Gout Gout
Sunday 23 March 8:40 pm
He’s the17yo Aussie on track to become the fastest man alive. In a Spotlight special event, join Bruce McAvaney, Matt Shirvington, Cathy Freeman & Raylene Boyle as they chart the journey of Gout Gout.
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Looking forward to this. Cathy 25 years on from her gold this September
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The big return of their flagship investigative public affairs show is athlete puff profile? Disappointing.
7NEWS Spotlight special event: Gout Gout
Join Bruce McAvaney and Olympic greats Cathy Freeman, Matt Shirvington and Raelene Boyle as they chart Gout Gout’s journey to becoming the fastest man who’s ever lived
He’s the fastest man in Australia… on track to become the fastest man alive.
In case anyone missed it, in December last year the teenage sprinting phenomenon blasted onto the world stage when he broke the Australian 200m sprint record set by Peter Norman 56 years ago – at just a month shy of 17.
The greatest-ever didn’t run this fast, at his age. But Usain Bolt went on to set records still to be broken and was unbeaten across three Olympic Games – hence all the fuss about Gout Gout.
Going into the Aussie record books was incredible enough, but it was being faster than Bolt at just 16 that launched Gout into the athletics universe.
The comparisons are obvious. It’s not just the times, there’s also the technique and the way he wins, coming from the back of the field like a hurricane.
On track to be a finalist at the next Olympics and aspirations of winning gold in Brisbane in 2032, the Queensland schoolboy sits down with Seven’s Bruce McAvaney in this inspiring 7NEWS Spotlight special event to air next Sunday after Australian Idol on Seven and 7plus, sharing his ambition of becoming the world’s fastest human.
McAvaney is joined by Sunrise’s Matt Shirvington and Raelene Boyle, as the Olympic greats are trackside with Gout at a training session to give their verdict on the teenager’s talent.
Gout’s team have no doubt he’s on the trajectory of greatness. His take-no-prisoners coach, Di Shepperd, says that it isn’t a question of “might” but “when”. Manager James Templeton echoes that sentiment, declaring there is no doubt that doubt Gout will be an Olympic finalist.
The golden girl of Sydney’s Olympics, Cathy Freeman, has been watching Gout Gout’s stunning progress. She knows better than anyone what it’s like to be in the teenager’s shoes, the expectation and anticipation that comes with being a young athlete.
"[Gout] is just something else,” she tells McAvaney and 7NEWS Spotlight. “Watching him race, it’s like he’s been shot out of a cannon or something. He’s quite extraordinary.
“He’s probably smarter than I was at that age. He’s quicker. But he’s certainly got the world at his feet.”
McAvaney added: “To think Gout was a cross-country official at what might turn out to be an Olympic Stadium says much about his ambition to compete at home in 2032. It’s distant, yet so close.”
Gout Gout’s next big race is in the Maurie Plant Meet on Saturday, 29 March, which will be broadcast exclusively live and free on Seven and 7plus.
7NEWS Spotlight special event: Gout Gout
Next Sunday after Australian Idol on Seven and 7plus
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Shirvo did a voiceover for a preview of Gout Gout episode, which aired on 7News tonight.
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Paywall free version
Electric Vehicle Con
Sunday 6 April 8:40 PM
In a world-exclusive investigation, Liam Bartlett uncovers the dirty truth behind so-called clean, green electric vehicles & how China is getting away with causing a deadly environmental catastrophe.
The Great EV Con – a 7NEWS Spotlight world exclusive
The deception driving our green future
“Our workers are dying for electric cars”: that’s the ominous message to Australians from Jay Jaelani, a union leader in the world’s largest nickel processing facility, Indonesia’s Morowali Industrial Park.
Electric vehicles have been sold as a clean, green dream, with hundreds of thousands of climate-conscious Australians getting onboard.
But a special 7NEWS Spotlight investigation set to air on Seven and 7plus at 8:40pm this Sunday, has found some electric vehicles (EVs) are more of a dirty joke.
In a world exclusive, Senior Reporter Liam Bartlett goes undercover in Indonesia where few western journalists have gone before – inside the EV industry’s “heart of darkness”.
Indonesia’s Chinese-owned Morowali Industrial Park and Weda Bay Industrial Park churn out 70% of the world’s nickel – the critical component for EV batteries – and they appear to be operating with no regard for the environment, or even for human life.
7NEWS Spotlight ’s cameras gain access inside the facility, which is guarded by heavily armed security, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
Bartlett speaks exclusively to workers facing deadly conditions, who have lost their colleagues and risk their own lives everyday so that Australians can drive cheaper Chinese-made EVs.
In one horrific incident caught on CCTV and mobile phone cameras, a furnace full of molten nickel explodes during maintenance, killing 21 workers. Bartlett sits down with the mother of an 18-year-old man who was killed in the explosion, barely six months on the job.
It’s what the Indonesian government and EV industry doesn’t want Australia to see – a mine that pollutes more than all of Australia’s nickel mines combined, spewing out millions of tonnes of CO2. It’s killing the environment, killing the locals, and killing workers in the process. It’s also killing our nickel industry back here in Australia.
Liam Bartlett said: “For the first time we can show the Australian public and the world the dark heart of the EV industry.
“Without nickel, the batteries that power EVs just don’t work. The problem is that producing nickel can be far worse for the environment than the benefits gained by using EVs in the first place.
“Australia has strict environmental controls on how its nickel is produced. But that was before the Indonesian government threw away the rulebook and let Chinese industry make what’s known as ‘dirty nickel’ at places like Morawali,” he said.
So, who is covering up the truth of this potential environmental catastrophe and what can be done to fix it?
The Great EV Con – a 7NEWS Spotlight world exclusive
This Sunday at 8:40pm after Australian Idol on Seven and 7plus
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7NEWS Spotlight’s EV exclusive charges ahead
Last night’s episode up 36% compared to the second episode last year
The Seven Network’s 7NEWS Spotlight special investigation into the electric vehicle (EV) industry reached more than 1.63 million people on Sunday night and is continuing to dominate news headlines today.
The new 7NEWS Spotlight episode secured a total TV national average audience of 850,000, charging ahead of 60 Minutes by 25,000 viewers. The total average audience was up 36% compared to the second 7NEWS Spotlight episode in 2024, while the total BVOD audience was up 65%.
Total reach was also up 11% on 7NEWS Spotlight’s exclusive interview with Gout Gout, which reached 1.46 million viewers.
In last night’s world exclusive, 7NEWS Spotlight Senior Reporter Liam Bartlett went undercover in Indonesia where few western journalists have gone before – inside the Chinese-owned Morowali Industrial Park and Wesa Bay Industrial Park.
The site churns out 70% of the world’s nickel – the critical component for EV batteries – and appears to be operating with no regard for human life and the environment.
Bartlett spoke exclusively to workers facing deadly conditions and exposed how the mines are killing the locals, killing the workers and killing the environment, while also killing the Australian nickel industry.
Liam Bartlett said: “I’m not surprised that this story has resonated so strongly with Australians. Our audience has a very good nose when it comes to sniffing out social injustice and hypocrisy. When you consider how this issue is also tied into environmental destruction and government inaction, it makes perfect sense that it strikes a chord with so many people.”
In response to last night’s 7NEWS Spotlight exclusive, Sunrise host Nat Barr took on Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek over Indonesia’s unsafe, dirty nickel mines. The story was also picked up by other news outlets, including news.com.au and Sky News Australia.
Last night’s 7NEWS Spotlight episode is available to watch on 7plus.
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EV influencer speaks out after squaring off with Channel 7 reporter
An electric vehicle influencer has slammed Channel 7 after it aired footage of a tense argument with a journalist.
Liz Hayes joins Seven News Spotlight:
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Another 9 legend goes to 7.
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The Daily Telegraph can reveal the award-winning journalist is currently filming her first assignment as guest correspondent for the program, an exclusive sit down with the widow of TV chef Jock Zonfrillo.
When contacted, a statement from Spotlight executive producer Gemma Williams read: “We’re privileged to welcome Liz Hayes to 7NEWS Spotlight as a guest correspondent. Widely respected for her decades of experience, storytelling expertise and journalistic integrity, we look forward to collaborating with Liz on this special project.”
Hayes is midway through shooting the Spotlight special with Lauren Zonfrillo about her husband, the MasterChef Australia judge who was found dead in his Melbourne hotel room in 2023.
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Seems like to me it’s a one-off guest report rather than Hayes joining Spotlight. If it was the latter, that would be a big coup for the program.
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It all starts somewhere.
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Hayes has now jumped ship over to rival network Seven, and will be a guest correspondent for Spotlight, the Seven’s flagship current affairs program.
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Monique Wright featuring with Musher on this week’s post debate edition of Spotlight.
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Great to see her used. She used to be a reporter on ‘Sunday Night’ and was great. She’s missing on Weekend Sunrise this minting…assume she’s preparing for tonight?
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Jock and Me: 7NEWS Spotlight major TV event
Veteran journalist Liz Hayes joins 7NEWS Spotlight
“Could I have been a better wife? Did I love him enough? Did I do enough?”
In a major 7NEWS Spotlight exclusive, award-winning broadcast journalist Liz Hayes sits down with Lauren Zonfrillo, the widow of beloved TV chef and MasterChef Australia judge, Jock Zonfrillo.
Airing on Seven and 7plus this Sunday at 8:00pm, it is the first time the mother of two has spoken publicly since her husband was found dead in a Melbourne hotel room in May 2023. His cause of death has never been released.
In what will be one of the most emotional television events of the year, Lauren shares never-before-seen family videos and her journey through grief, the challenges of telling her young children about their father’s death, and her path to finding hope and inspiration.
Widely respected for her decades of experience and journalistic expertise, the exclusive sit-down marks Liz Hayes’ first special project for 7NEWS Spotlight after joining the program as a guest correspondent.
Liz Hayes said: “Jock’s unexpected and very public death was devastating and traumatising and in the glare of intense media speculation, and Lauren also had to grapple with why her husband had died.
“She bravely opens the door to her very private and personal pain and the trauma endured by her two little children.”