For two years, Queensland police officer Jason Somerville lived a dangerous double life. Under the assumed identity of Michael Bates, he posed as a heroin dealer, infiltrated Brisbane's drug trade, befriended hardened criminals and earned their trust to gather evidence against them. He even went undercover in a police cell to obtain a confession from an accused double murderer. But living a lie comes at a price. When the operations ended, Somerville discovered that leaving his undercover identity behind was far harder than adopting it. The constant danger, deception and paranoia had taken a psychological toll. His marriage eventually collapsed, and the effects of his undercover years followed him long after the operations were over.

Jason discusses his new book, Undercurrent: The Hidden Cost of Going Undercover, revealing the close calls, moral dilemmas and personal sacrifices involved in infiltrating Australia's criminal underworld.

https://artists.australianculturalfund.org.au/s/project/a2EMn00000k7A78

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The alleged attack on Helen Haines has shocked Australia and raised urgent questions about the safety of our elected representatives. How do we protect politicians while keeping them accessible to the communities they serve?

Adam Shand examines the threatening language poisoning public debate and reflects on his own approach to handling vile comments on social media. With the accused’s motive still to be established, this is a call to consider the conversations we create—and our responsibility when anger becomes an invitation to violence.

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Former police officer Amanda Schultz has spent years questioning the official finding that her father, Detective Inspector Geoffrey “Whit” Whitford, took his own life. The highly respected Whitford was found dead from a gunshot wound at a remote South Australian beach in October 1981. His death was officially ruled a suicide by police without a formal coronial inquest, backed by a sealed 30-year coronial report. Whitford led a covert organised crime and drug taskforce targeting the marijuana and heroin trade. Amanda discusses the evidence she believes doesn’t fit the accepted account, what her father may have known through his police work—and why she continues to fight for a fresh investigation into his death.

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