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Tag Michael West Media

Zombie Cash-Splash: Australia’s Treasurer Ramps Up Orgy of Corporate Hand-outs

By Michael West “Australians know there is no money tree,” said Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at the apogee of the coronavirus in May. But there is. The Reserve Bank is creating money out of thin air. It’s called QE. Michael West reports… Continue Reading →

Gas Gush: The Toadies of Mainstream Media Trot Out Government’s Fossil Fuel Campaign

By Michael West, founder of Michael West Media Gas fracking and a new fossil fuel power plant got a big leg-up today as News Corp, Nine Entertainment, ABC News and Guardian Australia faithfully splashed with the latest government gas plan… Continue Reading →

Tone deaf: Aged Care Providers’ PR Campaign Strikes Wrong Note

By Dr Sarah Russell with Michael West Media Hiring properly qualified staff, staff-resident ratios and a commitment to be transparent and accountable for the $13 billion in annual taxpayer funding would help private providers of aged care “change the conversation”… Continue Reading →

What Covid Plan? Australia’s Economy is Changing for Good

By Michael West, founder of Michael West Media Paul Keating seized on a huge jump in productivity in this week’s horrific GDP release but the effect of the pandemic will profoundly change the structure of Australia’s economy for good. Michael West reports…. Continue Reading →

A Silver Bullet Cure for the Australian Government’s Excess Spending

By Michael West If it’s good enough for tennis stars and entertainers, it’s good enough for multinational tax avoiders and consultants. Michael West addresses the Senate Inquiry into Finance and Public Administration. This is an edited version of the opening statement to… Continue Reading →

Passing the Buck: Why Victoria’s Covid is Raging in Private Aged Care Homes

By Dr Sarah Russell with Michael West Media The deaths of 80 elderly people are imminent as a result of COVID-19 spreading through private aged care homes. Aged care behemoths were granted an extra $200m to cope with the pandemic… Continue Reading →

Australia’s Crony Capitalism: Government Fights Off Move to Shut Loophole for Old-Money Billionaires

By Michael West The Government has grovelled to its billionaire donors yet again, killing a Senate amendment to force the richest Australians to disclose their financial statements. Michael West reports on the crusade by independent senator Rex Patrick to hold the Morrison… Continue Reading →

Oil Under Troubled Water: The Timor Sea Betrayal

By Callum Foote with Michael West Media Witness K has been in court, in closed-court proceedings nobody is meant to know about. He is on trial for doing the right thing. With the release of his book, Oil Under Troubled Water,… Continue Reading →

Band of Brothers: Lockheed Martin and the Department of Defence

By Michelle Fahy with Michael West Media After 28 years with Defence Science and Technology, on Friday 28 October 2016 Dr Tony Lindsay, one of Australia’s most eminent defence scientists, said goodbye. The following Tuesday, 1 November, he started work with… Continue Reading →

Want a High-paid Job at the Bank? Become a Politician

By Callum Foote with Michael West Media Australia’s banking sector is a haven for government ministers, prime ministers, state premiers and a slew of top bureaucrats. Our Revolving Doors investigation into this most mollycoddled of industries begins today. We expose,… Continue Reading →

Australian Defence Spending Continues to Rocket in Spite of Coronavirus Recession

By Callum Foote with Michael West Media The blow-out in Government spending on Defence continues unchecked and unabated despite the coronavirus. The bulk of it goes to multinationals who pay little or no tax in this country. Is nobody watching? Callum Foote looks… Continue Reading →

Marvellous Mirvac: Australia’s $8 billion Property Developer Rorts JobKeeper Scheme

By Michael West This story was originally published on Australia’s leading investigative reporting news site Michael West Media. As the author has written of this story: “Busting the $8 billion property juggernaut Mirvac for rorting JobKeeper this week reminds us… Continue Reading →

Government Debt Was Deepening Rapidly – well before COVID-19

By Alan Austin The Coalition won the 2013 federal election beating their chest about Labor’s “debt and deficit”. Thanks to COVID-19, we’re unlikely to see a surplus in our lifetime or our children’s. But, let’s not forget that the current… Continue Reading →

Michael West: Government spending on consultants soars despite economic calamity

Government spending on EY, Deloitte, PwC and KPMG persists at nosebleed levels although millions of Australians have lost their jobs. New data shows a damaging blow-out in contracts to the four firms, which are also among the largest donors to… Continue Reading →

Boomers & Millennials: The Aftermath of Austerity will kill Australians too

By Michael Tanner with Michael West Media Yesterday, the Treasurer warned that restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus are costing Australia $4 billion a week. Is it fair for the younger generation to cop this economic fallout plus shoulder Australia’s biggest economic… Continue Reading →

Bow Your Heads In Shame: Arm Merchants and the Australian Government

By Michelle Fahy with Michael West Media A disturbing number of Australia’s military personnel, senior defence and intelligence officials and politicians leave their public service jobs and walk through the ‘revolving door’ into roles with weapons-making and security-related corporations. Nowhere is government… Continue Reading →

The Australian Government Response to Corona Crisis: A Massive Subsidy to Corporations

By Michael West, founder of Michael West Media The Morrison Government’s emergency measures to protect the economy in the midst of a pandemic are another massive subsidy from embattled taxpayers to Australia’s largest corporations. They are a failure of government to… Continue Reading →

Weird Plan for Billion Dollar Privatisation of Australia’s Visa System

By Michael Sainsbury with Michael West Media Despite the myriad failures of privatisation, not least the disastrous sale of the nation’s energy networks, which has delivered dazzling profits to foreign multinationals at the expense of every citizen in this country, the… Continue Reading →

Slush Funds: How the Australian Government Ramped up Grant Rorts

By Jommy Tee with Michael West Media They cut domestic violence funding and National Parks, froze Australia’s unemployed welfare payment known as Newstart, and consigned the most needy to cashless welfare cards while spraying unprecedented billions in “invitation only” grants — our taxpayer… Continue Reading →

Australia’s Green Bank and the Vampire Kangaroo

By Anthony Klan The Big Four Australian banks and investment bankers Macquarie, big Liberal Party donors all, have received over $2.3 billion in taxpayer-backed funds from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation. That is almost one-third of every dollar ever invested by… Continue Reading →

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