Rhiana Whitson
Rhiana Whitson is a reporter with 7.30, based in Melbourne. She’s previously worked for the ABC’s national business reporting team, as state political reporter in Hobart, and covered regional stories in Victoria’s Gippsland region. She’s been with the ABC since 2012. Her journalism career began at Fairfax's suburban newspapers. You can follow her on Twitter @rhianawhitson and contact her at whitson.rhiana@abc.net.au.
Latest by Rhiana Whitson
Choking during sex can cause brain injuries but many young Australians are taking up the act
Non-fatal strangulation, or choking during sex, is becoming mainstream among young people in Australia — fuelled by pornography and popular culture. It's prompted concerns that those engaging in the practice are not aware of the serious health risks.
'It's an issue for every school': Why sexually explicit deepfakes could become a wider problem
Cyber safety experts say the ability to create fake sexually explicit images has become frighteningly easy in the last couple of years.
These Australians face their homes potentially being worth less than their mortgages due to flood modelling
A new report finds that by 2030, more than 3 million Australian homes could have exposure to some level of riverine flooding and it could leave home owners in precarious financial positions.
Victoria launches $37 million gamble on space tourism as critics lament debt balloon
Critics line up as Australia's most in-debt state takes its largest venture capitalist gamble yet, betting on a US satellite imagery and space tourism company.
Robert Farquharson drove his sons into a lake and killed them. 19 years later he is set to appeal his life sentence
Jailed child killer Robert Farquharson is preparing to launch a fresh appeal against his conviction. He is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his three young sons nearly two decades ago.
Victoria is $126 billion in debt and now the state's big venture capital gamble is looking questionable
Members of Victoria's Labor government either refuse to speak to 7.30 about their multi-billion-dollar venture capital fund or don't know enough about its investments to answer questions as state debt skyrockets.
Allegations of animal cruelty and a bestiality charge at Victorian piggery
Secret recordings show the legal but inhumane way piglets are killed in Victoria but also lead to a man being charged with bestiality.
Victorians left in the dark after wild storms, but a permanent fix to power outages could cost billions
More than a week after deadly storms tore through Victoria, knocking out power to more than half a million customers, the lights are still out in some hard-hit areas of the state.
'Significant concerns': Inquiry launched into state care of 12-year-old accused of murder
State care failings are being investigated following a 12-year-old girl being charged with murder. 125 reports alleging abuse in the care system have been made to the commissioner of children and young people in the past nine months.
'A lot of dollars, not a lot of benefit': Experts call for Suburban Rail Loop to be scrapped
On the eve of the Victorian government's signing of a multi-billion-dollar contract for Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop, experts are calling for Australia's biggest and most expensive infrastructure project to be scrapped.
Footscray locals say 12yo girl charged with murder was failed by authorities
A youth worker says a 12-year-old girl charged with the murder of a 37-year-old woman in Melbourne last week was failed by the system that should have been looking after her.
Karen is blind and wants to visit her family, but Virgin Australia won't refund her cancelled flights
Virgin Australia is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars in unused COVID-19 flight credits, with customers who booked flights for routes the airline no longer operates being refused refunds.
The search for $50 million lost after Blockchain Global's crypto exchange collapse
Blockchain Global promoted itself as the nation's biggest cryptocurrency exchange before its spectacular fall from grace. Now, a group of former customers are pursuing the company after losing access to their funds — with three of the company's key players being reported to ASIC by the liquidator.
'$1.7b in damages a year': The estimated cost of keeping Australia's largest coal-fired power plant running
The NSW government is currently in talks with Origin about using taxpayer subsidies to extend the life of the plant in the state's Hunter region. It follows a review that found the state should discuss delaying the plant's closure to help prevent blackouts due to the slow building of renewables.
Sean and Jane paid $720,000 for an apartment with no car parks and shared laundry. It was their path out of renting
Medium- and high-density development in established suburbs is being spruiked as the solution to Australia's housing crisis. But there are still some risks.
New home gas bans will lead to energy source's 'death spiral', experts say
Experts say getting households and businesses that can easily disconnect from gas is key to meeting emission reduction targets.
Robert Redlich's time as corruption watchdog has ended. But he says he's not done speaking out
Last week, two bills from the Greens and Coalition to give more powers to IBAC were voted down in Victoria's state parliament.
'Fighting for the working class': How Hollywood's writers' strike is playing out in Australia
Hollywood's been hit with the biggest strikes in decades leaving unions in the US and Australia concerned about the dominance of movie studios and streaming platforms changing the way we watch our favourite shows and movies.
Expert joins residents in calls to scrap controversial electricity transmission project
A prominent energy expert joins landholders in calling for the Australian Energy Market Operator and the Victorian government to scrap plans to build the controversial VNI West transmission line and Western Renewables Link.
Legal experts call for Lawyer X evidence to be referred to an interstate prosecutor
Legal experts have called for the evidence collected by the special investigative office set up to investigate the Lawyer X scandal to be referred to an interstate prosecutor, saying lack of transparency could give rise to questions about perceived conflict of interest.
Lawyers condemn comments from Daniel Andrews over Lawyer X special investigation
Thirty-eight of Victoria's most eminent legal practitioners have signed a letter condemning the comments of Premier Daniel Andrews and calling for a public apology following the closure of the special investigative office set up to probe the Lawyer X scandal.
Millions of Australian households paying too much for electricity, according to ACCC
New data from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission shows millions of consumers are paying more on power bills than they should.
Gas price cap 'overwhelmed by suppliers' strike'. So where to now for the government to limit energy price rises?
The federal government's gas price cap is now acting as a floor according to major customers, and that's not good for consumers. So what can it do next?
AGL set to double profit as energy prices soar, ASX up, Wall Street rallies, Europe lifts rates — as it happened
AGL's bottom line is set to receive a big boost as consumers are hit with rising energy bills. And local shares trade higher after a Wall Street rally. Look back on the day's events and insights from our business reporters on the ABC News live markets blog.
Elisabetta says ANZ failed to verify her home loan application, now she's taking legal action
Elisabetta Di Nardo has been battling with ANZ for almost two years for lending her money she says was based on inaccurate information provided without her knowledge.