Kim Wingerei blog posts
“Without idealists, the pragmatists would have nothing to do…”
Facebook pulls plug on ‘News Media Bargaining Code’ – what’s next?
Meta’s Facebook has declared they’ll stop paying Australian media outlets for content when current agreements expire. It’s sparked the ire of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and consternation within the Government. Kim Wingerei asks what may happen next. The announcement...
Qantas gets customers to pay surcharge during promo. What’s the scam?
Is Qantas jacking up fares to pay for a time-limited promotion? That is illegal under the Consumer & Competition Act administered by the ACCC. What’s the scam? When a Jetstar flight attendant tells a customer to pay $5 for a pen to fill out a landing card, parent...
Empire building in the Beetaloo, funded by Federal Government gas grants
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources is investigating if Empire Energy has been given Research & Development grants in preparation for fracking in the Beetaloo Basin. This is contrary to the R&D program’s rules, Kim Wingerei reports. The R&D...
Those pesky colonial journalists and justice for Assange. What’s the scam?
Julian Assange’s case to be allowed an appeal of his extradition to the US is coming up in the High Court of Justice in London next week. We requested permission to attend via the court’s broadcast link but were refused. What’s the scam? Should Assange fail in his...
Banana Shire takes AUKUS by storm. What’s the scam?
The by-now mythical figure of $368 billion for the AUKUS submarine mirage is creating a frenzy. So far, we’ve seen some of those billions go to shipyards in the US and the UK, but now Queensland’s Banana Shire wants their own slice of the action. What’s the scam? The...
War, what is it good for? Not for news anymore, it seems
Israel struck a Mosque in Gaza yesterday, a kindergarten too, fired rockets into Lebanon and raided the West Bank, but if you read today’s mainstream media headlines, the Middle East might as well be at peace. Like the war in Ukraine, it’s no longer front-page news in...
Westpac cops puny fine for insider trading. What’s the scam?
Westpac has been fined a paltry $1.8 million for a trade that netted the bank over $20M in behaviour akin to insider trading. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee found their conduct “risible.” What’s the scam? The scam was all in a day’s work back in September 2016 for...
The housing crisis we didn’t have to have, and how to fix it
Alan Kohler’s Quarterly Essay is a valiant attempt to put the housing crisis into a historical and macroeconomic perspective. He offers solutions, but there are no quick fixes. Kim Wingerei with the review. It’s the crisis everyone wants to talk about that politicians...
David Collard’s financial innovations – VAT’s the Scam?
Scale Facilitation’s CEO, David Collard, is alleged to have issued a grossly inflated invoice to boost the VAT refund his company could claim in the UK, adding to his long list of financial ‘innovations’. Scrambling to find money to pay late wages and make overdue...
Future Fund invested in Israeli company Elbit Systems – whose bombs are raining on the Palestinians
Documents obtained under FOI reveal Australia’s Future Fund has shares in controversial Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems, a company associated with the making of cluster-bombs. Michael West and Kim Wingerei report. Elbit Systems is blacklisted in countries...
Henry Kissinger is dead. Australian ex PMs fawns over the myth of a war criminal
From Paul Keating to Kevin Rudd and John Howard, Australian ex-PMs have been waxing lyrical about a man who, perhaps more than anyone else, is responsible for the myth of a rules-based world order. Paul Keating credits him with the One China policy, “the pivotal...
Consumers made to pay for electricity networks super-profits. What’s the scam?
A new report exposes Australian electricity networks’ supernormal profits of $11B, on top of ‘normal’ profits of $16B since 2014. In 2022 alone, the super profit represented between $80 and $400 annually per customer. What’s the scam? The scam is the electricity...