos, Brazilian Environment Authority
Brazilian police have announced they will seek the arrest of six Samarco executives and managers on charges of negligent homicide, and offences against the environment.
“A dam doesn’t break by chance…There is repeated, continual negligence in the actions of a company owned by Vale and BHP.” - Brazilian Prosecutor
Reporter Ben Knight arrived in Brazil within days of the dam collapse as the search for victims continued in atrocious conditions. Now in his first report for Four Corners, he returns to Brazil to investigate whether multiple warning signs were ignored. What he finds is a catalogue of failure, where even the emergency alert system didn’t work.
BHP has distanced itself from the operations of the mine, but the company’s bottom line has taken a hit. This week BHP announced a $US5.7 billion half year loss, writing off more than a billion dollars due to the dam disaster.
And in a feature interview with the BHP CEO, Ben Knight asks if BHP is making good on the promises they have made to rebuild the lives and communities affected, and what responsibility it will take for the disaster.
Catastrophic Failure, reported by Ben Knight and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 29th February at 8.30pm on ABC & iview. It is replayed on Tuesday 1st of March at 10.00am and Wednesday 2nd of March at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday 5th March at 11.00pm, and on ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###Money For Nothing
Monday 7 March at 8.30pm
Money For Nothing: The Commonwealth Bank’s unscrupulous tactics in the life insurance industry.
“It’s defer, deny and sit back and wait and see if someone takes them on.” Lawyer
It’s the bank that’s spent two years rebuilding its reputation after being exposed for ripping off its customers in a devastating financial advice scandal. The Commonwealth Bank is adamant that it’s learned its lesson.
“We will be the ethical bank, the bank others look up to for honesty, transparency, decency, good management, openness.” David Turner, Chair Commonwealth Bank
Now, the reporter who broke open the financial advice scandal, Adele Ferguson is back, with another investigation into the Commonwealth Bank.
Six months in the making, this joint Four Corners/Fairfax investigation, focuses on the insurance arm of the bank, CommInsure.
They’re in the business of selling the kind of insurance policy you hope you never have to claim. Insurance to cover you or provide for your family if the worst should happen, like a serious health condition or death.
But this investigation will reveal how CommInsure uses unscrupulous tactics to take consumers money and avoid insurance payouts, leaving customers paying money for nothing at the most difficult moment of their lives.
“They are extraordinary allegations. They are certainly the biggest thing I’ve heard as a litigation lawyer working in the insurance world.” Lawyer
The findings will be released in a series of stories through Fairfax Media and ABC platforms culminating in the Four Corners broadcast on Monday night, detailing the full revelations.
Money For Nothing, reported by Adele Ferguson and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday March 7 at 8.30pm on ABC & iview. It is replayed on Tuesday March 8 at 10.00am and Wednesday at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
Four Corners reporter Linton Besser and camera operator Louie Eroglu were detained in Kuching, Malaysia last night after trying to question Prime Minister Najib Razak over a corruption scandal. They were subsequently released without charge but have been told not to leave the country: article
Not the first time it’s happend, Political Corruption at its best. Nick Xenophon had the same issue a few years back, they deported him immediately.
This Political corruption is probaly a worthy story in itself.
Besser and Eroglu were told overnight they will not be charged over an incident with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, only hours after they were told to face court. They arrived at Kuching Airport this morning local time under police escort and flew to Singapore, where Besser spoke to Mark Colvin, host of PM on ABC Local Radio (transcript of which can be read here)
###Whatever It Takes
Monday 21 March at 8.30pm on ABC
The rookie versus the club in the Essendon supplement scandal.
“We can beat anyone, as long as we do whatever it takes.” Essendon Football Club Advertisement
As muscular sporting slogans go, it’s a beauty. But for Essendon Football Club, it’s become memorable for all the wrong reasons, symbolising the attitude that brought the Club undone. It was their motto as they prepared for the 2013 AFL season, just as the story of the Club’s supplements program broke open, kicking off the biggest sports drug scandal in Australian history.
Three years on, despite numerous reviews, investigations and court hearings, there are still questions the club has not answered. To this day, the players still don’t know exactly what they were given.
“If I don’t get this information and I don’t get the answers to the questions I’m asking, it’s never going to go away.” Hal Hunter, former Essendon Football Club player
This week Four Corners takes you inside one former Essendon player’s battle to find out just what was in the supplements he was directed to take.
“They’re not even willing to tell him what (the supplement) is, they’re not even willing to tell him that they don’t know.” Lawyer
As a rookie with the club, Hal Hunter joined the other more senior players in the supplements program. He gives an eye witness account of what it was like to be part of the regime and what went on once the scandal broke.
“Now (they’re) trying to make him pay for the privilege of finding out.” Lawyer
He describes how the Club has stonewalled his attempts to obtain his medical records prompting him to take action in court, the first Essendon player to do so.
Hal Hunter’s case gives an insight into the oversight of the club and its approach to the duty of care it owed all its players.
“ I don’t understand how an employer can treat an employee in that way.” Player Agent
Whatever It Takes, reported by Quentin McDermott and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 21 March at 8.30pm EDT. It is replayed on Tuesday 22 at 10.00am and Wednesday 23 at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###State of Fear
Monday 28 March at 8.30pm
Murder and money in Malaysia.
“I think there is an atmosphere of total terror.”
It’s a story of intrigue, corruption and multiple murders, stretching from the streets of Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, to Switzerland, France and the US as well as Hong Kong and Singapore, all the way to Australia’s doorstep.
“He said ‘You know I can’t talk much, he said, because my phone might be bugged’”.
The money involved is astonishing.
“The person who made the gift must be extremely rich to be able to just give away US$681 million.”
“The fact that it’s going to the personal account of the Prime Minister is unprecedented.”
And the escalating scandal is threatening to bring down Malaysia’s Prime Minister.
“This charge sheet was the smoking gun.”
Four Corners reporter Linton Besser investigates two sets of extraordinary allegations of bribery and corruption: one involving a massive arms deal; the other, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. It’s a story that’s made headlines around the world.
“Hello Mr Prime Minister, ABC Australia. I’m wondering if you can explain the hundreds of millions of dollars in your account?”
Linton Besser’s pointed questions landed him and cameraman Louie Eroglu in serious trouble.
“I’ve been placed under arrest… we are waiting for some legal advice but at the moment it looks like they intend to charge us.”
On Monday night Four Corners will reveal new allegations about the staggering sums of money that have flowed into the bank accounts of Najib Razak.
And as the scandal grows, so does the crackdown on the Malaysian Government’s political opponents.
“They’re just threatening people now and it’s very effective.”
State of Fear, reported by Linton Besser and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 28th March at 8.30pm AEDT. It is replayed on Tuesday 29th March at 10.00am and Wednesday 30th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###The Secrets of the Super Rich
Screens Monday 4 April at 8.30pm
It’s the shadowy world of secret international finance and tax avoidance.
“What we’re looking at here is really a parallel universe.”
This Four Corners investigation will reveal how the rich and powerful exploit the system.
“What this really says is a lot about the system itself and how broke the system is and how crazy the whole thing is.”
Our reporter Marian Wilkinson follows the money trail and it’s worth trillions of dollars.
“I was on their immigration stop list. But we’ve gotten in.” Marian Wilkinson, reporter
The Secrets of the Super Rich, reported by Marian Wilkinson and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 4 April at 8.30pm AEST. It is replayed on Tuesday 5 April at 10.00am and Wednesday 6 at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###Clive Palmer
Monday 11 April at 8.30pm
Clive Palmer: the rise and fall of a business empire and political career.
On Monday night Four Corners charts the rise and fall of the mercurial Clive Palmer, examining how he made his money, friends and bitter enemies along the way. With Palmer’s political influence plummeting and serious questions hanging over his companies, reporter Hayden Cooper talks to political players, former colleagues and the workers left sacked at the now closed Queensland Nickel refinery in Townsville. Many are speaking out for the first time.
‘“He’s an enigma. He’s an individual let me tell you. They broke the mould when Clive was made.”
“What you’ve got is this really complex character who’s both brilliant and stupid all at the same time.”
“He will give you loyalty, will protect you, he will do anything for you, more than a normal employer. But… let’s put it like this, loyalty there but no sentiments.”
“I think he’s impossible to work with. Clive’s not short on ego.”
“I mean as far as he’s concerned it’s a it’s a benign dictatorship. You know, it’s like it’s my way or the highway.”
CLIVE PALMER, reported by Hayden Cooper and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 11 April at 8.30pm EDT. It is replayed on Tuesday 12 April at 10.00am and Wednesday 13 at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm AEST, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###Inside Europe’s Terror Attacks
Monday 18 April at 8.30pm
Inside Europe’s Terror Attacks: How Islamic State operates its European terror network.
As Europe reels from the deadly terror attacks in Brussels and Paris, this week’s Four Corners takes you inside the secret Islamic State network responsible.
This report, from the BBC’s Panorama program, traces the network through its key players: the mastermind, the recruiter and the terror operatives.
“Each spy gets 50,000 Euros…to mount an attack in Europe.” - Captured terrorist
The origins of the network go back to Syria in 2014, when Belgian jihadis fighting for Islamic State made plans to send a terror cell into Europe.
“A new external command force has been set up within IS to transport terror onto the streets of Europe using special forces style tactics.” - Rob Wainwright, Director of Europol
This seemingly innocuous message signaled the arrival of the first handpicked IS operatives arriving in Europe with instructions to carry out an attack:
“The children have arrived. Thanks be to god. Two, they are home.” - Terror mastermind, Abaaoud
With access to intelligence documents and interrogation transcripts, the program pieces together how the network supplies weapons and how they plan and execute their attacks.
“He said, ‘imagine a rock concert in a European country, if we arm you would you be ready to shoot in a crowd?” - Captured terrorist
And details how the network has been able to outwit the intelligence agencies hunting them.
“My name and picture were all over the news yet I was able to stay in their homeland, plan operations against them and leave safely.” - Terror mastermind, Abaaoud
This is a chilling, forensic account of IS’s operations in Europe.
“It’s likely and probable that things like that will happen again and I fear that in the West, and Belgium included, we will have to live for the coming years with the threat of that kind of terrorism.” - Alain Winants, Former Head of the Belgian State Security Service
Inside Europe’s Terror Attacks, from the BBC’s Panorama program and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 18th April at 8.30pm AEST. It is replayed on Tuesday 19th April at 10.00am and Wednesday 20th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm AEST, and on ABC iview.
###Four Corners
Monday 25 April at 8.30pm
Bad Blood: The doctors who refuse to be silenced over Australia’s offshore detention centres.
The Australian Government contract to provide healthcare to detainees has already cost taxpayers more than a billion dollars, but doctors say the medical care provided offshore in Manus Island is dangerously inadequate.
"I can think of very few times in recent history where doctors have been so united about a particular issue.” - Former Government Adviser
On Four Corners some of Australia’s most senior doctors and medical staff with experience in the offshore detention system are speaking out. They say the Border Force Act could see them risk two years in jail for disclosing information about Australia’s asylum seeker detention system.
“There is a lot of anxiety about that piece of legislation and how it applies to doctors.” - Senior Doctor
Despite this, the doctors have chosen to talk.
“The doctors have been appalled at attempts to silence them.” - Doctor
Their story centres on the case of a Manus Island detainee, Hamid Khazaei, who died following a bacterial infection in 2014.
“I feel like to prevent further harm there are some details that I can offer to the story of what happened.” - Doctor
What started as a skin infection poisoned his body, leaving him brain dead.
“I think that if he had this exact infection and the same conditions in all other ways and he was in Australia at the time, he’s unlikely to have died.” - Former Government Adviser
The details of his rapid decline and the treatment he received are shocking.
Doctors involved in his care are speaking publicly for the first time, giving a rare inside account of the medical treatment available in our offshore detention centres
“I feel like I’ve actually weighed the ethics of the case quite heavily for the last eighteen months and now I believe that there actually is a clear benefit for people to understand how the system works and the reason why what happened, happened.” - Doctor
Bad Blood, reported by Geoff Thompson and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 25th April at 8.30pm AEST. It is replayed on Tuesday 26th April at 10.00am and Wednesday 27th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm AEST, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###Home Truths: What happened to the Great Australian Dream?
Monday 2 May at 8.30pm
On the eve of the Federal Budget, Four Corners reports on the white hot issues of housing affordability and negative gearing and the generation left wondering if they will ever own their own home.
“We will start it at 1.1 million dollars ladies and gentlemen.” - Auctioneer
A house with a million dollar price tag used to be confined to the super wealthy suburbs in Australia’s biggest cities. Today, properties with that sort of asking price are commonplace, even in the urban fringes, with little infrastructure and lengthy commute times.
In Melbourne, the median house price is $700 thousand dollars, around 10 times the average wage. In Sydney, there are suburbs more expensive than Manhattan. It’s why the IMF declared Australia one of the most expensive cities in the world to buy property in.
This week reporter Ben Knight explores the housing crisis locking younger people out of home ownership and the negatively geared world of investors building their nest eggs.
“It’s only money!” - Auctioneer
He meets investors like Wayne and Karen who’ve created a multi-million dollar property portfolio from their dining room table.
“We saw them on the internet, we actually borrowed 105% using the equity we had in our house to fund that.” - Wayne & Karen
And the agents spruiking the investor-led property gold rush.
“Why are people looking at negative gearing? Because it’s generous. It’s a wonderful opportunity for people to become involved in property investment. It’s a gift.” - Real Estate Adviser
With negative gearing and affordable housing shaping up as key issues in the forthcoming election, we look at the politics at work behind the major parties’ policies.
“Labor’s reckless changes will reduce property values. They’ll devalue every home, every property in Australia.” - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The Coalition is banking on leaving negative gearing policy exactly the way it is. While the Labor Party is hoping its plan to wind it back will attract those first home buyers who feel locked out by the high price of property.
“We’re not looking to buy an investment property. We want a house we can live in.” - Jules, house hunter
But some economists are warning that there are property bubbles in our major cities, which could wreak havoc on our economy.
“According to pretty much any housing market indicator you want to look at, house prices in Australia are significantly over valued.” - Investment Fund Manager
And there is worrying evidence of fraudulent loan applications which could leave banks and consumers dangerously exposed.
“They’re lending to homebuyers that have no ability to be able to pay off their loan and they’re basically depending on the property market to continue to rise at a consistent rate.” - Economist
While for some first home buyers, a housing crash is just what they are hoping for.
“Are we all done…?” - Auctioneer
Home Truths, reported by Ben Knight and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday May 2 at 8.30pm AEST. It is replayed on Tuesday May 3 at 10.00am and Wednesday May 4 at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm AEST, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.
###Callous Disregard
Monday 9 May at 8.30pm
Callous Disregard: A family fights for justice after the brutal death of a young woman.
“What would happen if that was your daughter?” Family Friend
The body of a young woman lies on the beach. Two panic stricken men try to work out what to do. One makes a call to ‘000’, the other goes and flags down help.
“He said there was a girl on the beach and they needed help to resuss her and that she’d drowned in the surf.” Witness
But as people began arriving on the scene it became clear the men had serious questions to answer. The young woman had died of horrendous internal injuries.
“I remember making it quite clear at the time, words to the effect of, ‘something’s dodgy’.” Witness
Five years on, what happened on that beach haunts everyone involved.
“I just I miss her so much and all I want is justice done for that girl.” Mother
Despite a thorough police investigation and a scathing Coronial Inquest recommending charges be laid, no one has ever faced court.
“They tried to explain why they weren’t going to be charging these fellas.” Family Friend
In this searing story, Gold Walkley award-winning reporter Caro Meldrum-Hanna follows the trail of evidence:
“This is a horrific case and the details are spelled out very thoroughly in the Coronial report and the Prosecutor’s response is incomprehensible in the face of all of this evidence.” Academic
And finds a family that won’t give up:
“I’ve got a lot of fight in me… I don’t care how, how I do it, but I’m just going to go on and go until there’s justice done for that girl.” Mother
Callous Disregard, reported by Caro Meldrum-Hanna and presented by Sarah Ferguson, goes to air on Monday 9th May at 8.30pm EDT. It is replayed on Tuesday 10th of May at 10.00am and Wednesday 11th at 11pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday at 8.00pm AEST, ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.