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Border Force subject to corruption investigation after millions paid to ship builder – 23 October 2020
The Australian Border Force is the target of a corruption investigation over allegations that it improperly funnelled $39 million from a national security project to sharemarket-listed defence company Austal to prop up its financial position.
ASIC chair James Shipton steps aside pending outcome of investigation into $118,000 tax advice bill – 23 October 2020
The chair of Australia’s corporate watchdog ASIC will step aside after it was revealed the organisation paid more than $118,000 for him to receive personal tax advice. The audit office also raised concerns about a $70,000 housing cost payment made over two years to ASIC’s deputy chair Dan Crennan. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) said the payments may have exceeded the limits set by the Remuneration Tribunal for both men’s salaries.
Since 2012, Australia has become “significantly” more corrupt – 23 October 2020
According to a global measure of political corruption, Australia has improved, but the same index has flagged us as one of 21 nations with serious issues on that front. Serena Lilly White from Transparency International believes ‘The misuse of travel allowances, inadequate regulation of foreign political donations, conflicts of interest in planning approvals, revolving doors and a culture of mateship, inappropriate industry lobbying in large-scale projects such as mining, and the misuse of power by leading politicians have no doubt had an impact’.
Thousands of Australian jobseekers fell victim to fake employment ads scam during coronavirus pandemic – 15 October 2020
The ACCC has confirmed more than 2500 people were scammed via platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook. The platforms were used to rope jobseekers into providing their details or paying a fee as part of an application process, only to have their email addresses defrauded, bank accounts siphoned or personal data stolen. The overall cost to Australians as a result of the con has been estimated at $1.7 million.
