Our Journalists

Ben ButlerNational Investigations Editor

Ben Butler has investigated everything from bikie gangs to multibillion dollar international frauds, with a particular focus on the intersection between the corporate and criminal worlds. He has previously worked for mastheads including The Age, The Australian and The Guardian.

Ben Butler

Latest

ExclusiveNational

‘Bullet-riddled’: Gangland rapper’s Middle East music video revealed

Sydney drill rapper Ay Huncho – who has been allegedly linked with the Alameddine crime family – has filmed a new gun-filled music video in the Middle East.

Companies

Founder of Australian company, Scale Facilitation, David Collard in the One World Trade Center office. Pic Abby Holden

Unpaid Aussies urged to come forward in Scale empire probe

The Fair Work Ombudsman has urged employees with complaints about Geelong-born businessman David Collard’s company to come forward. See what you can do next.

EXCLUSIVECompanies

Entrepreneur’s angry Geelong staff demand unpaid wages

At least four law enforcement agencies have been contacted by staff who have not been paid for months by an embattled Geelong start-up entrepreneur.

National

02-02-2023 Member for Polwarth Richard Riordan at Geelong train station talking about fare cap blowout in budget. Picture: Brad Fleet

MP’s brother faces up to 10 years behind bars

Victorian MP Richard Riordan’s brother is facing a lengthy jail sentence if he is found guilty of serious charges including stalking.

Business

An aerial photograph of floodwaters spilling over the Levee wall in central Lismore, New South Wales, Friday, March 31, 2017. The Wilsons River breached its banks early this morning flooding the far-northern NSW town. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt) NO ARCHIVING

$5.8bn bonanza: Most profitable Aussie insurers revealed

It’s been a bumper year for insurance companies as profits quadrupled amid a comeback from Covid and soaring premiums. Find out if your insurer is among them.

Retail

DAILY TELEGRAPH 18TH AUGUST 2023Pictured at Bondi Junction clothes shopping are friends Jessie Samya and Veronica Khoury.They are among many Australian shoppers not aware that brands they shop are actually manufactured in sweatshops outside of Australia.Picture: Richard Dobson

Aussie brand made by workers paid as little as $110 a month

Some of Australia’s biggest fashion labels are being manufactured overseas where workers are paid poorly. See if the labels you wear are included.

Companies

Managing Director and CEO Nick Hawkins speaks at the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) AGM in Sydney on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022. Picture: Dan Gray

‘Secret algorithm’: How insurer allegedly ripped off Aussies

ASIC alleges the nation’s largest insurance company repeatedly broke the law by misleading policyholders and failed to treat them efficiently, honestly and fairly. See the claims.

Companies

Female Driver Making Phone Call After Traffic Accident With Crash In Background. Picture: iStock.

Greedy Aussie insurers with most complaints revealed

The lid has been lifted on the culture of Australia’s insurance industry, as the top companies being complained about continue to surge. Have your say.

ExclusiveCompanies

Allan Hillls, 83, is a retired builder and supermarket manager. His home was damaged by the earthquake that hit Victoria in September 2021 but his insurer, GIO, refuses to pay to fix it. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

‘Just wrong’: 83yo’s earthquake insurance fight

An elderly man has revealed his dramatic fight against an insurance giant after Melbourne’s 2021 earthquake caused $80,000 damage to his home.

Full ListCompanies

Australia’s top insurance kings, their profits and wealth

The lavish, cashed-up lives of Australia’s insurance bosses have been revealed including harbourside mansions and multimillion-dollar pay packets.

Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/journalists/ben-butler/page/10