60 Minutes

Heroes of Beijing

What can we say that hasn't already been said? All the superlatives, all the adjectives have been done to death over the last two weeks. Millions of words have been written, all the experts have had their say. But as usual, the people who really know what's going on, the ones you really want to hear, have said the least. Well, now it's their turn. On Sunday night, our Olympic champions get together and have their say, reliving some of the great heart-stopping moments from the Games. So let the celebrations begin.

The Hunt for ET

A Mother's Story
Is it just us, or has something gone terribly wrong with the way we protect our kids. Why can't we prevent these nightmares? Little ones starved to death, others left to fend for themselves like animals. Then, this past week, the horror that claimed two young lives. And just a few days earlier, three children - aged seven, five and 18 months - killed by their own father. Another terrible case of vulnerable children left in a perilous situation. On Sunday night, we'll try to make some sense of it all, with a mother's own story. A courageous Karen Bell tells how a moment of madness destroyed her family.
Reporter: Liz Hayes
Producers: Phil Goyen, Stephen Rice

Still Life

Little Women
You have to wonder what on earth's happening to our kids. Especially little girls. They're bombarded with sexy images. Raunchy video clips, billboards and store catalogues. Then there are the trashy fashions, explicit undies, even Barbie dolls in skimpy costumes. The message is you've got to be "hot" to be cool. No one can deny that sex sells, but why sell it to young children? That's a question currently confronting the politicians in Canberra. They've launched a Senate inquiry into the whole issue of the sexualisation of children. Fair enough, but many experts simply say - let kids be kids.
Reporter: Peter Overton
Producer: Sandra Cleary

Standing By Her Man

The New Boom

We don't have to tell you about the world fuel crisis, we all feel the pain every time we drive into a service station. But here's something you may not know. There is an answer and part of it's right here in our own backyard. We are talking about shale oil. There are huge deposits here in Australia, just waiting to be exploited. Then there are oil sands, which are already being mined on a massive scale in the wilds of Canada. It's an amazing sight, this new frontier. With tales of untold riches and untapped oil, enough to last more than a hundred years. But, as Liam Bartlett discovered, there is a catch.

Wake-Up Call

Sunday, June 8 at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

Mother’s Choice

There's nothing unusual about women having babies. Understandably though, every mother-to-be feels unique. And Tara Brown is speaking from personal experience. If all goes well, come October Tara will be a mum for the first time. Soon Tara will have to make THAT decision - how she wants her baby delivered. These days, one in three Australian babies are delivered in an operating theatre.

Caesarians are fast becoming the norm. Right at the other end of the spectrum, some women have their babies at home, with no medical intervention at all. Not a doctor or a midwife in sight. So, natural or the knife – on Sunday night the intimate stories of women who've already made that difficult choice. And we should mention some viewers may find some scenes confronting.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Secrets of the Cellar

You have to shake your head in disbelief - how on earth can these things happen? And in this particular case, how could he possibly get away with it for so long. It's just unthinkable - a father, who kept his daughter locked away in a secret chamber for 24 years. The poor girl was just 18 when the horror began, and over the years she had seven children. One died, three were kept prisoner down in the cellar. And, unbelievably, the others were adopted by the father and lived openly upstairs as his "grandchildren". No wonder the family's story stunned the world. And we must add a warning - what follows contains strong adult themes.

Bonanza!

Sunday, May 25 at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

Lauren’s Story

She was a beautiful young woman with her whole life ahead of her. On a fine Spring day in 2005, Lauren Huxley was heading home from TAFE as usual. Then, the unthinkable, she was attacked by a stranger - brutally bashed in her own home by a man she'd never met.

A carpenter named Robert Farmer who lived in the same suburb savagely beat her, doused her with petrol, set the house alight and left her to die. Lauren's story of survival, remarkable recovery and extreme bravery has never fully been told. Until now. With Farmer convicted and behind bars, she tells her story, exclusively, to Ray Martin.

Turf War

Sunday, May 18 at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

Our Journey

Liz Hayes has just been to the ultimate family reunion. An incredible journey through time that began with Liz’s mum and dad in Taree, New South Wales, and ended with her long-lost relatives in the heart of Africa. Like many Australians, Liz caught the ancestry bug and decided to research her family tree. But as usually happens, Liz soon hit a dead end. After a few generations, all the written records simply dried up. Then science came to the rescue. Turns out, we all carry our family history with us, a secret code hidden in our DNA. And that code eventually took Liz back 2000 generations - more than 60,000 years - to where we all began.

Bound for Glory

Sunday, May 11 at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

Bee Afraid

They're nature's tireless workers - no wonder they call them busy. But you've probably never considered just how busy bees really are. Well, consider this, these humble little insects are responsible for pollinating much of the food we eat. Without them, we'd starve. And this is where it gets scary. Because, right now, a tiny parasite is threatening to wipe out our bees. It's already destroyed bee populations around the world. And, now, it's on our doorstep in
New Zealand. But, all is not lost. You see, there's one man who's fighting back. A dedicated scientist almost as busy as the bees themselves.

House of Cards

Sunday, April 27 at 7.30pm on Channel Nine

The Bug Man

They’re ugly, they sting and they bite. Prime candidates for a good squirt of Mortein, or the heel of a size 12 boot. That's what Liam Bartlett used to think about creepy crawlies like funnel webs, scorpions and centipedes. But not any more, not since he met the Bug Man. His name is Ruud Kleinpaste, and he just loves dangerous creatures, the deadlier the better.

As far as he's concerned, bugs rule the world, they're the key to 21st century medicine. Everything from painkillers to a cure for cancer, nothing's impossible. And for Ruud, Australia is the happiest hunting ground of all. Just don't stand too close when he starts digging around.

Brand Beckham

LIVE – Tuesday, October 30 at 12.30pm on Nine

Nine will present the first televised great debate between Treasurer Peter Costello and Shadow Treasurer Wayne Swan in a special edition of 60 Minutes live this Tuesday, October 30 at 12.30pm.

Nine’s commercial-free coverage of the debate will be presented by Ray Martin, and feature questioning of the participants by members of the Canberra Press Gallery.

The Network’s coverage of the debate will be followed by an analysis and the exclusive verdict of Nine’s Worm that night on A Current Affair. The Worm will provide the computer-generated verdict of 50 uncommitted voters who will judge the debate live in-studio at Nine.

There will also be a 60 Minutes exclusive phone poll which will be open throughout the afternoon so viewers can cast their own vote on the debate. The result of this poll will also be revealed on A Current Affair.

Over 1.44 million Australians tuned in last night, Sunday 21 October, as the Nine Network Australia presented the first televised Great Debate between Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd in a special 90-minute edition of 60 Minutes at 7.30pm.

Nine’s commercial-free coverage of the debate was hosted by Ray Martin and won its timeslot along the combined East Coast. Nine’s coverage featured its “Worm” which is a computer-generated analysis of 90 uncommitted voters who judged the debate live in-studio at Nine. The “Worm” provided continuous analysis throughout as well as the exclusive verdict declaring Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd, the winner with 65% of votes versus 29% for the Prime Minister (the remaining 6% undecided).

LIVE – Sunday, October 21 at 7.30pm on Nine

Nine will present the first televised great debate between Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd in a special 90-minute edition of 60 Minutes live this Sunday, October 21 at 7.30pm.

Nine’s commercial-free coverage of the debate will be hosted by Ray Martin, and feature questioning of the leaders by a panel of five senior political correspondents and journalists representing television, radio and print media.

It will be followed immediately by an analysis of the debate and the exclusive verdict of Nine’s “Worm” – the computer-generated verdict of 90 uncommitted voters who will judge the debate live in-studio at Nine.

Nine Network Director of News and Current Affairs, John Westacott, said: “Nine remains committed to the live telecast of the election debate, which has become a national broadcasting tradition at the Network."

Nine’s commitment to keeping viewers informed – right up until Australia votes on Saturday, November 24 – will extend across the Network’s news and current affairs programs, with National Nine News and TODAY delivering the latest news on the federal election each day.

Network Ten today (9/02/07) announced the Nine Network would sub-license up to 25 (twenty five) US '60 Minutes' stories per year from TEN.

TEN has exclusive Australian broadcast rights to US-produced '60 Minutes' content under its long-term program supply agreement with CBS Paramount International Television.

Nine will have a specific time from the US telecast date to inform TEN it has selected a certain '60 Minutes' story(ies) for broadcast on Nine.

TEN's chief executive officer, Grant Blackley, said: "TEN sought expressions of interest from all Australian free to air broadcasters, and the Nine Network positioned themselves as preferred bidder.

"To that end, TEN negotiated with Nine towards a commercial outcome with which we are absolutely delighted.

"This arrangement provides TEN an efficient way to manage the literally hundreds of hours of CBS News and '60 Minutes' content delivered under our agreement with CBS Paramount."

Mr Blackley added TEN continued to evaluate where US '60 Minutes' stories not selected by Nine would feature in its schedule.