Four Corners

Allegations have swirled around Willie Brigitte ever since his discreet deportation from Australia and his much-publicised arrest in France in October 2003.

Ticky Fullerton looks at the management of Tasmania's forests and how one timber company enjoys extraordinary political support for its operations.

Fuelled by a cocktail of drugs, armed robberies are growing more violent and unpredictable.

Four Corners returns for 2006 with a whistleblower... and revelations of a powerful insiders' club...

There's road rage over private tollways... Have deals between politicians and tollway bosses killed off grand new visions for public transport and decongested streets? Are they creating a road monster that leaves Australians addicted to cars?

Jack Thomas has become the first person to be convicted under Australia's new terrorist funding laws.

It's blokey and it's bolshie, the envy of other unions, with near blanket coverage of its workforce. For decades it has sought to influence election campaigns, dragged concessions out of fearful governments and fought ferociously for its members.

You don't have to be sitting on a street corner urinating in your trousers and shadow boxing to be a drunk. I'm living proof of that... - Ian

For years the global warming debate has swirled like a firestorm. Science has been tossed about in a tornado of spin from doomsayers and doubters, deep green activists and fossil fuel lobbyists.

Four Corners follows four brave Australians as they come to the end of their lives, and the people determined to give them a good death.

Will Australia's flawed disability support system be reformed in time to save the families now at breaking point?

A harrowing documentary that tells how thousands of young boys in Afghanistan are now being hunted and groomed to become sex slaves.

While WikiLeaks boss Julian Assange has been cast as a heroic champion of free speech, his ongoing expose of US foreign policy would not have been possible without the work of Private Bradley Manning. It was Manning who allegedly stole the classified documents published by WikiLeaks. It is Manning who now languishes in a US military prison.

With access to guerrilla activists and their undercover filming, Matthew Carney reports on the coalition of farmers, local townspeople and even a corporate titan who want to halt Australia's gas rush.

Tony Hayward, BP's former Chief Executive speaks out in a wide-ranging interview, reliving every aspect of the crisis: from being under the US media spotlight and running a multinational in financial meltdown, to dealing with a US President who was making the crisis personal.

"Revolution in the Classroom", reported by Matthew Carney and hosted by Kerry O'Brien. For some time now there's been a bruising debate about the balance of funding handed out to public and private schools. No one doubts it's an important debate, but many educators believe it has helped obscure an even more fundamental question about where the money is spent. Over the past decade, the Federal Government has spent billions of dollars trying to lower class sizes, increase the use of computers and boost investment in school buildings. At the same time, Australia's educational performance relative to key neighbouring countries has been falling. The question is why? For some the answer is simple. Money is being spent in the wrong places. Experts point to a growing body of research that says good teachers are the major determining factor in how a child performs at school. They claim that too little money is being spent on improving teacher performance. To make matters worse, state school principals are not empowered to make decisions about how their schools are staffed and run. As a result, some good teachers go unrewarded and bad teachers cannot be sacked. As one educational researcher puts it: "Outside of the home environment and the family situation, the biggest impact on a kid's education is teacher effectiveness. The quality of the instruction the teacher provides that student... If you have a teacher, one of the top performing teachers in Australia compared to one of the least effective teachers in Australia, that can be as much as a year's difference." Four Corners looks at the impediments to better teaching. Imagine running a business where you can't choose your own staff. Where you don't have control of your own budget to invest in innovative programs to improve the product you create. That's the situation many state school principals must deal with. "If you want the school to have the best staff, you have to choose them and they have to be able to match the needs of the school." - School Principal This week Four Corners visits three very different schools and talks to the people who are trying to change the system from within. As they tell the us, it's hard work but it is possible to dramatically turn a school around and change children's lives.

"The Comeback Kid?", reported by Andrew Fowler and presented by Kerry O'Brien. The inside story of the Federal Government in crisis; how the Labor Party went from the heights of popularity to the depths of political despair. Kevin Rudd lost his job when Party bosses saw his popularity waning. Now Julia Gillard is in even worse shape. What does Labor do next? Could it roll the dice again and return to its former leader? A Four Corners team has been unearthing the truth about Labor in power. It's an extraordinary exposé containing revelations about one of the great political dramas of our times.

"Syria Exposed", reported by Jonathan Miller for Channel 4 in the UK and presented by Kerry O'Brien. It's a program that raises many questions, not least how can any country support the regime of President Bashar al-Assad? How can the United Nations resist calls for al-Assad to be charged and prosecuted for war crimes? But if this happens, and the President leaves office, what will it mean for Syria and the balance of power in the Middle East? As unrest grows in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad continues to insist the violence is being driven by criminals and gangs of bandits, encouraged by forces outside Syria. Now reporter Jonathan Miller travels to Syria to investigate what's really going on inside the country. There, he finds a government that employs what can only be described as a "torture machine" to stop dissent. His report features devastating video evidence of men, women and children being subjected to brutal beatings, whippings and more elaborate torture. They tell how, after being detained by the police, they are passed through various levels of interrogation overseen by the secret police, or Mukhabarat. Much of this brutality has been captured on mobile phones by Syrian civilians and activists, and uploaded to the internet every week, because they are desperate to show the world what's happening. But the most confronting images come from videos that have been filmed by the torturers themselves. The report takes us to Syria and Lebanon where we hear from victims and activists who have experienced or witnessed torture at the hands of President al-Assad's forces. Their stories, and the video evidence of torture and killing, build a dossier of systematic abuse conducted by the Syrian government. Responding to the issues raised in the story, Four Corners presenter Kerry O'Brien speaks with a leading expert in the region about Syria's future and the consequences if Bashar al-Assad were to leave office either through force or his own choice.

He's a drug cheat, a bully and a liar who abused his best friends to keep a terrible secret, but has Lance Armstrong finally told the truth? The answer - almost certainly - is no.

It may be the wealthiest country in the world but as documentary maker Philippe Levasseur shows in America's Broken Dreams, when you lose your job in the US there is very little to protect you. In 2008 the global financial crisis hit the poor first, but now America's middle class is being devastated.

It's been called the smartest fighter plane on the planet but it is way over budget and still not delivered. Can the F.35 live up to the hype, or is the project set ot crash and burn?

Long haul truckies say they're being pushed to the brink by big business and government with lethal results.

Violence is part of life in the Middle East but have children now become a new target for Israeli security forces? A special investigation by journalist John Lyons.

Follows the journeys of a small group of North Korean secret film-makers, revealing what life is really like under the new leader Kim Jong Un.

Shocking revelations on Melbourne's gangland killings. Nick McKenzie reports.

Inside the campaign to save the two Australians on death row in Bali. Mark Davis reports.

Inside Australia's multi-billion dollar greyhound racing industry.

Sarah Ferguson presents an investigation into the criminal networks that are threatening the integrity of sport, amidst the uproar over the match fixing revelations in tennis, Linton Besser reports.

What's behind the rise in shark attacks, and is there anything we can do to stop them? Geoff Thompson reports.

Dying to Dance. Inside the dance party drug scene. Caro Meldrum-Hanna reports.

Four Corners returns with an incisive exploration of how President Trump will wield power. Reporter Michael Brissenden interviews key players in the Trump camp & Republicans on the political earthquake rippling across the US.

How Australians are spending billions on unproven vitamins & supplements. With 7 out of 10 Australians taking a complementary medicine, Four Corners looks at the regulation & marketing of these products.

A Report from the Frontlines in the Battle Against the Islamic State. As the war against IS intensifies, Matt Brown reports from the frontlines of Mosul - the biggest urban battle since World War II.

Linton Besser reports on the undercover operation to catch the world's most wanted money launderer in The Billion Dollar Bust.

The domestic workers treated like slaves in Australia. Louise Milligan investigates the hidden workforce kept behind closed doors, living in slave-like conditions and made to work around the clock.

The search for foreign fighters in the ruins of Raqqa. For four years Islamic State ruled its 'caliphate' from its capital Raqqa. ABC Middle East correspondent Matt Brown goes on an intense journey to the city freed from IS.

Four Corners reporter Sophie McNeill reveals the story of Saudi asylum seeker Rahaf Al Qunun from inside a Bangkok hotel room capturing the high tension, despair and eventual jubilation when Rahaf is offered asylum in Canada.

Their voices are persuasive, their emails insistent and they have proven to be remarkably successful at conning countless people into handing over their money. Internet scamming began in the early days of email with appeals from Nigerian 'princes' asking for help to regain their missing money. From those amateurish beginnings, the scammers watched, learned and refined their techniques. What started out as a simple scam from West Africa has now morphed into a global enterprise, conning people on an industrial scale.

As China transforms into an economic powerhouse, billions of dollars have been illegally spirited out of the country. Mark Willacy reports on the bounty hunters chasing China's missing millions in Australia.

They are the videos that stunned the world - images from the firegrounds capturing the ferocity of the bushfires that have raged across Australia. We bring you the people and the stories behind the heart-stopping footage.

A criminal scandal stretching from the White House to Australia. Stephanie March investigates the insider trading scandal that engulfed a US Congressman and his Sydney-based investment, posing major questions for regulators.

Private school privilege and a culture of cover up. Schools promise academic excellence and pledge to turn out fine young men and women, but has a desire to protect reputation at all costs allowed a toxic culture to flourish.

A gripping account of the insurrection as it unfolded, told by those who were there. In her return to Four Corners, Sarah Ferguson confronts some of those who answered Donald Trump's call to overturn the election result.

A personal portrait of the man now leading America charting Joe Biden's rise from a hardscrabble childhood where he faced bullying and discrimination based on a severe stutter, to personal tragedies and political missteps.

Self-described defenders of Russia are determined to shut down anti-Putin sentiment in Australia, establishing pro-Moscow chapters as part of a propaganda war to remind the world that Russia is a force to the reckoned with.

The first in a two-part special focusing on voters as they weigh up their options in key electorates. Voters assess the key moments of Scott Morrison's prime ministership, and share their opinions of his leadership.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is facing the biggest test of his political life. Can he convince voters he is ready to run the country? Voters in key seats give their assessment of Anthony Albanese's performance so far.

In the magnificent high country of the Snowy Mountains, wild horses roam the land. But there is a bitter clash of culture dividing communities - national icon or feral pest? The ugly divide over Australia's brumbies.

An Education in Opus Dei - the disturbing teachings of the conservative Catholic organisation and its influence in the NSW Liberal Party. Former students reflect on the practices they say have scarred them for life.

The doctors who break their sacred oath but are still allowed to practise. We investigate the medical complaints handling process as patients tell harrowing stories of betrayal, and the system that struggled to respond.

Can carbon credits really save the planet? We journey deep into the Papua New Guinean jungle to uncover the confronting truth about the carbon trade, finding a vast chasm between what is marketed and what is really happening.

The cost of living with Coles and Woolworths. We uncover the tactics used by supermarkets to keep prices high - and competition out. Both deny price gouging but there are now six inquiries and reviews targeting the duopoly.

A man accused by Rwandan authorities of being involved in brutal atrocities is living in Australia's suburbs. This joint Four Corners and Guardian investigation raise tough questions about our immigration screening processes.

Why the rest of Australia should care about what's happening at elite schools. Amid the push for private boys' schools in Australia to go co-educational, we investigate if these institutions are safe places for girls.