The Weekly with Charlie Pickering

- Season 5

(2019)

Topics: New South Wales Labor leader Michael Daley faced criticism over his comments in a 2018 video where he claimed Asian workers were taking young people's jobs in Sydney; Cardinal George Pell was sentenced to six years in prison; UK Prime Minister Theresa May asks the European Union for an extension on the Brexit withdrawal agreement (with Russell Howard).

Topics: Liberal Vice President Teena McQueen shocked the Q and A audience with her comments supporting Donald Trump; Liberal leader Gladys Berejiklian was re-elected as Premier of New South Wales in the state election; In an interview with Waleed Aly on The Project, Scott Morrison admitted a discussion took place in a Liberal Party shadow cabinet meeting in 2010 regarding community fears, but said his contribution was intended to "lower the fears about Islam and not elevate them"; A spectator was ejected from the Miami Open after being involved in a verbal altercation...

Topics: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Federal Budget report is "back in the black" but the Coalition has only forecast a surplus and is yet to deliver one; Josh Frydenberg claimed the Budget will not be a cash splash despite pledging to spend millions of dollars on infrastructure, health care and cracking down on welfare overpayments; Semi-naked climate change protesters interrupted a House of Commons Brexit debate and glued their hands to the glass of the public gallery, spending almost 20 minutes with their buttocks facing the chamber; Some dog owners refuse to...

Topics: A post-budget Newspoll showed the Coalition narrowing the gap and trailed Labor 48-52 percent in two-party terms, while an Ipsos poll showed Labor ahead with 53-47 percent in two-party terms; The Electric Vehicle Council CEO said that Labor leader Bill Shorten was not wildly wrong when claiming that charging an electric car would take 8-10 minutes; Animal rights activists staged nationwide protests by shutting down major road intersections and broke into abattoirs then chained themselves up to protest against the meat industry.

Topics: Prime Minister Scott Morrison sets May 18 election date for the 2019 federal election; Peter Dutton was widely criticised for accusing his Labor opponent, Ali France, of using her disability as an "excuse" for not living in the electorate of Dickson despite her efforts in looking for a wheelchair accessible home in Dickson; a fire engulfed Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and destroyed the landmark's spire and roof.

Topics: As both party leaders paused their official campaigns on Easter Sunday, Scott Morrison invited the media into his Pentecostal Church in Sydney for the first time, while Bill Shorten and his family attended the Easter service at St Andrew's Anglican church in Brisbane; the latest poll suggested Clive Palmer's United Australia Party and his plan to buy his way into parliament could pay dividend; the AFL's decision to book Birds of Tokyo for the ANZAC Day match was met with outrage as the RSL claims it could evoke bad memories for Japan's prisoners of war.

Topics: The first leaders' debate of the election campaign between Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten was held in Perth and screened on Channel 7; Australian cricketer James Faulkner attracted widespread attention after appearing to come out as gay in social media posts but later clarified there had been a "misunderstanding"; wellness celebrities and health product endorsements (with Judith Lucy); Australian politics with Adam Briggs.

Topics: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex gave birth to a son; a woman was charged with common assault after allegedly striking Scott Morrison on the back of the head with an egg; Bill Shorten calls Scott Morrison a "classic space invader" when Morrison confronted Shorten by standing very close to him while talking.

Topics: Bill Shorten cuddled Labrador puppies at Guide Dogs Victoria and pledged $2 million to the centre, while Scott Morrison had an official election campaign launch which none of the past Liberal Party leaders attended; American explorer Victor Vescovo found plastic waste on the seafloor including plastic bags and confectionery wrappers while breaking the record for the deepest ever dive.

Topics: You Can't Ask That sketch with The Weekly cast; Federal election results: Scott Morrison's shock election win to become Australia's prime minister, Tony Abbott lost his seat of Warringah to Zali Steggall; Derryn Hinch and Fraser Anning lost their Senate seat while Clive Palmer failed to win a seat in Parliament, Jacqui Lambie returned to the Senate as an Independent.

Topics: Jack and Robin Firestone promoted their historical fiction book Chasing Diana: Perception versus Reality on Sunrise fuelling speculations about Princess Diana's death in 1997; Ark Encounter, a theme park in Kentucky whose centrepiece is a giant replica of Noah's Ark, sued its insurance company for rain damage to its property; the World Health Organisation announced they have added video gaming addiction as an official mental health disorder to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems.

Topics: Prime Minister Scott Morrison gave the Queen a signed copy of the official biography of champion racehorse Winx: The Official Biography by former The Age journalist Andrew Rule during his first meeting with the monarch at Buckingham Palace; Kym Abrook from Adelaide's western suburb Fulham Gardens, chased an intruder from his property while dressed only in his underpants and wielding a didgeridoo.

Topics: AFP raids on the media sketch with The Weekly cast; Ash Barty became the first Australian in 46 years to win the French Open after defeating teenage star Markéta Vondrousová 6-1, 6-3 in the final; the Australian Federal Police raided the ABC offices in Sydney over a series of stories from 2017 known as The Afghan Files by ABC investigative journalists Dan Oakes and Sam Clark.

Topics: Sam Kerr kicked four goals for The Matildas in a 4-1 win over Jamaica to see Australia progress to the knock-out stages of the FIFA Women's World Cup; the crackdown on AFL crowd behaviour to tackle violence and abusive language left some AFL fans angry as "Behavioural Awareness Officers" and security guards in high-viz vests, employed by security company AIG, patrolled the aisles of football stadiums; Charlie Pickering's name was an answer to a question on The Chase Australia which contestants answered incorrectly; motherhood, blended families, longevity in ...

Charlie, Judith and Tom wrap up 2019. It was the Year Everything Went According to Plan - An election upset, Trump's meltdown, Folau's foibles and Tom's unlikely Logies win are all written into The Weekly's official round-up of 2019.