Past Programs
Defence and National Security - 2008
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Why Are Australian Troops in Afghanistan?
02/05/2008
Following the death of Lance Corporal Jason Marks in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says Australia should "steel itself for hight casualties" there. He says the year ahead could be "difficult, dangerous and bloody". So why are Australian troops there; and how long will they stay?
Clusters' last stand: should Australia ban the bomb? Read Transcript
15/02/2008
Sure, war is never pretty. But cluster bombs - canisters that split to scatter hundreds of tiny bomblets over a wide area - are particularly nasty. They're designed to kill as many people as possible and their destructive force can ricochet well into the future, exploding like landmines and posing a threat to civilians. New Zealand's been leading the global charge to ban cluster bombs while Australia has dragged its feet. Will that change under the Rudd government? An international conference starting in Wellington tomorrow is going to put cluster bombs in the firing line.
Terrorism: are we protecting ourselves too much?
06/01/2008
A public forum from the 2007 Adelaide Festival of Ideas discussing the legal and political response to terrorism. Is it a case of better safe than sorry, or are Australia's anti-terror laws undermining the very democratic values that we seek to protect from extremists? This program was first broadcast in August, 2007.
