Q and A

Accomplished journalist and presenter Hamish Macdonald leads a panel of guests and members of the public in a surprising and thought-provoking discussion that will challenge our thinking on big and complex issues.

Plenty to discuss including a $250 million arts rescue package, more scandal plagues Labor, a shake-up of university fees, claims of sexual harassment rock the High Court, and Victoria's coronavirus COVID-19 spike. Panellists: Paul Fletcher, minister for communications, cyber safety and the arts; Bill Shorten, shadow minister for the national disability insurance scheme; Katie Noonan, musician, producer, composer and artistic director; Yasmin Poole, writer and youth advocate; and Sue Morphet, president, Chief Executive Women. Guest host: Virginia Trioli.

Secrets, spies and hidden trials: Balancing national security with your right to know. Closed courts, police raids on journalists and whistleblowers facing jail. Is Australia becoming a secret state? Who decides what we know? Panellists: Dennis Richardson, former ASIO director-general; Nick Xenophon, lawyer and former senator; Annika Smethurst, News Corp journalist and AFP raid victim; Clinton Fernandes, national security analyst; and Jacinta Carroll, counter-terrorism expert.