This week 60 Minutes looks at Farmers, the drug Ice and a look at a child abduction case that made headlines in 2012.
FARMERS FIGHT BACK
Imagine being kicked out of your own home with no warning. The locks changed. All your treasured belongings and memories trapped inside. That’s what is happening to thousands of families across the country as the big banks threaten and bully them into submission. If it was happening in our capital cities there’d be a national outcry, but these evictions are happening in rural areas, away from the public glare. Until now. This Sunday, 60 Minutes will expose the sneaky tactics of our biggest banks as they kick farmers off their land, and families out of their homes. Our cameras capture the moment the receivers move in, and even threaten a farmer with the Tactical Response Group. But these farmers and their families aren’t gonna take it anymore. Reporter Michael Usher is there as they storm back onto their properties, confront the new owners, and have a showdown with police.
Reporter: Michael Usher
Producer: Grace Tobin, Stephen Rice
ITALIAN SISTERS
It is the biggest international child abduction case in living memory. An Australian mother kidnaps her four daughters from their father in Italy, claiming he is an abusive monster. The Australian Embassy in Rome illegally assists in smuggling the girls to Australia. Two years later the four sisters are dragged kicking and screaming back to their father in Italy. They were hysterical and confronting scenes we wouldn’t forget easily.60 Minutes first exposed the mother’s con, the father’s heartache and our embassy’s unforgivable role in 2012. Now, three years on, for the first time in an exclusive interview with Tara Brown, the girls have their say.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producer: Gareth Harvey
ICE
Crystal meth, or ice, is the perfect destructive drug. It’s easy to make, cheap to buy, highly addictive, and it’s everywhere. Now the Prime Minister has commissioned a new taskforce to tackle this national crisis. And you don’t need to touch ice to be its victim. It’s intersecting with every aspect of Australian life, destroying families, causing carnage on our roads and murder in our homes. This Sunday, reporter Allison Langdon speaks to the innocent victims of ice – normal, everyday people whose lives have been changed forever because of an ice addict they’ve never met. Their stories are heartbreaking and frightening. 60 Minutes will measure the true toll of the ice crisis, the likes of which Australia has never seen.
Reporter: Allison Langdon
Producer: Steven Burling
8:30pm Sunday on Nine