This Month
Post office burglaries spark super fund security alert
Mercer Super has written to members after letters were stolen from its post box during a break-in at Australia Post’s Melbourne GPO.
Paul Bassat says Israelis are shocked by what’s happening in Australia
Jewish Australian businessman Paul Bassat says rising antisemitism is worrying people in Israel, while Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has vowed to crack down on protests.
Childcare centres are failing to detect abuse
Research shows perpetrators are almost always male, avoid being caught for long periods, and are only exposed when police investigate online abuse material.
May
Former ASIC chairman James Shipton returns to police jurisdiction
A sojourn at Oxford briefly interrupted an investigation into a recorded phone call.
April
Burke breaks silence on fund hacks as Victoria Police moves in
Cybersecurity Minister Tony Burke has broken his long silence on last week’s co-ordinated attack on superannuation funds.
‘Wheels are falling off’ in Victoria amid police crisis: Dutton
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has sought to link the growing unpopularity of the Victorian Labor government to Anthony Albanese’s federal campaign in the state.
March
Inside the rollercoaster week in Victorian politics
Crime, the CFMEU, cost blowout fears on the Suburban Rail Loop and a new stoush with the top cop. These stories show why Premier Jacinta Allan may think a week is a long time in Victorian politics.
More prison officers needed to manage stricter bail laws: Allan
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has passed tougher bail laws, saying the state needs a “jolt to the system” amid an escalating crime problem.
CFMEU is still Building Bad nine months later
New reports of criminal activity underline how inadequate the measures taken have been to stamp out illegal CFMEU-linked behaviour.
Coles names Victoria as Australia’s supermarket theft capital
Other grocery retailers are also warning about a rise in shoplifting in the state, suggesting criminal organisations are becoming more brazen.
Allan denies she colluded to oust Victoria’s top cops
Victoria’s former deputy police chief lodged a complaint with the state anti-corruption body that the premier plotted to remove him and his boss last month.
February
Allan denies making police chief the scapegoat for rising crime
The Victoria premier says her government had no choice but to move on Chief Commissioner Shane Patton after 87 per cent of union members voted against him.
ISPT earmarks asset sales as it revamps $18b fund
Super fund investor ISPT chalked up heavy losses ahead of its merger with IFM Investors. It is moving to fix that, with an overhaul of its $18b flagship fund.
December 2024
Festival drug arrests as pill testing trial starts
Two men have been charged with trafficking at the first Victorian music event to try such measures, and one person has been treated for an overdose.
‘Ready to burn’: Australians urged to avoid Boxing Day travel
Firefighters are battling blazes across the country and millions of people are being warned to stay alert as the risk of Christmas-week bushfires intensifies.
September 2024
CFMEU organiser charged with threats to kill
The charges against the senior CFMEU organiser are the first since a joint investigation into the union.
August 2024
He investigated murders, then got a law degree. Now he’s coming after bad execs
New Maddocks partner Dale McQualter swapped his gangland beat for a workplace and investigations practice at a big law firm.
Bogus email address shows Jacinta Allan’s CFMEU crackdown is a joke
The Victorian premier’s snap review of alleged criminal activity in the construction industry went 11 days without so much as an email address for whistleblowers to use. Until The Australian Financial Review asked about it.
July 2024
‘Everybody eats’: secret recording exposes CFMEU kickback plan
Harry Korras was clear that to get a CFMEU EBA “there’s a fee. That’s business.” Meanwhile, police evidence mounts against John Setka’s anointed successor.
Liberals still want vindication on Brittany Higgins saga
Suggestions we need to understand how the Higgins allegations affected the last election are telling. But satisfaction is unlikely.