Good morning, my name is Bond. As Deloitte’s team of administrators were about to finalise a deal to sell Virgin Australia, they would be choking on their breakfast today as the Virgin bond holders launched a last minute rescue bid. A bid which may be hard to...
most recent search Kim Wingerei
Norway v Australia: crisis makes the case for a sovereign wealth fund incontestable
An obsession with “balancing the budget” has left Australia is under-funded despite its immense wealth. A dual citizen of Norway and Australia, Kim Wingerei laments the lost opportunity of a century, the failure of our political classes to establish a sovereign wealth fund. But it’s still not too late to stop the flood of our natural resources overseas.
A Bali travel bubble may be just the ticket for Virgin
As the Virgin administrators assess the bids for the failed airline, they will also grapple with the question of when air travel resumes. Domestic interstate travel may open in a few months, there is talk of a New Zealand travel “bubble”, too. Beyond that is anybody’s...
Particracy Rules: the triumph of clever politics over leadership
We live in a particracy – the party-room rules and we are run by clever politicians, not leaders with courage and the fortitude to make tough decisions.
TPG and Vodafone: curious case of a telco merger thwarted
On one side of the courtroom is TPG, a consumer-oriented telco grown large on acquisitions and minimalist customer service, run by a reclusive billionaire. Next to them is Vodafone, a mobile carrier with a global brand
Abbott & Turnbull right on the NBN … for all the wrong reasons
The National Broadband Network is an unmitigated disaster not just for broadband delivery in Australia, but for how it has contributed to the devaluation of a whole industry sector.
Aldi bag flush with cash or party fundraiser, same outcome. Ban donations
Political party donations are bribes. They should be banned. Defining bribery is more important than a federal ICAC, writes Kim Wingerei.
Has ACCC let Facebook and Google off the hook?
Australia’s consumer watchdog, the ACCC, has released its long-awaited final report on the market power of Facebook and Google. Long on rhetoric (all 623 pages of it) and short on recommendations, it’s unlikely to dent the massive market power of these search and social media behemoths. Kim Wingerei reports.
Facebook’s Libra: a public good or a Swiss-based financial system too big to fail?
Facebook’s launch of its new cryptocurrency, Libra, might have given US lawmakers and financial regulators a fit of the collywobbles, but what’s in it for the consumer? Kim Wingerei checks out Libra’s potential.
How did the ‘clever country’ end up with a $90 billion botched NBN?
The Coalition’s botched NBN is not just a costly technological failure, but a policy debacle that has cost Australia’s taxpayers billions of dollars. Kim Wingerei reports.
Latest stories
Susan Ryan: a fighter for a ‘fair go’
Labor politician and lifelong proponent of equality opportunity, Susan Ryan’s commitment to social justice was fostered by years at Brigidine schools. Susan Ryan was a lapsed Catholic, said her life-companion, Rory Sutton, at her State Funeral in Sydney’s St Mary’s...
Two decades after 9/11, US war machine is in 85 countries
Since 2018, the US has provided “counterterrorism” training or assistance in 79 nations and its troops have carried out bombing or ground attacks in 10 countries, according to a new interactive map. Meanwhile, China has one official overseas base, in...
Saturday’s good reading and listening for the weekend
What people in other forums are saying about public policy Australian politics The court of Scott Morrison The other Versailles On the sexist culture in Parliament House Clare O’Neil writes There is a greater sense of male entitlement in Australia’s parliament...
BossKeeper: ports giant Qube bullies its way into Jobkeeper and plush bonuses
Shipping group Qube Holdings will give back $17m in JobKeeper subsidies but pockets $13.5m and some fancy executive bonuses despite its revenue rising strongly. How did it pull this off? Callum Foote investigates how the Liberal Party-linked Qube gamed the Tax Office.
Morrison’s media code could be catastrophic for climate and energy news
Morrison’s government could hardly have wished for a better outcome. The core of their supplicant media is to receive millions to continue their cheering from the sidelines, while independent voices such as RenewEconomy risk being squeezed by these secret deals....
