DARK SECRETS: 11 | Vintage Vibes

Warning on $16bn industry assistance bill

At least $16 billion was spent by the federal government on industry assistance in 2020/21, excluding major COVID-19 relief measures, a report has found.

AAP · Aug 4, 2022

Labor slashes Morrison government’s ‘unrealistic’ productivity forecasts

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australians would get ‘real talk’ from his government about the country’s positioning

The Guardian - AU · Aug 3, 2022

Environmental and Covid challenges threaten Australia’s productivity rate after slowest growth in 60 years

Country generates seven times more output than in 1900, review finds, but remains ‘highly exposed’ to threats of climate change

The Guardian - AU · Aug 2, 2022

Labor is winding back reforms meant to hold super funds accountable to their members

Who could even question a requirement that super funds act in the best financial interests of their members?

The Conversation · Jul 26, 2022

Labelling 'fake art' isn't enough. Australia needs to recognise and protect First Nations cultural and intellectual property

The latest draft report from the Productivity Commission on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visual arts and crafts confirms what First Nations artists have known for decades: fake art harms culture.

The Conversation · Jul 26, 2022

ANZ's takeover of Suncorp will reduce bank competition – but will that be enough to block it?

Australia has one of the world’s most concentrated banking sectors, with its four biggest banks – Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ – holding more than about three-quarters of the market.

The Conversation · Jul 21, 2022

Australia's Indigenous art industry is worth a quarter of a billion dollars, so why do artists only end up with a fraction of the profits?

It's not easy to verify if your boomerang or painting came from an Indigenous artist or if it was made in Indonesia, and it's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are suffering as a result.

ABC News · Jul 18, 2022

Majority of Aboriginal souvenirs sold are fakes with no connection to Indigenous people, report finds

Productivity Commissions calls for mandatory labelling of inauthentic products to warn consumers and protect income of Indigenous artists

The Guardian - AU · Jul 18, 2022

Don't expect schools to do all the heavy lifting to close the education divide between the big cities and the rest of Australia

Students in regional, rural and remote Australia have been behind their urban counterparts on almost every recognised measure of successful schooling for decades. This is unacceptable and has to change.

The Conversation · Jul 14, 2022

Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide hears government did nothing about claims processes for three years

The former government was told to simplify claims processes for veterans three years ago, but made no decision to adopt the "significant" recommendations, a royal commission hears.

ABC News · Jun 22, 2022