An investigation shows close links between the tobacco industry and the National Party as former deputy PM John Anderson plots his political comeback. In this final of our State Capture series on corporate members of political parties, Stephanie Tran reports on the company in which Anderson is a shareholder and its links to Phillip Morris.
The Online Safety Bill, if passed in its current form, could further undermine political accountability by ensuring footage of police violence or human rights abuses, for example, is taken down. That the government is not listening to concerns about the bill’s wide powers suggests some of the consequences may be intended. Samantha Floreani reports.
Another kick in the guts for the local screen industry as Stan, owned by Nine Entertainment, chaired by Liberal Party stalwart Peter Costello, is exempted from local content rules and foreign streaming giants such as Netflix are structured to skirt them too. As for the Coalition’s supposed rescue package for small players it is simply Kafkaesque and designed to fail. Elizabeth Minter reports.
Companies which benefit enormously from government policy are also actual members of both the major political parties. A surprising data investigation by Stephanie Tran shows the likes of Woodside, Wesfarmers, PwC and ASX are Platinum members of the Liberal and Labor parties and membership fees are identical.
Australia’s biggest private and corporatised charities in aged care are threatening the government with a political campaign if they don’t get more money, on top of the $21 billion in government funding they get already. Throwing money at large providers has not worked, write Elizabeth Minter and Dr Sarah Russell, in a call for greater transparency and significant reform for the sector.
Google good, Facebook bad. That sums up mainstream media coverage of the Coalition government’s bizarre new media code. Google paid up, Facebook decided it was extortion and called Josh Frydenberg’s bluff, banning Australian news. Kim Wingerei and Michael West report on the corruption of mainstream media.
Hiding behind a pay wall and in hoc to its advertisers, The Townsville Bulletin is a law unto itself in Queensland as its owners demand subsidies from the Government. Should we pay? asks Kim Wingerie?
The Packer directors are gone. Guy Jalland and Michael Johnston have left the Crown Resorts board in the wake of dramatic findings of the Bergin Report. Chair Helen Coonan and others will remain under pressure. After all, they are responsible, they are the directors, and Justice Bergin found Crown was not suitable to run a casino. So, what’s next, asks Charles Livingstone?
The Government’s fetish for deregulation play right into the hands of predatory multinationals Uber and Deliveroo which exploit both Australia’s tax and labour laws to siphon profits overseas. Michael West and Callum Foote report on Uber’s exploitation and the prospective tsunami of lawsuits rolling its way.
Is Government intervention viable, or just a favour for Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Peter Costello’s Nine Entertainment? Opposition is growing both locally and globally to media laws introduced by the Coalition Government requiring tech giants Google and Facebook to pay for displaying news content. Kim Wingerei delves into the numbers.
While governments continue to spruik the supposed economic benefits of urban car racing events such as the Grand Prix and Supercars 500, the lack of transparency simply highlights an endemic culture of cronyism. Christine Everingham and Patricia Johnson investigate.
The resources industry donated $136.8 million over two decades to Australian political parties. Donations buy a lot of influence, with research showing that for every US$1 spent, the return on investment can be as high as US$220. In return, public policy is moulded to suit the interests of the highest corporate bidders and their lobbyists. Adam Lucas investigates.
It’s time to tackle charity rorts, writes William De Maria. The richest schools are charities, as are big businesses like Queensland Sugar Limited. Even the likes of AI Group and NSW Business Chamber Ltd, organisations which fight against higher pay and better conditions for workers, enjoy charity and tax exempt status. Why should taxpayers foot the bill?
Rupert Murdoch repeatedly claims, falsely, that he has never asked a prime minister for anything. Yet his whole business career in three countries has been founded on threatening or seducing politicians, writes John Menadue.
Old media caps off annus horribilis 2020 with its traditional horrible week. Michael West, standing in for Michael Tanner, looks at the fall of Fairfax, PR masquerading as journalism, who guards the Guardian, Seven News’ calls for war with China and how Scott Morrison’s media team has the game sown up.
The Big 4 banks - ANZ, Westpac, CommBank and NAB - continue to lend people money to gamble with. You can't get a personal loan from a bank to use for gambling. So how is gambling a permitted purpose for a credit card? On what planet is this considered "responsible...
Have Australia’s wealthiest old families bought off the political process? Despite myriad attempts over the years to repeal the cosy “grandfathering” exemption, the billionaires are still permitted – like no other Australians – to keep their companies “dark”. Today Michael West Media unveils the first in a series of investigations by Luke Stacy and Stephanie Tran involving more than 5,000 corporate searches to find the people and the labyrinthine structures behind the Secret Rich List. Luke Stacey and Michael West report.
Youth have borne the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting recession, yet their representation in the media is minuscule and dropping, according to a research report. News Corp’s widespread use of damaging stereotypes about young people was also notable, writes Elizabeth Minter.
After a year of reports, submissions and public inquiries – and much posturing on all sides – the Government has finally delivered the draft legislation designed to bring Google and Facebook to heel. But who is holding the leash? Kim Wingerei reports.
Nine Entertainment pressures the government to get the tech giants to pay for local news content. Meanwhile, for three years, it has been playing Goliath in a fight with Australian freelance photojournalists, whose photos Nine sold even though it didn’t own the copyright. Callum Foote reports.
Rupert Murdoch has funnelled Foxtel out of News Corp Australia to a mysterious entity in the secrecy jurisdiction of Delaware. Michael West reports on the secret transactions which appear designed to sell News Corp’s Australian media business.
Without the knowledge of its members, Queanbeyan’s Marco Polo Social Club was sold to a company controlled by NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s father Domenico. Domenico was president of the Social Club, an institution of the Italian community. The new owners introduced tough financial conditions and eventually the members had to give up their rights, and the property was later sold to an associate of the Barilaros in 2004. Callum Foote reports.
While then professor Justin O’Brien was hammering home the need for corporations to build trust and be accountable, behind the scenes he was wreaking havoc, writes Luke Stacey.
He partied hard, raised millions in ARC grants and corporate donations, moved from Monash Uni to the Middle East, UNSW to Sydney University. Luke Stacey investigates why nobody checked the man on a “probity” mission.
Rupert Murdoch’s Foxtel is under attack on many fronts, from specialist sports streaming services, Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime to Kevin Rudd’s cancel News Corp petition. A new tie-up between Fetch TV and a cloud application platform ratchet’s up the pressure. Anthony Eales reports on Foxtel’s battle for survival.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison swung the spotlight away from the mounting evidence of the misuse of taxpayer funds and on to AusPost’s CEO Christine Holgate. The media was only too happy to oblige. Michael Tanner reports.
Get Our Weekly Newsletter
Unsubscribe anytime.
Thank you! We'll also confirm via email.
Privacy Policy