60 Minutes: Nov 16

On 60 Minutes tomorrow Liam Bartlett reports from the South Pacific on regional deals with China.

This is the episode which itself became a news story.

At the time a crew was withheld from filming, Nine’s original statement said, “The crew is not under detention or house arrest, as has been incorrectly reported, and the issue does not affect the story being worked on.”

In the episode press release, Nine says, “For this report, he and his team travel to the Solomon Islands, where China tried to secretly take over and control an entire island; to remote Kiribati, where the 60 Minutes crew was detained in an attempt to prevent them from reporting on that nation’s deal with China.”

The C Bomb
Rude, crude and very often nude, Constance Hall has no shame, no filter and no qualms about oversharing the most intimate details of her chaotic family life. It has made her a social media sensation and a very successful businesswoman. Of course, she has just as many detractors as followers, but as Allison Langdon discovers, she couldn’t care less. Constance’s bank balance proves that bogan bloggers with potty mouths can do whatever they please.
Reporter: Allison Langdon
Producers: Garry McNab, Naomi Shivaraman

Seeing Red
There’s trouble in paradise. Nations in the South Pacific are sick of us simply thinking of them as sunny playgrounds for postcard holidays. Many have significant problems which threaten their very existence and they’re turning to China for the help they claim they’re not receiving from Australia. In a 60 Minutes special investigation, Liam Bartlett uncovers the alarming – sometimes sinister – ways China is doing business in the Pacific. For this report, he and his team travel to the Solomon Islands, where China tried to secretly take over and control an entire island; to remote Kiribati, where the 60 Minutes crew was detained in an attempt to prevent them from reporting on that nation’s deal with China; and to the mineral-rich island of Bougainville, currently part of Papua New Guinea, but whose residents are seeking independence. There Bartlett reveals an audacious Chinese master plan where the prize could include a share of the $60 billion Panguna gold and copper mine. No matter whether you think China is a totalitarian communist state aiming for world domination or just a benign superpower spreading its influence, right now in the Pacific seeing red has a lot of people really seeing red
Reporter: Liam Bartlett
Producers: Gareth Harvey, Ben Bohane

Like Father, Like Son
Like father like son, Ken Warby and his boy Dave love fast boats. But their passion isn’t just any fast boat, it must be the fastest boat – ever! Forty years ago, on a quiet lake in the Snowy Mountains, Ken Warby piloted a homemade, jet-powered boat to a speed that has never been equalled. It’s such a dangerous pursuit that people have died trying to better Ken’s world water speed record which stands at an astonishing 511 kilometres an hour. But after four decades, there’s another challenger: Dave Warby. And even if it means dethroning dad, Dave reckons it’ his turn to be the fastest man on water.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producer: Gareth Harvey

8:30pm Sunday on Nine.