‘Pay to play’: Gangland kickback claims rock $26b road project

Topic Robyn Denholm Australian Financial Review

Bernard Marantelli has for the past few decades outsmarted many in the wagering industry, including US authorities after he won a $95 million lottery jackpot. A long battle between Ainsworth Game Technology and Kjerulf Ainsworth, the son of its founder, over a takeover from Novomatic has landed in Federal Court. WhiteHawk Capital, an American private credit firm, will tour Star’s three precincts ahead of a decision on a possible loan to the troubled casino group. Cricket Australia hoped to test the market with investors for its BBL franchises.

The reason today’s senior executives are ‘shy’ about ESG is that their efforts have not prevented major scandals. Investors and CEOs say non-financial issues remain a key risk for businesses, but we may have outgrown the phrase ‘environmental, social, governance’. How to balance good governance with financial return for shareholders remains a burning issue when it comes to ESG investing. A top consultant says the government’s Climate Active program is no longer part of corporate decarbonisation plans. But diplomats also pressed the World Health Organisation about how it might cope when its biggest donor exits the UN health agency.

‘Pay to play’: Gangland kickback claims rock $26b road project

But his tax hit isn’t backed with big-bang reform to expand the economy. The Albanese government’s planned new restrictions mean people could opt out of gambling ads on their favourite podcasts or platforms like YouTube and Spotify. In an excoriating report, the state’s audit office has provided a window into the relationship between the NSW government and the powerful sporting body.

Big super warned that AI is a carbon ‘time bomb’

The global confectionary giant currently imports recycled plastics to meet its target for 30 per cent recycled packaging as Australia doesn’t have a facility. As well as dealing with perennial challenges, industry and government are under pressure to figure out how to regulate AI without strangling its potential. The Tesla chairwoman has stepped up her australian payid pokies campaign for investors to support the billionaire chief’s pay package ahead of a crucial shareholder vote on November 6.

The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating after a Nissan Navara utility hit the child while turning right onto Toohey Street in Caboolture, Moreton Bay, about 6.47pm yesterday. Anika Wells has repaid $10,116 to the public purse for four taxpayer-funded trips, which included $8093 in expenses and a $2023 penalty.

• DGR Global shareholders hit the jackpot when a Chinese suitor bought SolGold, but will they ever see the money?
• The annual wages and salaries bill for government sector workers are forecast to plateau at about $32.6 billion in 2030.
• Camilla said she decided to speak up because domestic violence has been a “taboo subject” for so long that most people don’t realise how bad the situation was.
• Labor and the Coalition went to the federal election promising to end Chinese ownership of the port.

The country’s largest pastoral company has told investors four of its properties are affected, but says it will not be as bad as the 2019 devastation. The Gina Rinehart-backed rare earths play has secured $230 million from Export Finance Australia and German bank KfW to develop its Nolans project in the NT. The US president has been weakened by the war with Iran, but China needs a stable global economy so it can keep exporting its goods and boosting growth at home. Queensland’s only pumped hydro project under construction is delayed, adding further pressure to the state government’s energy plans. Our three tax cuts, instant deduction and the new offset are the equivalent of up to $54 back in the average earner’s pocket each week.

The government will make changes to its selection process to target more educated, higher-skilled and younger migrants. The minimum tax rate rips a key tool of wealth building used by millions of richer Australians and has a particular sting for so-called bucket companies. Changes to negative gearing and tax increases on trusts and capital gains have heralded the end of preferential treatment of asset wealth. Its runaway success has helped change global streaming. Brandon Riegg convinced Netflix and Formula 1 to take a risk on a documentary series on the sport.

The Dutch trading giant’s local offshoot grew profits by 50 per cent in 2025 as high volatility across financial markets offered ample trading opportunities. No major investment house has recommended clients sell positions in the embattled health stock despite repeated disappointments and executive departures. A government with a massive parliamentary majority, an opposition in disarray and no election imminent. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government’s broken promises on tax reform involves an element of political risk. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the changes will make the system fairer and help young people get into the property market.

The new devices allow punters to place live bets during major sporting events inside Tabcorp’s venues. The Mark Zuckerberg-founded company plans to cut its global workforce by 10 per cent and will cancel around 6000 open positions as Meta offsets its AI spend in a ruthless pursuit of “efficiency”. Bishop reportedly tendered her resignation to the university and Albanese government last night seven months before her tenure was due to expire in December.

The pub king’s latest venue is winning patrons, but has also drawn the attention of the local council and NSW government. The Queensland government has been briefed on the cost to run a gun buyback scheme but is expected to oppose a joint-funding arrangement. Ichthys LNG’s Japanese backers moved the project to the Northern Territory almost two decades ago to escape a similar scheme that captures supply for local use. South of the border, this luxury jungle property thrums with mysterious spirits – and we’re not talking about the 3500-bottle tequila collection. Now some are shifting focus and teaching people how to feel good.

Spanish daily “El Pais” reported that the passenger left MV Hondius between April 22 and 24, 10 days after the first reports of death from a strain of hantavirus. A Perth start-up called Uluu has raised $8 million, as it tries to make a plastic replacement from seaweed, with famous faces joining VC investors in the round. The equivalent of almost 1 kilogram in single-use products was produced for every person on the planet in 2021, according to a report by Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation. A more determined approach including government action is needed to accelerate the transition to sustainable plastics, say IKEA and Arnott’s executives. Sydney-based Licella is poised to reveal partners for a proposed plant on the Dow Chemical site at Altona, in Melbourne’s west, in coming weeks. Until it’s always cheaper to use repurposed materials, the industry has little hope of success.

The treasurer’s fifth budget confirms intentions to put higher taxes on wealth but without reducing income taxes, cutting spending or boosting productivity. Every argument being made now and in the next few weeks could have been made before the last election – and carried. The S&P 500 has added a staggering 16.6 per cent since hitting a wartime low in late March, while the local bourse continues a long slump.