The opposition is reported to be working on a plan to provide six months paid parental leave, which is longer than the government’s plan for 18 weeks leave. The news has been welcomed by those who’ve campaigned for a sizeable period of paid leave for parents, but some commentators doubt the coalition’s motivations in announcing the scheme. In this story- federal Sex Discrimination Comissioner, Elizabeth Broderick and National Chair of the Women’s Electoral Lobby, Eva Cox.

"The 10 Conditions of Love", a documentary about Uighur activist Rubiya Kadeer, is the focus of another controversy. John Lewis- the producer of the film- has accused the ABC of postponing the film in order to secure broadcasting rights in China. Featured in story: John Lewis- producer at Arcimedia, Mark Scott- ABC Managing Director, Senator Bob Brown - Leader of the Greens and Alan Knight - Professor of Journalism at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Prominent Aboriginal academic Noel Pearson has lambasted the state of Australia’s Native Title laws. He says courts have misinterpreted the original intent of the 1993 Native Title Act, to the detriment of Indigenous Australians. He made the comments at a function in Sydney hosted by the American Bar Association. Featured in story: Patricia Lane, Senior Lecturer at Sydney Law School.

In a democracy most people would expect to be able to take photos in a public place unimpeded. However, in Britain this hasn’t been the experience of members of the public, who have found their right curtailed under Section 44 of the Anti-Terror laws. These laws allow police to search anyone they suspect of being a terrorist and to look for signs of what authorities describe as “hostile reconnaissance”. The laws have caused fierce debate and led to the formation of a protest groups and court cases as photographers fight for their rights. Featured in story: Grant Smith - Protest Organiser “I’m a Photographer not a Terrorist”, Gale Spring, Associate Professor of Scientific Photography, Physics Department RMIT