Money
Following the cash. Tax avoidance. Corporate corruption. Debt loading. Who profits and who pays.
The Amplifier
Gina Rinehart's network gave Pauline Hanson a $2.1 million aircraft and $2 million in cash from business associates in April 2026. Every dollar was legal. The Senate voting record shows One Nation voted against higher wages, safety laws, and emissions rules that would cost mining companies money. But they also killed the mining sector's top legislative priority in 2019. The question is not whether Rinehart buys votes. It is whether the legal architecture creates a loop that amplifies political influence in ways voters do not see.
Three Authorities, Three Stories, Your Mortgage
The Treasurer told Parliament government spending played no role in rate rises. The RBA Governor said the opposite. Your mortgage is caught in the middle.
Australians Pay Six Times More Tax on Beer Than the Government Collects from Oil and Gas Profits
In 2023-24, alcohol excise raised $8.0 billion. The Petroleum Resource Rent Tax raised $1.43 billion. The tax designed to capture resource profits for Australians collects less than the tax on a night out. The gap is not hidden.
3 Million Aussies Drained Their Super. The Bill Arrives at Retirement.
Three million Australians pulled $36 billion from their super during COVID. A $20,000 withdrawal at 30 will cost $93,000 at retirement. There is no plan to fix it.
$4.7 Billion Stolen From Workers Every Year
Nearly a million Australians had their superannuation stolen or underpaid last year. The tax office got back a fraction of it. The rest is gone.
Women Retire $51,000 Poorer. It Is Not an Accident.
The median super gap between men and women at retirement is $51,000. Women retire earlier with less money that needs to last longer. The system was built for a working life most women never have.
$34 Billion a Year: What Australians Pay in Super Fees
Australians pay $34 billion a year in super fees. More than the Age Pension costs. A 0.5 per cent fee difference can cost a worker $200,000 over their career.
The $10.8 Billion Rebate
The Fuel Tax Credit Scheme hands back $10.8 billion a year to companies that burn diesel off-road. Mining takes roughly half. The cumulative bill is $122.7 billion. That is more than the Australian Army costs. One Rio Tinto executive lobbied the Treasurer personally to keep it. Eighty-six per cent of Australian mining is foreign-owned. The rebate flows to shareholders overseas. Australians pay foreign companies to dig up their own dirt.
The Singapore Shuffle
BHP sold Australian iron ore to its own Singapore subsidiary at below-market prices. The subsidiary sold at market rates. Profit booked in Singapore at 0 to 5 per cent tax. Not 30 per cent. BHP settled with the ATO for $529 million. Rio Tinto settled for roughly $1 billion. Chevron lost a Federal Court case over a $2.5 billion intercompany loan at an inflated interest rate. Glencore's ATO audit has been running since 2015. All settlements were made without admission of fault.
Who Owns the Ground Beneath You?
Eighty-six per cent of Australian mining is foreign-owned. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street control up to a third of each top miner. A Chinese state company holds the single biggest stake in Rio Tinto. Fortescue is the only one that is mostly Australian. Here is who actually owns the minerals under your feet.
Gas, Royalties, and Who Gets What
Australia is one of the world's largest gas exporters. Yet it collects far less in royalties than comparable countries. Qatar earns 33 times more from similar volumes. Here is how the numbers break down.
Related-Party Debt: How Australia's Gas Industry Shifts Profit Offshore
Australia's gas companies borrow money from their own parent companies at high interest rates. Those interest payments reduce their Australian tax bill to zero in some cases. The Chevron case established that the ATO can challenge these structures. New rules took effect in 2024. The question is whether they go far enough.
Found a tax structure the ATO should know about?
Corporate structures, debt loading schemes, transfer pricing rorts - if you've seen how the money moves, your tip could be the next investigation.