Corruption isn’t all money in brown paper bags. It’s cronyism, pork-barrelling, secret lobbying and revolving doors — and it’s rampant. As Bernard Keane pointed out this week in the first of our new series on corruption, Australia is not just slipping lower on transparency rankings, it’s becoming a haven for money laundering and white-collar crime.

It’s been one of the most damaging weeks for the government since the 2019-20 bushfires. First there were the March4Justice rallies around Australia. Attorney-General Christian Porter added to the chaos by filing a defamation action against the ABC and journalist Louise Milligan — Kishor Napier-Raman took a look at what might shape up as the defamation trial of the century.

Finally, while we were all distracted, 70,000 small Bank of Queensland shareholders were fleeced of $118 million. Stephen Mayne asked: where’s the outrage?

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

It wouldn't have taken much for Scott Morrison to spin the country's collective outrage over sexual assault to his political advantage. But opportunity after opportunity has been missed.

AMBER SCHULTZ 4 minute read

Crikey speaks to women on the ground at the March4Justice in Canberra.

WILLIAM BOWE 3 minute read

The result of the WA election threatens to bring down the curtain on micro-party preference harvesting.

AMBER SCHULTZ 3 minute read

It seems the government doesn't have a spare 10 minutes to address the largest feminist social movement in recent decades.

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 3 minute read

The Morrison government has been coasting on its relatively successful handling of the pandemic so far – but its poor record on gender equality could start to have an impact.

JANINE PERRETT 3 minute read

It's been a huge weekend for news. But from Mathias Cormann to Andrew Cuomo, the story isn't always what it seems.

STEPHEN MAYNE 4 minute read

Legal bank robbery — when BoQ hurriedly made shareholders 'an offer they can't refuse', investment banks raked in millions.

GEORGIA WILKINS 2 minute read

Why is the commission still even needed, let alone influencing policy decisions behind closed doors?

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 3 minute read

With Australia already behind on its vaccine rollout, lack of support for GPs and doctors being prevented from expressing their concerns presents yet more hurdles.

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Another scathing audit reveals how the fix was in for coal-fired power proponents — but even then they couldn't pick a winner.