7am

This week Australians were hit with another reminder that the cost-of-living crisis isn’t over, and that the government's room to move is narrowing fast.
An interest rate rise has sharpened the pressure on Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers, just as a federal budget looms. The government is now forced to weigh up expectations of economic reform vs political risk.
Meanwhile, the Opposition is unravelling in plain sight; the Coalition split, with the Nationals relegated to the crossbench.
Today, press gallery veteran, Paul Bongiorno, on how exposed the government really is, how bold it can afford to be, and how the opposition’s collapse is reshaping the political contest.

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Guest: Press gallery veteran, Paul Bongiorno
Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
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In the wake of the Bondi terror attack, the Prime Minister invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia, a move framed as an act of solidarity with the Jewish community.
But that visit, which begins on Sunday, is now sparking criticism, including from within the government, with a series of protests planned across the country.
Supporters of the visit say Herzog’s presence will bring comfort to grieving families. But critics argue it risks deepening divides, particularly as Israel faces genocide allegations at the International Court of Justice, with Herzog’s own statements cited as evidence.
Today, Principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, Josh Bornstein, on the visit that’s raising tensions and dividing communities and whether those divisions can ever can ever be mended.

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Guest: Josh Bornstein, Principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn
Photo: AAP Image/Callum Godde
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Between them, the US and Russia hold 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear firepower.
But today, the New START Treaty, which limits the number of missiles and warheads in their arsenals, expires.
President Putin first suspended it two years ago.
Now, without a last-minute deal, it looks set to collapse for good amid fears of a new nuclear arms race.
Today, a view from the inside as we speak with Paul Dean – who helped implement the Treaty and is now a Vice President for the US-based ‘Nuclear Threat Initiative’ – on the threat of nuclear war.

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Guest: Paul Dean, Vice President of Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Global Nuclear Policy Program
Photo: U.S. Energy Department via AP, File
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For years, survivors of some of the worst crimes imaginable have been put through hell. Their perpetrators allowed to use glowing character references in court, in an effort to have their sentences reduced.
But today, that’s set to change as New South Wales introduces new laws scrapping character references for all criminal sentencing - in response to years of campaigning from sexual abuse survivors.
Today, ‘Your Reference Ain’t Relevant’ Cofounder Harrison James on what these changes mean and how the rest of the country is lagging behind on character reference reform.

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Guest: Cofounder of ‘Your Reference Ain’t Relevant’, Harrison James
Photo: AAP Image/Sarah Wilson
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When the US military seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, people in Colombia were left wondering if they were next.
Almost immediately, Donald Trump was accusing Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, of being tied to cocaine trafficking – without providing evidence – and publicly entertaining a US “operation” in the country.
Monica Villamizar, a Colombian-American journalist, says the mood on the streets has been a mix of shock and fear.
Now, following a phone call that temporarily cooled the crisis, Petro is due to meet Trump in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday – a meeting Monica calls a wild card.
Today, Monica Villamizar on the feud between Trump and Petro – and what’s riding on their meeting for Colombia, and the broader Latin American region.

If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at 7ampodcast.com.au/support.

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Guest: Colombian-American journalist, Monica Villamizar
Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.