18:05:00 17/03/2015
The Archbishop of Adelaide says he will fight a charge of concealing sex abuse in the 1970s. Philip Wilson is thought to be the most senior Catholic official in the world to face court on a concealment charge. Archbishop Wilson was part of a supervisory group which oversees the church's response to the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse, but PM has been told he has stepped down while the matter is before the court. More
18:10:00 17/03/2015
In a damning report, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has found that the Salvation Army failed to protect boys at four of its homes between the 1950s and 1970s. The commissioners have also found that when boys reported the abuse, they were accused of lying and were punished. More
18:15:00 17/03/2015
Early reports from Vanuatu's outer islands indicate Tropical Cyclone Pam has caused extensive destruction. A commercial pilot who's flown over islands in the east and south says it looks like a bushfire has raged through them. Many houses are flattened and trees have been stripped bare. More
18:20:00 17/03/2015
Vanuatu is warning of imminent food shortages and the threat of disease in the wake of Cyclone Pam, and relief agencies say the conditions they're facing are extremely challenging. Australia is sending a 54-strong team to Port Vila. Zoe Daniel is on the ground in Port Vila and joins PM by satellite phone. More
18:25:00 17/03/2015
State and federal leaders are being urged to establish a national body to monitor all purchases of weapons, chemical precursors and ammunition that could be used in a terrorist attack. At the moment there is no national database that allows federal and state police agencies to check the identity of people making such purchases. More
18:30:00 17/03/2015
The Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne's efforts to woo the crossbench by splitting the bill have failed. Mr Pyne was well aware the chances were slim, but he appeared undeterred during Question Time. Yesterday Mr Pyne attracted attention by calling himself a 'fixer' of the higher education sector, and today he was happy to capitalise on that. More
- Mark Colvin
- Extra Audio View
18:35:00 17/03/2015
The Coalition's legislation on ISPs allows government agencies see what we've all been doing on the phone or online. Bipartisan support means the bill's likely to pass. The bodies expected to get access range from various police and customs agencies to the competition watchdog, the ACCC. PM speaks to Bruce Schneier, author of Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Capture Your Data and Control Your World.
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18:40:00 17/03/2015
The head of a gas extraction company accused of failing to report a series of dangerous gas leaks at the company's southern Queensland plant has accused the state environment department of leading a witch hunt. Linc Energy says it'll fight charges that it's wilfully caused serious environmental harm at the site of its controversial underground coal gasification plant near Chinchilla. More
18:45:00 17/03/2015
The corporate watchdog says Government may need to toughen up credit laws if payday lenders don't clean up their act. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC has launched a report which found some payday lenders were breaking the law. Payday lenders loan money to customers at exorbitant interest rates sometimes as high as 300 per cent a year. Last month a court fined payday lender, Cash Store, a record $19 million for irresponsible lending. More
