Ben Roberts-Smith has won a court victory with a judge ruling he will be the first witness at his defamation trial against media giant Nine over war crimes claims.
A deal to redevelop land on Perth’s waterfront has sparked calls for more transparency around deals the WA government has struck with the state’s billionaires.
The power of two: Stokes, Forrest and the $1 land deal in Perth smh.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from smh.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Close friend of Ben Roberts-Smith s ex-wife to give evidence at defamation trial
Emma Roberts will testify after flipping against the father of her two children
Now her Cairns-based mate is expected to testify for Nine newspapers as well
Roberts-Smith s lawyer has suggested she may have been source of USB claim
The ex-SAS trooper is suing Nine over what he calls false war crimes allegations
Nine will be defending the defamation suit with a truth defence at trial
The Australian Greens MPs
The Australian Greens have used their Budget in Reply speech to announce a new tax on extreme profiteering by billionaires during the pandemic.
The new tax, which only applies to the 122 richest Australians, will raise $29 billion. It will be taxed on the amount their wealth increased between March 2020 and March 2021.
While everyone else struggled during the pandemic, Australia’s billionaires increased their wealth by $90 billion, a 34% increase, for a total of $417b between them. The one-off levy, similar to a proposal from Bernie Sanders and Ed Markey in the United States, would see billionaires pay a tax of 50% on the gains made during the pandemic.