Plus: News Corp changes tactics.
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Saturday Oct 28
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“The current donation system allows the mega-rich to traffic in influence at the highest levels, especially if they're a storied member of the Australian business community,” Bernard Keane wrote this week.

In response to the revelations about Anthony Pratt's ascendance into Donald Trump's inner circle, Keane reflected on the situation closer to home — Australia's “two-speed democracy”, in which donors get privileged access to decision-makers while the rest of us make do with a vote every three years and sending letters to MPs.

Elsewhere in Crikey this week Media Briefs returned, News Corp changed tactics on the Voice, and Australian companies dodged accountability over data breaches.

And as the bombardment in Gaza continues we brought you a range of perspectives — from a rabbi to an international law expert — on the response to the ongoing situation.

We hope you're having a relaxing weekend.
Gina Rushton Gina Rushton,
Editor
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‘We are being exterminated on TV’: Our Gazan colleagues brace for power to go out across all major hospitals in Gaza
RACHEL COGHLAN, MHOIRA LENG and HAMMAM ALLOH

Gaza's healthcare system has reached an unparalleled point of devastation, with the lives of babies, children and adults hanging in the balance. The world cannot look away.

Wounded Palestinians receive treatment at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City (Image: AAP/Abed Khaled)
 
Anthony Pratt bought access to the top in the US. He does it here too
BERNARD KEANE

The billionaire spent millions cultivating Donald Trump. He's done the same with Australian politicians — in plain sight.

Former PM Scott Morrison with Anthony Pratt at his Penrith facility (Image: AAP/Paul Braven)
 
Siege on Gaza: What does international law have to say to Israel, and to Australia?
MADELEINE MCGREGOR

Starving Gazans as a weapon of war is prohibited. Australia must put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu to end his illegal siege.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society flag goes onto a Gaza aid truck (Image: SOPA/Sipa USA/Ahmed Zakot)
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Cricket goes woke, Q+A guest harassed and the ABC defends its journos 
DAANYAL SAEED

A stoush at the ABC’s Southbank studios, cricket hit for six and a national anthem storm in Senate estimates all feature in this week's Media Briefs.

Senator Sarah Henderson and ABC managing director David Anderson (Images: AAP/Private Media)
 
A timeline of Bruce Lehrmann’s moments in and out of the spotlight
CHARLIE LEWIS

Bruce Lehrmann has been named as the 'high-profile man' at the centre of a rape case in Queensland. Crikey looks at a timeline of events.

Former government staffer Bruce Lehrmann (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)
 
I’ve resigned from Victoria’s multifaith body — its silence on Israel is deafening
NOMI KALTMANN

My time with the Faith Communities Council of Victoria was fulfilling and respectful, but I cannot stay aligned with an organisation mute in the face of such a tragedy.

The coffins of British-Israelis Lianne Sharabi and her two daughters, Noiya and Yahel, killed by Hamas militants on October 7 (Image: AAP/AP/Ariel Schalit)
 
Journalism in China: Party workshops, declining print and the clickbait challenge
BERNARD KEANE

It's a very different world in the media in China, particularly when it comes to the dominance of Communist Party thought. But it hasn't solved the challenge of online media any more than we have.

A man reads a newspaper in Beijing, China (Image: EPA/Wu Hao)
 
Don’t expect Albanese to raise Israel’s war crimes or Julian Assange in Washington
MAEVE MCGREGOR

A historic speech by US President Joe Biden last week laid bare what 'American values' really means.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday (Image: AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
 
News Corp leads the right from ‘No to division’ to ‘no to diversity’
CHRISTOPHER WARREN

News Corp's pivot following the Voice defeat says a great deal about where the company will go in the future under Lachlan Murdoch.

Fox board appointee Tony Abbott (Image: AAP/Lukas Coch)
 
The ALP, Israel and the cost of platitudes
PATRICK MARLBOROUGH

As protests, outrage and horror ripple the world over, one is left wondering whether Labor's mask of performative centrism is worth maintaining.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)
 
Not one Australian company has been fined despite 1,748 data breaches in 2 years
CAM WILSON

Australia's privacy commissioner Angelene Falk says the lack of fines is part of her office's 'regulatory strategy'.

Senator David Shoebridge and privacy commissioner Angelene Falk in Senate estimates (Image: Parliament)
 
Israel-Palestine is the final nail in the coffin — social media can no longer inform us
CAM WILSON

Unfettered misinformation, propaganda and scams on X, YouTube and TikTok have made social media useless for understanding what's happening globally.

Videos on TikTok about the 2023 Israel-Palestine conflict (Image: TikTok)
 
Where has Labor stood historically on Israel-Palestine?
DAANYAL SAEED

For half a century Labor has been grappling with its position on the conflict.

Anthony Albanese speaks during question time (Image: AAP/Lukas Coch)
 
Our politicians are misleading us over the Israel-Gaza war
MAEVE MCGREGOR

In subtle ways, we’re told the context to the Israel-Gaza war doesn’t matter, but it’s a lie.

(Image: Private Media/Zennie)
 
Bye to ‘confidence’ and ‘choices’. Hello to real change for working women
KRISTINE ZIWICA

The 'confidence' furphy has been a favoured scapegoat for those who won't face the real challenges. Is that time finally over?

WEET Chair Sam Mostyn and Minister for Finance Katy Gallagher (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)