“A real smack in the face”: Did the RBA get it wrong?

Australians are in for a world of pain, with mortgages and rents set to rise after our second interest rate hike in as many months. It was a line-ball decision from the Reserve Bank – with five members voting for a quarter of a percent jump and four against – putting our official cash rate at 4.1 per cent. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock says high inflation left them with no choice, but others have slammed the call. Today, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute, Greg Jericho, on why he thinks the RBA has got it horribly wrong.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute Photo: AAP Image/Lukas CochSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The war in the Middle East has sent Australia’s fuel prices soaring. And people are worried that if the battle between the US-Israel and Iran continues for another month – Australia may have to begin rationing fuel. Already, drivers are panic buying, stockpiling and some country petrol stations are running dry. Global oil supplies are under threat as Iran attacks tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Today, Tim Buckley, the Director of Climate Energy Finance, and the question: as the oil shock hits home, how high could the price at the pump really go?   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Tim Buckley, Director of Climate Energy Finance Photo: PR Image/Supplied by Nathan FalvoSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month, one of the biggest shows in Australian radio was suddenly pulled off air. For years, Kyle and Jackie O have been treated as untouchable – a breakfast radio juggernaut that could pull huge audiences, generate endless headlines, and weather scandal after scandal. So much so that the Australian Radio Network handed the pair a $200 million deal – one of the biggest contracts Australian media has ever seen – betting Sydney's most popular breakfast show could go national. But that bet turned shaky: The show struggled to win over Melbourne, controversies kept piling up, and the regulator repeatedly found it in breach of broadcasting standards. Now, after an on-air rupture that has blown apart the partnership at the centre of it all, the future of that enormous deal is in doubt. Today, Kyle and Jackie O’s former boss and host of the Game Changers Radio podcast, Craig Bruce, on what happens when the most expensive bet in the Radio business falls apart.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   And you can check out Craig Bruce’s podcast Game Changers Radio here    Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Craig Bruce, host of Game Changers RadioSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For some time now, an alarming number of Australian boys have been engaging with, and looking up to, the misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate. This week, the conversation about misogyny and the “manosphere” has resurfaced. Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek has accused Married At First Sight of platforming coercive control and misogyny, Netflix has released Louis Theroux’s Inside the Manosphere, and fresh research suggests roughly 40% of teenage boys surveyed agreed that women lie about domestic and sexual violence. Tate’s influence is warping classroom conversation, driving female peers to the fringe of discussion and even causing some teachers to quit. So why are misogynistic influencers reaching so many young men? Today, we’re bringing you an episode from 2024 – in which Ange McCormack speaks to author and journalist Anna Krien about the misogynist radicalisation happening in our schools. This episode was first published in March 2024.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Journalist and author, Anna Krien Photo: AP Photo/Vadim GhirdaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Canberra, accountability is often promised in moments of crisis. Much harder is what comes after. Matt Canavan has taken over the Nationals leadership, sharpening his party’s ability to confront One Nation. Former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson has walked away from the government’s antisemitism royal commission, raising fresh questions about a process already under pressure. And years after Robodebt devastated thousands of lives, a final report has landed with a reminder of just how hard real accountability can be to find.  Today, press gallery journalist Karen Middleton, on what Canavan’s rise means for the Coalition, why Richardson’s resignation matters to Anthony Albanese, and what the Robodebt findings tell us about whether the system is capable of holding anyone to account.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Karen Middleton, press gallery journalist Photo: AAP Image/Mick TsikasSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Bolton has spent years arguing that bombing Iran isn’t just justified but necessary.  For decades he has argued that American military force can solve the problem of hostile regimes in the Middle East. He backed the Invasion of Iraq, championed some of the most disastrous American interventions of the modern era, and despite that, he is still arguing more force, more intervention and more regime change will bring stability to the Middle East. Now, as the US escalates again, Bolton’s worldview is back at the centre of the debate. A worldview, that when it comes to Iran, our government shares.  Today, former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, on the strikes on Iran, and on why a man who backed the invasion of Iraq still sees bombing as the answer.    If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Ambassador John Bolton, Former Trump National Security Advisor Photo: PA/AlamySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Iran announced a new Supreme Leader. Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But who’s really running the country now? We look into the heavily armed elite forces pulling the strings – the Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.Today, Iranian journalist and author Arash Azizi on what direction Iran’s elite armed forces could take the country.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Iranian journalist and author, Arash Azizi Photo: EPASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Sunday night, after Iran’s final game of the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast, protesters surrounded the team bus, banging on the windows and shouting “let them go”. Later, five members of the Iranian squad broke away from their minders. By Tuesday, the federal government had confirmed they had been granted humanitarian visas. The move followed days of concern about what the players might face if they returned to Iran, after several were denounced on Iranian state television for refusing to sing the national anthem at the start of the tournament. The government says the same option remains open to the rest of the team, but for now they look set to return to a war zone. Today, former Socceroo and human rights advocate Craig Foster on what this moment says about football’s failure to protect women players when they needed them most.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Former Socceroos captain and human rights advocate, Craig Foster Photo: AAP Image/Dave HuntSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Independent MP Monique Ryan can remember a time in Australian politics when small breaches could cost a career.  Now she says we’ve been gradually conditioned to tolerate corruption and the loss of transparency in parliament. Over recent years, there has been a marked increase in the number of lobbyists with access to Parliament House. Literally thousands move through the building, meeting politicians and staffers; often leaving little public trace of who they’ve spoken to and why.  Today, Independent MP, Monique Ryan on the thousands of lobbyists roaming the halls of Parliament House and the system she says allows them to influence, behind closed doors, the decisions that affect us all.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: Dr Monique Ryan, Independent MP Photo: AAP Image/Lukas CochSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who should hold the power to decide how AI is used on our battlefields? That’s the question being debated after a face-off between the Pentagon and one of the world’s biggest AI companies. Anthropic ultimately lost its contract with the US military after refusing to let its Claude program be used for mass surveillance of American citizens, or for fully automated weapons capable of killing with no human oversight. But now that its rival, OpenAI, has stepped into the ring and cut its own deal with the government, what does that mean for how AI is used in our current wars – and the wars of the future? Today, David Wroe from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on tech titans, robodogs and whether AI should be used to kill.   If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.   Socials: Stay in touch with us on Instagram Guest: David Wroe, Australian Strategic Policy Institute Photo: Xinhua/Sipa USASee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.