POLITICS

'The conduct of this bank is anything but ethical.' Lawyer Michael Bates says the CommInsure claims are 'certainly the biggest thing I’ve heard as a litigation lawyer.' Commonwealth Bank's life insurance scandal is predicted to inflict further brand damage on the country's biggest bank after its previous problems with financial planning, and...

CommInsure, one Australia's biggest life insurers with about 4 million policy holders, has been caught out using unscrupulous practices buried in the fine print of their contracts to deny, delay or avoid paying claims. Meet some of the key players and victims of the scandal engulfing one of Australia's big...

Summary of Donations reported by Donors to All parties - 2013-14 Column1 Column2 Column3 Gainsdale Pty Ltd #Sustainable Population Party $68,150.00 26 Summers Pty Ltd #Sustainable Population Party $53,000.00 Australia Chinese Business Elite Awards Pty Ltd ALP $260,000.00 Austar Group Melbourne Pty Ltd ALP $45,000.00 Chevron Australia Pty Ltd ALP $36,300.00 Pacific Equity Partners Pty Limited ALP $30,500.00 Insurance Council of Australia Limited ALP $29,052.00 Novartis Pharmaceuticals Australia Pty Limited ALP $29,000.00 Medicines Australia Ltd ALP $28,800.00 KPMG Australia ALP $27,500.00 Hualin Investment...

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has announced a shake-up of Australia’s media ownership laws. So, what rules are being scrapped? And how might their axing affect Australia’s media sector? The rules On the chopping block are the “75% reach” and “two out of three” rules. The 75% audience reach rule began life in...

Facebook could pay millions of pounds in UK tax after approving fundamental changes to its corporate structure in Europe. Starting in April, the world’s largest social network will change its policy so that revenue generated from its largest advertisers displaying content on Facebook will be routed through the UK rather...

Former ministers Warren Truss and Ian Macfarlane are among 16 retiring MPs who will benefit from a generous six-figure parliamentary pension. Photo: Andrew Meares The majority of federal politicians who have announced their retirement this year will be paid annual pensions of at least $118,000 - and in some cases...

A U.S. watchdog agency is preparing to investigate whether the Federal Reserve and other regulators are too soft on the banks they are meant to police, after a written request from Democratic lawmakers that marks the latest sign of distrust between Congress and the central bank. Ranking representatives Maxine Waters...

Not convinced: Labor Senator and tax avoidance inquiry committee Chair Sam Dastyari says corporate tax cheats should be named and shamed by the tax office. The Senate Inquiry into corporate tax avoidance is due to hand down its final report by April. One of the lesser-mentioned groups appearing before 2015’s...

February 23, 2016 by Michelle Grattan Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Treasurer Scott Morrison has approved the $280 million sale of Australia’s largest dairy farming business to the Chinese-owned Moon Lake Investments. Morrison announced he had agreed to the acquisition of the land and assets of the Tasmanian Land Company (TLC),...

Elfriede Sangkuhl, The Conversation December 18, 2012 In the UK the recent boycott of Starbucks by consumers has helped elicit a pledge from the coffee giant to pay £20 million in taxes over the next two years. In Australia, consumers would be appalled to realise how little tax is paid...