Background Briefing - ABC RN

You’ve just been released from jail in a country town. You’re given two nights in a motel, half a dole check, and one set of clothes. Where do you go from there? Liz Keen follows repeat offenders as they cycle between rural prisons, grungy roadside motels, and homelessness, in a fight to start their lives over.

From piles of rubbish to leaking sewers, rats, and gas leaks. Pierre the Birdman is on a one-man mission to save his public housing block -- but he doesn’t own a computer, only just got a mobile phone, has never had legal training, and he barely finished high school. Despite this... he’s been winning cases against the NSW Government. Mario Christodoulou reports.

Whistle-blowers from inside Australia's lucrative employment services industry are claiming profits are being prioritised over the needs of vulnerable welfare recipients. This week on Background Briefing, reporter Andy Burns investigates alleged murky behaviour inside the government's 350-million-dollar "Parents Next" program. She follows allegations that some private providers are benefitting at the expense of single mothers, some of whom are homeless.

Leaked documents show the influence the alcohol industry wields over the federal government’s National Alcohol Strategy. Experts warn this will have dire consequences for the nation’s ability to deal with a massive public health problem. With unprecedented access inside one of Australia’s biggest rehab facilities, Katherine Gregory takes on the grim reality of alcohol.

Some paintings by contemporary Australian artists are worth millions of dollars. But what if what you see isn't always what you get? There are claims the art market is plagued with questionable works by Brett Whiteley, Howard Arkley, Charles Blackman and more. Hagar Cohen exposes question marks over three expensive artworks... and traces their origin back to one group of high-profile dealers in Melbourne's art market.