Turned to writing at 60, reckon that'll do for the next 30 years, then I'll become a musician - after that, who knows, maybe a wizard...
The American way. Electoral reform bill to entrench major parties’ power
The Electoral Reform Bill being rammed through Parliament by Labor and LNP is an attempt to cement the Labor/LNP duopoly and bring US-style ‘democracy’ to Australia. Kim Wingerei reports. Under the disguise of removing big money from politics, Labor and LNP have...
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...
Crimes and misdemeanours, ex-PwC high flyer David Collard arrested
David Collard is well known to our readers. The ex-PwC partner and failed entrepreneur is now facing court in New York for alleged assault and harassment. What’s the scam? Entrepreneurship should be celebrated. It involves taking risks, which sometimes leads to...
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...