60 Minutes

The Survivor
It was a horrific disaster: 242 people were on board Air India flight 171 when it fell from the sky and blew up in a catastrophic fireball five months ago. All the passengers and crew died, except one man. Unbelievably, 39-year-old Viswashkumar Ramesh escaped the burning wreckage. His story of survival is truly incredible, but far from celebrating it, he remains grief-stricken and guilt-ridden. He wants to know why he was so lucky when so many others, including his brother Ajay, weren't? As Dimity Clancey reports, Viswashkumar is also increasingly angry. He feels deserted by Air India and says its response to his pleas for help, along with questions about the cause of the crash, are being ignored.
Reporter: Dimity Clancey
Producers: Natalie Clancy, Sacha Passi

It Stinks
A dot in the Pacific, Nauru is not only one of the world's tiniest countries, it's also one of the most corrupt. But that doesn't seem to bother Australia's federal government, which is throwing billions of dollars at the place. The reason? Nauru has agreed to take a number of former detainees, or "non-citizens" as they're called, that Canberra is desperate to get rid of. As an upfront payment, Australia has already committed over four hundred million dollars to Nauru's dodgy government, which is led by a man who allegedly pocketed money for himself and his cronies on multiple occasions in the past. As Nick McKenzie reports in this joint 60 Minutes, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age investigation, adding to the stench of the deal is the refusal of our government to engage in a public defence of it.
Reporter: Nick McKenzie
Producer: Garry McNab

60 Minutes on Sunday looks to the rise in e-bikes, plus Melbourne oral surgeon George Dimitroulis.

Riding for a Fall
It's difficult to argue with advocates of electric bikes who are spot on when describing them as convenient, cheap to run and good for the environment. There's a big "but" though. Many of the e-bikes zooming along our roads and footpaths don't meet Australian safety standards. Many can also be easily modified, meaning they can travel at speeds far in excess of the permitted 25 kilometres an hour. In fact, some are more like motorbikes than bikes. As Amelia Adams reports, it's an enormous worry especially because riders are often young, inexperienced, and not cognisant that the consequences of a crash can be catastrophic.
Reporter: Amelia Adams
Producers: Sandra Odorisio, Nichola Younger

Jaws of Strife
Australia has some of the most skilful surgeons in the world. And some of the most inventive. Melbourne doctor George Dimitroulis wants the country to believe he's one of them. He's an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who specialises in fixing damaged jaws. To do so he has developed a 3D printed prosthetic joint. It seems impressive, but far from making his patients' lives better, many believe they've ended up worse off after having the device implanted. On assignment for 60 Minutes, Nine's Christine Ahern speaks to patients who claim Dr Dimitroulis's operation has resulted in immeasurable suffering.
Reporter: Christine Ahern
Producers: Natalie Clancy, Toni Ambrogetti

Lights, Cameras, Lawyers
Actor Rebel Wilson is one of Australia's favourite and most successful comedic exports. But there's nothing funny about the predicament she currently finds herself in. What should have been a highlight of her career, directing her first feature film, has instead turned into a drama of blockbuster proportions. Wilson is in a toxic dispute with the $15 million project's producers and a lead actor. Accusations of sexual misconduct, embezzlement, lying and bullying now form the core of multiple defamation cases. The allegations are contained in legal documents, but remain untested in court. However, as Tara Brown reports, the prospect of having a courtroom as a stage, and lawyers not moviegoers as an audience, is not a performance Rebel Wilson wants to laugh about.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producer: Amelia Ballinger

Finnish yes, Finished No
At 34, Sanna Marin marked her name in history by not only becoming the prime minister of Finland, but also one of the world's youngest leaders. From 2019 she ruled the northern European country that borders Russia at a particularly strained time, first through the COVID pandemic and then as Russian dictator Putin launched his invasion of nearby Ukraine. Her calmness in a crisis earned distinction, but she also attracted plenty of controversy. In particular, Marin's partying ways proved divisive. While many Finns applauded their no-nonsense leader, just as many tut-tutted her un-prime-ministerial behaviour. Marin left office in 2023, but as Dimity Clancey reports, when she did, still as a very young woman, she faced a dilemma: how to prove there really was life after politics.
Reporter: Dimity Clancey
Producer: Natalie Clancy

The Vital Clues
So many Australians travel to Bali each year that it's easy to think it is actually a part of Australia, and therefore easy to forget that when things go wrong on the island, they can go really wrong. Last May, 23-year-old Queenslander Byron Haddow thought two weeks of partying in Bali would not only be the perfect holiday, it would be perfectly safe. But four days after arriving, something terrible happened at the villa where he was staying, and Byron died. Despite three other Australians being with him at the time, local police haven't been able to determine the exact circumstances of what happened, or even Byron's exact cause of death. On 60 Minutes, Adam Hegarty investigates vital new evidence which could piece together the last moments of this young man's life.
Reporter: Adam Hegarty
Producers: Laura Sparkes, Sammi Taylor

The Menace of the Taipans
When an Australian army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter crashed off the North Queensland coast during a training exercise in July 2023, four young airmen were killed. It was the worst peacetime military incident in decades. Two and a half years on, the families of Captain Dann Lyon, Lieutenant Max Nugent, Corporal Alex Naggs and Warrant Officer Phillip Laycock have united to speak publicly for the first time. And their message could not be clearer. They want Australia to know this was a disaster that never should have happened. They say a litany of errors by the Defence Department, along with a culture that consistently put risk before safety, is to blame for the crash. On assignment for 60 Minutes, Nine's national affairs editor Andrew Probyn reports there is also substantial expert evidence to back up the very serious claims being made by the families.
Reporter: Andrew Probyn
Producers: Anne Worthington, Sheree Gibson