Four Corners

JohnsonTV · May 18, 2026, 1:50pm

ABC’s agony over Twiggy’s cultural site compo

How’s this for an inconvenient truth? The ABC and the Guardian have been secretly toiling away on a months-long investigation into the mining industry with virtuous prospector Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, only for the billionaire’s iron ore outfit to be hit with a record $150m compensation bill for destroying hundreds of Indigenous cultural sites on the eve of the special’s scheduled rollout.

Diary can reveal the public broadcaster’s Angus Grigg and the niche news website were already busy polishing their joint investigation into Twiggy’s “crusade to decarbonise in the mining sector” – with a view to broadcasting it on the ABC’s weekly news and current affairs staple Four Corners next Monday – when the landmark decision against Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group was handed down by the federal court last week.

The ruling, which ends a bitter 20-year legal dispute, will see FMG pay the Yandjibarndi people the monumental sum for destroying rock shelters, burial sites and songlines as it pushed ahead with the construction and operation of its Solomon mine in the Pilbara.

Still, we hear that very same mine will feature at the heart of the Four Corners story – and is expected to be shown in a vastly different light – when the investigation hits the airwaves next week.

TV.Cynic · May 25, 2026, 8:59am

ABC have revealed very little info on tonight’s show with their usual PR release and program descriptions being strangely absent. The promo shows it to be an investigation into BHP’s green credentials.

Promo:

https://www.facebook.com/100064553749500/videos/1282669020306887/

JohnsonTV · May 25, 2026, 8:59am

It’s interesting that the ABC has not yet released a synopsis of tonight’s episode, however a preview was aired just before the 7pm bulletin.

MBB · May 25, 2026, 9:19am

Must be some bombshell claims about to be revealed

JohnsonTV · May 25, 2026, 10:47am

The accompanying feature article to tonight’s episode

TV.Cynic · May 27, 2026, 10:29pm

BRUTAL FORCE

Monday 1 June at 8:30PM

Every day, police officers are expected to make split-second decisions in situations involving violence, mental illness, alcohol and fear.

But what happens when police themselves are caught on camera doing the wrong thing, and the system of accountability fails to deliver clear answers?

In a powerful Four Corners investigation, reporter Dylan Welch examines troubling cases of alleged and proven police misconduct in New South Wales, where confronting body-worn video, CCTV and mobile phone footage has exposed excessive force and questionable police statements.

The program investigates a police accountability system largely hidden from public view, where complaints, internal investigations and secret settlements can leave victims and the public without clear answers.

Through strong personal accounts and shocking footage, the program reveals the lasting human impact of police misconduct, and the long fight for accountability.

Four Corners hears from lawyers, former police, criminologists and alleged victims who say too many cases are settled confidentially, leaving the public with little information about whether officers were disciplined, moved, suspended, sacked or charged.

The investigation tackles a critical question: when police abuse their power, who holds them to account?

TV.Cynic · May 27, 2026, 11:59pm

Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal is no longer employed by the ABC, a spokesperson has confirmed.

Fazal was the subject of an internal investigation into an unauthorised podcast appearance with a former underworld figure last year.

ElCapitanCranky · May 28, 2026, 1:32am

Well…that’ll make friendlyjordies happy…to a point.

TV.Cynic · June 3, 2026, 10:25pm

THE AI RACE

Monday 8 June at 8:30PM

Artificial intelligence is already changing how we live and work, while being sold as the technology that could cure disease, transform productivity and solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

Four Corners reporter Steve Cannane investigates the race to build ever more powerful AI systems and asks whether it is moving faster than governments and communities can keep up with.

Filmed in the United States and Australia, the program goes inside the global battle between the world’s most powerful technology companies as they spend huge amounts of money building systems some say could one day outperform humans.

Four Corners meets Bay Area tech workers who say AI has already upended their careers, experts who warn of systems that are becoming harder to control, and campaigners fighting the growing power of big tech companies.

The story also takes a look at the next generation of AI models; software that can take instructions, make plans and act with increasing autonomy. Some in Australia are now asking what happens if these systems are deployed without adequate safeguards.

Four Corners also digs into the physical footprint needed for the AI boom. Across America, communities are pushing back against the rapid construction of data centres, raising concerns about noise, pollution, water and energy use.

Now, Australia is being courted as a key destination for major AI and data centre investment. The program examines deals, lobbying and policy shifts as global tech giants promise innovation, scientific progress and productivity gains. Critics warn Australia has retreated from tougher AI safety regulation at the very moment the technology is accelerating.

As the world’s most powerful AI companies seek to invest billions in Australia, Four Corners asks: who controls our future?

JohnsonTV · June 4, 2026, 10:39pm

Part of this includes the shock decision to make the position of the show’s second in command, supervising producer Alice Brennan, redundant on Thursday, sources not authorised to speak publicly told On Background. Brennan has since taken leave and remains employed by the ABC.

(Joel) Tozer later told staff he has created a new role of editor, commissioning and standards to work alongside him and oversee research, story verification and early editorial processes.

TV.Cynic · June 10, 2026, 10:32pm

Escaping Kabul

Monday 15 June at 8:30PM

When the Taliban swept back into Kabul in August 2021, Afghanistan’s female cycling team knew they were in immediate danger.

For years, these young women had defied conservative expectations simply by riding bicycles in public. To them, it was proof that women could claim space in public life. To the Taliban, it made them visible targets.

Escaping Kabul tells the dramatic story of a secret international effort to get members of Afghanistan’s women’s cycling community out of the country. With formal evacuation routes closing, a group of activists, cycling officials, diplomats and humanitarian workers began building a high-risk escape plan across Afghanistan’s borders.

Told through the testimony of the cyclists themselves and those who helped organise the rescue, Escaping Kabul is a tense and emotional account of courage under Taliban rule.

The story comes as international scrutiny of the Taliban’s treatment of women has intensified. In July 2025, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani for the crime against humanity of gender-based persecution.

TV.Cynic · June 17, 2026, 10:32pm

TIMBER TURMOIL

Monday 22 June at 8:30PM

As parts of Australia turn away from native forest logging, Four Corners follows the logs and the money to ask whether the industry is really ending or just shifting state borders.

In Victoria and Western Australia, native logging in state forests has been shut down. But the demand for native hardwood has not disappeared. In Timber Turmoil, reporter Jessica Longbottom investigates how timber from Tasmanian native forests is now feeding mills in Victoria, including businesses that have received millions of dollars in public money following Victoria’s logging shutdown.

The program also travels to New South Wales, where the next major fight over native forestry is playing out. Conservationists are using endangered Greater Glider protections to stop logging tree by tree, while the timber industry argues Australia still needs native hardwood and that shutting down local supply will only push demand overseas.

In timber towns like Heyfield, Victoria, the industry says the fight is about more than trees; it is about manufacturing, jobs and the survival of regional communities built around the mills.