Kim Wingerei blog posts
“Without idealists, the pragmatists would have nothing to do…”
Sacred Cow: are politicians’ many houses an impediment to property, rental reform?
Our elected representatives own a lot of property. Not counting their homes, 126 of Canberra's 232 MPs and Senators own 297 properties between them, at least those that are declared. Nothing wrong with that, but does it affect their decisions?
Ziggy Switkowski’s “independent” review of PwC is out – missing the obvious
The independent review into PwC's governance, culture and accountability by Ziggy Switkowski was made public today, except for the indepent part.
Diesel fuel rebate our biggest fossil fuel subsidy. What’s the scam?
The diesel rebate accounts for the lion's share of the government's mining subsidies of $1 billion a month. The scam is that the rebate encourages diesel fuel consumption, while discouraging electrification.
Qantas’ cancellations scandal – what’s the scam?
The ACCC has launched Federal Court action against Qantas, alleging the airline continued selling tickets on flights already cancelled. It begs the question of who knew, when did they know, and why didn't they tell?
Competition Tribunal comfirms ACCC folly on Telstra and TPG deal – what’s the scam?
The Australian Competition Tribunal has backed the ACCC's decision to block the deal between telcos Telstra and TPG to share regional infrastructure. It is another blow for mobile coverage in the bush, so what's the scam?
The ACCC flies to the rescue! What would we know without them?
The ACCC has just released its latest report on domestic airline competition. It concludes that there isn't enough of it, hence we - air travellers - get poor service and pay too much.
A win for journalism. But Ben Roberts-Smith is still at large. What’s the scam?
Justice Anthony Besanko found that Chris Masters and Nick Mackenzies and their publishers were substantially reporting the truth about Ben Roberts-Smith. It is a win for quality investigative journalism, but will we now see criminal charges against the former soldier?...
The PwC scandal, the Big Four, and the real elephant in the room. What’s next?
While PwC is struggling to contain what might be its very own Enron moment, the ATO, Treasury and the Senate are trying to figure out why nobody did anything about what everybody seemed to know. It's now a scandal too big to go away.
A king for his crown, but what do his remote subjects really think?
The coronation is underway in London with pomp and pageantry, ostentatious headgear and stolen jewels on marvellous display, and guests from dominions far away ready to genuflect. But while many look in dismay at this costly and archaic spectacle, support for the...
Warmongers vs appeasers – the China media frenzy is the threat
Echoing the "reds under the beds" scare campaigns of the fifties, Nine Media mastheads want us to believe that war with China is imminent. Elsewhere, we are led to believe that China is a model citizen of the world and means no harm to anyone.
The Bali Bonk Ban that wasn’t – media gets it wrong. Again.
If going to Bali and you're not married, don't have sex, they'll put you in gaol say Australian mainstream media, not checking the facts.
A politically safe budget lacking in courage to tackle energy prices, fossil fuel profiteering, housing
Jim Chalmer's first Federal Budget was politically astute, containging few surprises, and lacking in courage to tackle the big challenges.
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