Due to a lack of affordable housing the Australian dream of owning your own home is becoming just that – a dream. Climbing house prices, soaring rents and mortgage stresses have pushed the country’s housing situation to crisis point. Over 100,000 people are homeless and 200,000 are on social housing waiting lists. Greens senator for Western Australia and housing spokesperson Scott Ludlam calls the issue a national disgrace. Featured in story: Scott Ludlam - Greens senator for Western Australia and housing spokesperson and Adrian Pisarski - Chair Person of National Shelter.

Last year, across Australia we spent over $10 Billion dollars on poker machines. Despite this fact, the problem of pokies have largely slipped off the political and news agenda. Victoria alone, is responsible for a quarter of all pokies revenue and it is also home to outspoken shareholder activist and Crikey founder Stephen Mayne. He’s decided to run for a Victorian Senate seat in attempt to shine a light on the issue. Featured in the story Independent Senate Candidate Stephen Mayne

The advocacy group Childwise has accused the Australian Government of being lazy when it comes to child sex trafficking. They say the ALP needs to address the issue through education programs in Australia and community-based programs overseas. Together with retail chain The Body Shop, they announced today their campaign to get 250,000 signatures on their petition for action against trafficking. Featured in story: CEO of Childwise, Bernadette McMenamin and Srey Neth, survivor of sex trafficking.

Australian-born founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange has defended the release of 92,000 classified documents relating to the Afghanistan war. The material details civilian deaths, the duplicity of the Pakistan military in aiding the Taliban and some incidents involving Australian forces. A leak of this magnitude from within the US military is comparable to Daniel Ellsberg’s 1971 release of the Pentagon Papers exposing the realities of the Vietnam war. Featured in story: Professor Wendy Bacon, Director of UTS Journalism.

Australian Marriage Equality is a lobby group that encouraged it's members to ask Penny Wong some tough questions on the ABC's Q&A. They managed to get same sex marriage on a national, televised platform. National convenor Alex Greenwich speaks to The Wire about their election strategy.