Antarctica holds valuable clues to understanding the future of our planet – especially regarding the implications of climate change. It is also a continent unwilling to give up those secrets readily.

There are few as cognisant of both truths as earth scientist Chris Turney. In 2013, a century after Douglas Mawson’s pioneering scientific expedition across the continent, Turney led a follow-up journey, with a view to recording how Antarctica’s climate had changed over the intervening years. Less than a month after setting sail, the boat was trapped in ice, along with its crew and 52 passengers – including Turney and his immediate family. The costly rescue mission garnered international headlines, and ignited a debate about what constitutes acceptable risk in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

Join Professor Turney as he explores the past, present and future of Antarctica – a continent that acutely bears the impacts of our changing climate – and relives the expedition that inadvertently sent him following the fateful path of Ernest Shackleton, one of Antarctica’s unluckiest adventurers.

Note: Krystal Evans was to host this talk, but wasn't able to attend due to a personal matter. Amita Kirpalani, project producer at the Wheeler Centre, hosted in her place.

Amita Kirpalani and Chris Turney — Photo: Jon Tjhia

Immigration has long been among the most contentious, and highly politicised, areas of  Australian public policy. The past 20 years have seen a drastic increase in Australia's intake of migrants, as well as an increasingly punitive approach to managing asylum seeker arrivals; an approach that has attracted censure from human rights groups.

Does the recent outcome of the class action between Manus Island detainees and the Commonwealth represent a turning point? And what impact will new changes to 457 visas and the Australian citizenship test have on the fabric of our communities?

For this episode of The Fifth Estate, Sally Warhaft meets human rights activist, former refugee and orthopaedic surgeon, Munjed Al Muderis and GetUp!’s human rights campaign director, Shen Narayanasamy. Join them for a discussion of the Australian immigration experience and its broader implications.

Sally Warhaft, Munjed Al Muderis and Shen Narayanasamy

Behrouz and Aziz at Hauwei Island — (Photo: Michael Green)

'I’m excited because … for almost three years I haven’t left the centre, and I was just locked inside there … Now, I’m walking on the streets – every two steps I take, I turn and I look behind me, like, "Where is the security guard?"'

Abdul Aziz Muhamat

It’s July 2016. On the morning Michael flies to Manus Island, Aziz leaves the detention centre for the first time in nearly three years.

In this episode, Aziz and Michael finally meet in person. Michael also meets some people from Manus Island, who explain how they feel about having the detention centre on their island.

Together with Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist and detainee, Aziz and Michael take a boat to a nearby island to swim, eat together, and escape the shadow of the detention centre. For Aziz, it’s an exhilarating time, full of new experiences and unexpected joys – but he knows it will soon come to an end.

Featured videos The Messenger, Episode 8: Michael and Aziz discuss their meeting on Manus Island Watch

In this short video, Michael and Aziz talk about their meeting in Lorengau – and what comes next for each of them

The Messenger, Episode 8: Michael and Aziz on the boat to Hauwei Island.mp4 Watch

Michael and Aziz on a boat trip to Hauwei Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea

Behrouz Boochani's song from Manus prison Watch

Behrouz Boochani's song from Manus prison

Transcript

A transcript of this episode is coming soon.

Further reading ‘Welcome to Manus, the island that has been changed forever by Australian asylum-seeker policy’ by Jo Chandler, Guardian, 16 December 2014 ‘They Call Me Immigration’ by Omar Mohammed Jack, Inside Story, 5 April 2017 (excerpted from They Cannot Take the Sky: Stories from Detention, published by Allen and Unwin)

In this episode

Abdul Aziz Muhamat

Behrouz Boochani

Michael Green

Benjamin Pokarup

Rose

Chris

Allen Muan

Our theme music was composed by Raya Slavin. Music used in this episode includes ‘Capture the Flag’ by Broken Social Scene, ‘Sensuous’ by Cornelius, ‘The North Downs Dimension’…