Susan Chenery

Stories of upfront bonds, failure to pay wages, harassment and deplorable conditions are being heard by the parliamentary inquiry into whether a modern slavery act is needed to protect working backpackers from exploitation.

A new documentary charts the course of The Go-Betweens, the Brisbane band centred on a lauded songwriting partnership that somehow fell short of stardom. “It was literally a clash of the titans,” says Kriv Stenders, director of The Go-Betweens: Right Here. “You couldn’t have had a more egocentric band ever in history. There is still an incredible amount of emotion there.”

Willem Dafoe’s dark charisma has helped him build a career on complicated, often villainous roles, but for his latest film he narrates a documentary about adventurers who climb and throw themselves off mountains. Such people push themselves to the edge, as Dafoe does. But he says he is not so brave – “I don’t even want to go in a hot-air balloon” – and admits to vertigo.

Author Robert Drewe’s award-winning novels are much loved for their sharply drawn portraits of Australian life. For his latest, Whipbird, he has turned his satirical eye to the type of monied professional chasing the settler tradition by owning a modest vineyard.

Since arriving on the music scene as a teenager in the band George, Katie Noonan has been an evolving artist. Now, she’s seeking to empower fellow female singer–songwriters in rural Australia.

To the Bundjalung people, Wollumbin-Mount Warning is a sacred site. It is also a major Tweed Valley tourist attraction and the centre of a debate over who should be allowed to visit its summit.

In the aftermath of cyclone Debbie’s floodwaters, the northern New South Wales town of Murwillumbah is suffering a housing crisis, with homelessness rife.

A government proposal to compulsorily acquire farmland outside Townsville, to be leased to the Singapore Army for a training base, has local graziers gearing up for a fight.

As retold in Lion, Saroo was lost as a child in India, adopted by a Tasmanian couple and then, miraculously, 25 years later tracked down his birth mother.

While Racing NSW has announced it will direct a portion of prizemoney to the welfare of horses when their racing career is over, the national industry continues to kill thousands of unwanted animals each year.

Veteran US satirist P. J. O’Rourke on Hillary Clinton, his fondness for Trump supporters and the gonzo ethos.

While some residents of Mooball in northern NSW believe sandmining tailings have caused a cancer cluster, others think it’s a scare campaign to prevent development.

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes hobnobs with the wealthy and titled. His social status, however, wasn’t always so polished.

Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom on the making of the Everest documentary Sherpa.

NSW Northern Rivers residents are losing sleep as their towns succumb to chattering, defecating flying foxes. But rather than moving on the colonies, is the better answer to adapt to their existence?

In honour of his disappeared father, artist Dadang Christanto holds forth the memory of Indonesia’s 1965 massacres, despite considerable personal risk.

As the next generation of a northern NSW Aboriginal community waits for signs of fatal disease caused by asbestos, compensation remains non-existent.

International marine experts met this week to discuss the rising number of shark attacks in Australian waters and the technological innovations that may help to prevent them.

When the spotlight recently returned to obsessive artist Peter Powditch it inadvertently revealed an inner struggle.

Reggae beats lend a rhythm and flow to Nattali Rize’s passion for social and environmental causes.

For British funnyman David Mitchell, falling in love with the perfect woman was easy. It was the years of waiting for her that were hell.

Singer Archie Roach’s battles with illness have made him realise that healing can only come if he lets go of past pain.

A new edition of Stephanie Alexander’s A to Z kitchen bible The Cook’s Companion is a culinary event.

Actor, writer and director Zach Braff has his name all over a new and deeply personal film project. So why is he tetchy?

Writer-director John Michael McDonagh revisits his Celtic roots with the tale of a persecuted priest.

He helped make Aboriginal art a boom industry. Meet Coo-ee gallery owner Adrian Newstead.

His Day in the Life series was a phenomenal success and he still reigns as the king of coffee-table photography books. But it’s a 1970s assignment in the Australian desert that holds a special place in Rick Smolan’s heart.