60 Minutes

Living in Interesting Times
As if they're not hurting enough, Australians with home loans need to prepare themselves for even more pain. Next Tuesday it's almost certain there will be another interest rate rise, which will set a record no one wants to celebrate – the tenth increase in a row. It will add new meaning to the old phrase, "We live in interesting times". The Reserve Bank says raising interest rates is the best way to get inflation under control and warns that if it doesn't, the Australian economy will be truly stuffed. But what if the experts have got it wrong? On 60 Minutes, Tom Steinfort finds out if there's a better way to beat inflation than by smashing families already trapped in a financial vice.
Producers: Lisa Brown, Sheree Gibson

National Disgrace
There's no nice way to put it: the shocking number of Aboriginal deaths in custody is a national disgrace. It's inexcusable. Back in 1991 a Royal Commission exposed the brutal truth about this crisis and made 339 recommendations to try to fix the problem. Sadly though, good intentions have not translated into meaningful action. In the 32 years since the Royal Commission, more than 527 Indigenous Australians have died while locked up. In a joint investigation by 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Nick McKenzie reveals more horrific cases of Indigenous deaths that could and should have been avoided. He also interviews Aboriginal activist, ALP Senator Pat Dodson. The revered Yawuru elder from Western Australia tells McKenzie the Albanese government must act immediately to address this shameful crisis.
Producers: Natalie Clancy, Sammi Taylor

Presumed Evil
Ben Smith was a typically honest, hardworking and ambitious young Australian. Originally from country NSW, he moved to Sydney in the 1990s to play footy, and went on to become a highly respected cop. Life was good. Then, six years ago, out of the blue, he was accused of horrific, historical sex crimes. Smith knew he was innocent but that wasn't enough to convince investigators. He was presumed to be evil. There was one person who believed him though, and thank goodness she did. As Tara Brown reports, Ben's wife Amy saved her husband from prison by gathering crucial evidence and proving beyond doubt what police and prosecutors ignored – her man was not a monster.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producer: Naomi Shivaraman

Trafficked
She's diminutive, quietly spoken, almost invisible. For Mae Ja Kim it's the perfect disguise to hide a dangerous truth: she is a criminal mastermind and part of Australia's most ruthless human trafficking syndicate. Police believe she has made millions of dollars by exploiting hundreds of women lured from Asia to be enslaved in the sex industry here. A decade ago Mae Ja Kim was sentenced to prison for five years, but as Nick McKenzie reveals in a joint investigation by 60 Minutes, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Stan, that setback may be no more than a minor blip in the career of this major crook.
Reporter: Nick McKenzie
Producer: Amelia Ballinger

Grey is the New Black
It's time to boot the Botox and flick the facial-fillers. In other words, out with the new, in with the old. Wrinkles are sexy and grey is the new black. More and more women, and especially those over 50, have decided there's nothing more beautiful than welcoming, and then embracing, the age of ageing. As Amelia Adams discovers, the leaders of this revolution can be found in some rather surprising places. They include stars of Hollywood, as well as beauty industry icons like one-time supermodel Paulina Porizkova, proudly 57 years old, who says growing old gracefully is cool, and better still, no one needs to spend a cent to look – and feel – like a million bucks.
Reporter: Amelia Adams
Producer: Laura Sparkes

Kidnapped in Japan
It sounds completely crazy, but in Japan it is actually legal to kidnap children. Yes, legal. In that country a bizarre law allows a parent in a failed marriage to literally abduct the kids and run off into the night. It's possible because co-parenting is not an option for disgruntled couples who are divorcing. Sole custody is automatically awarded to the mother or father who was last living with the children. That parent is also given the power to block the other parent's access. While Japan is entitled to make any strange rules it wants, 82 Australian kids have been innocently caught up in this mess. On assignment for 60 Minutes, North Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Eryk Bagshaw, investigates how the seemingly sensible idea of shared custody has become as alien to the Japanese as a ban on whaling.
Reporter: Eryk Bagshaw
Producer: Natalie Clancy