60 Minutes: Dec 1

On Sunday’s 60 Minutes Charles Wooley meets a resilient Darwin farmer, plus more on that self-confessed Chinese spy.

Tough Stuff
It’s a given that Northern Territorians are a robust and resilient lot, but Darwin farmer Gavin Howie has to be the toughest of the tough. He is positively superhuman. Not that he necessarily knew it at the beginning of the year when he fell into a turf-cutting machine. Little imagination is needed to picture the scene – one of his legs was severed at the thigh; the other almost completely ripped off. Even worse, Gavin was alone when the accident happened, and a long way from help. But, no worries, this knockabout bloke simply refused to die. Now, thanks to a brilliant surgeon and some extraordinary medical technology, Gavin is not only back on the farm, he’s back on his feet.
Reporter: Charles Wooley
Producer: Naomi Shivaraman

No Pain, No Gain
Fighting the western world’s addiction to painkillers is one of the biggest headaches doctors currently face. Until recently popping a pill had always been the easy answer to controlling pain. But far from helping, the overuse of prescription medicines is actually killing more and more of us. Now in America, clinicians have come up with a radical treatment for teenagers who are suffering. Instead of drugs they’re fighting pain by inflicting even more pain. As Liam Bartlett discovers, it gives new meaning to the old saying you’ve got to be cruel to be kind, but the results are amazing.
Reporter: Liam Bartlett
Producer: Nick Greenaway

Update: China’s Spy Secrets
A self-confessed Chinese spy who bravely outed himself on 60 Minutes last week has been making headlines around the world ever since. Wang “William” Liqiang has also been the subject of fierce attack from high-ranking Chinese government officials who claim he is a convicted fugitive who should not be believed. But the Australian government is taking Wang’s allegations, broadcast by 60 Minutes and published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, very seriously.
Reporter: Sarah Abo
Producer: Grace Tobin

8:30pm Sunday on Nine.