Qantas has been told it’s the “wrong kind of sorry”.

Five years after illegally outsourcing 1,800 ground staff, the airline has been hit with a record $90 million penalty on top of compensation for workers.

Qantas is promising cultural change, but the court's judgment questions whether the airline’s remorse is real or just for show, given the move saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run.

Today, Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston, on what this ruling means for the airline – and whether anything has changed since Alan Joyce's departure.


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: Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston

Qantas has been told it&rsquo;s the &ldquo;wrong kind of sorry&rdquo;.
Five years after illegally outsourcing 1,800 ground staff, the airline has been hit with a record $90 million penalty on top of compensation for workers.
Qantas is promising cultural change, but the court's judgment questions whether the airline&rsquo;s remorse is real or just for show, given the move saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run.
Today, Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston, on what this ruling means for the airline &ndash; and whether anything has changed since Alan Joyce's departure.
 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: Rampart founder and author of The Chairman's Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out, Joe Aston

An independent daily news show. We feature the country’s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

An independent daily news show. We feature the country&rsquo;s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

A daily news show from the publisher of The Monthly and The Saturday Paper.

A daily news show from the publisher of The Monthly and The Saturday Paper. Hear from the country’s best reporters, covering the news as it affects Australia. This is news with narrative, every weekday.

Is Qantas sorry – or just sorry it got caught?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/3438f3c3-003f-411e-8643-b33f00662862/transcript

After decades of spectacular growth built on property and heavy industry, China has tried to chart a new path – one driven by electric vehicles, green technology and AI. 

But as those bets begin to falter, there are questions about whether China has reached its peak, with stubborn problems like high youth unemployment and an ageing population seemingly intractable.

So as the new year begins, what is Xi Jinping’s plan to course correct? And if he can’t pull it off, what does that mean for Australia?

Today, essayist, translator and author of eleven books on China, Linda Jaivin, on what’s next for one of the world's great superpowers.

 

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: Essayist, translator and author of eleven books on China, Linda Jaivin

Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool

After decades of spectacular growth built on property and heavy industry, China has tried to chart a new path &ndash; one driven by electric vehicles, green technology and AI.&nbsp;
But as those bets begin to falter, there are questions about whether China has reached its peak, with stubborn problems like high youth unemployment and an ageing population seemingly intractable.
So as the new year begins, what is Xi Jinping&rsquo;s plan to course correct? And if he can&rsquo;t pull it off, what does that mean for Australia?
Today, essayist, translator and author of eleven books on China, Linda Jaivin, on what&rsquo;s next for one of the world's great superpowers.
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Essayist, translator and author of eleven books on China, Linda Jaivin
Photo:&nbsp;REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool

Has China peaked?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/b85d3fbc-21f8-489f-a315-b3b000733fb1/transcript

Like so many of us, Chloe Hooper spent 2025 obsessing over the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson.

It was different to the crimes she’s written about before, in her books The Arsonist and The Tall Man, which was about a death in custody.

For Chloe, it was the domesticity of the mushroom killings, the family dynamic, that drew her in.

But why did this story captivate the country at-large? And what does it say about us, particularly about women, that we are drawn to true crime?

These were some of the questions that drove Chloe, and her friends and colleagues, the writers Helen Garner and Sarah Krasnostein, as they began traveling to the town of Morwell to watch Erin Patterson’s trial.

What followed is The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder – a book that wrestles with ideas about power, money, marriage and murder.

Today, Chloe Hooper on what our collective fascination with Erin Patterson tells us about who we are as a country in 2025.

 

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: Writer and co-author of The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Chloe Hooper

Photo: AAP Image/Anita Lester

Like so many of us, Chloe Hooper spent 2025 obsessing over the triple murder trial of Erin Patterson.
It was different to the crimes she&rsquo;s written about before, in her books The Arsonist and The Tall Man, which was about a death in custody.
For Chloe, it was the domesticity of the mushroom killings, the family dynamic, that drew her in.
But why did this story captivate the country at-large? And what does it say about us, particularly about women, that we are drawn to true crime?
These were some of the questions that drove Chloe, and her friends and colleagues, the writers Helen Garner and Sarah Krasnostein, as they began traveling to the town of Morwell to watch Erin Patterson&rsquo;s trial.
What followed is The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder &ndash; a book that wrestles with ideas about power, money, marriage and murder.
Today, Chloe Hooper on what our collective fascination with Erin Patterson tells us about who we are as a country in 2025.
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at <a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Writer and co-author of The Mushroom Tapes: Conversations on a Triple Murder Chloe Hooper
Photo:&nbsp;AAP Image/Anita Lester

Why did Erin Patterson captivate the country?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/fe817ed2-4206-4115-8866-b3ae00764813/transcript

One of the big stories of the 2025 election campaign was the wipeout of the Australian Greens. 

In a stunning defeat, they lost three out of their four lower house MPs, including their leader Adam Bandt.

It left the party with big questions, about why they weren’t growing at a time when young people are more progressive than ever.

Now, more than six months out from the election, and under the leadership of Larissa Waters, they are beginning to show some signs of where the party wants to go next. 

Today, Crikey columnist Rachel Withers, on whether the Greens can claw back support, or if they’ve taken the wrong message from their defeat.

 

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:Crikey columnist Rachel Withers 

Photo: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

One of the big stories of the 2025 election campaign was the wipeout of the Australian Greens.&nbsp;
In a stunning defeat, they lost three out of their four lower house MPs, including their leader Adam Bandt.
It left the party with big questions, about why they weren&rsquo;t growing at a time when young people are more progressive than ever.
Now, more than six months out from the election, and under the leadership of Larissa Waters, they are beginning to show some signs of where the party wants to go next.&nbsp;
Today,&nbsp;Crikey columnist Rachel Withers, on whether the Greens can claw back support, or if they&rsquo;ve taken the wrong message from their defeat.
&nbsp;
If you enjoy 7am, the best way you can support us is by making a contribution at&nbsp;<a href="http://7ampodcast.com.au/support">7ampodcast.com.au/support</a>.
&nbsp;
Socials: Stay in touch with us on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/7ampodcast">Instagram</a>
Guest: Crikey columnist Rachel Withers&nbsp;
Photo:&nbsp;AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

What happened to The Greens this year?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/5f4e1a59-8724-4962-af2d-b3b60064ccc3/transcript

Is Qantas sorry – or just sorry it got caught?

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