Peter Costello’s Nine Entertainment paid $27,500 to the Liberal Party last year – and the Libs failed to declare it – but no payments were made by “rival” corporate media duopolist Rupert Murdoch’s News Limited. What’s the scam?
The scam is Rupert’s mob must expect to get payments *from* the government for PR services rendered whereas Nine is happy to do fundraisers for the Libs and give them donations for all the government largesse. As to the Liberal Party failing to declare it, that’s just a classic breach of the rules. There are $400k in undeclared donations by both parties. A shocker from Scott “Rules are Rules” Morrison.
To it’s credit the SMH, owned by Nine has just covered this payment this morning but the journalists must utter the words on the masthead “Independent. Always. through gritted teeth.
Michael West established Michael West Media in 2016 to focus on journalism of high public interest, particularly the rising power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor with Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and even, once, a stockbroker.
Stephanie is a journalist with a passion for uncovering stories that hold power to account. With a background in both law and journalism, she has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.