This is an interesting story in yesterday’s Murdoch Australian that reveals the role of multinationals such as Halliburton in Australia: Former coal-seam gas mechanical technician Roy Michie, who spent eight years working fracking wells across Australia, claims the industry is dominated by “cowboys” who are subject to substandard regulation. Mr Michie, who worked for US…
Showing all posts tagged privatisation
Wikileaks releases The Spy Files
Once again, Julian Assange and his team reveal how essential they are to modern news gathering: Mass interception of entire populations is not only a reality, it is a secret new industry spanning 25 countries It sounds like something out of Hollywood, but as of today, mass interception systems, built by Western intelligence contractors, including…
Are there limits to what personal information should be given to private firms?
Apparently not (via the BBC): Private health firms could be given access to anonymous NHS patient records and other NHS data, under plans to be unveiled by David Cameron. Making such data available would help the British life sciences sector become a world leader and boost the economy, the government believes. It hopes in return…
Serco-run prison on isolated Australian island
My following investigation appeared in Crikey this week: It was a Saturday night community event and could have been in any small Australian town. A fund-raiser was being held for the Thai floods victims and proceedings began with local boys and girls playing short classical pieces on an electric piano. The room was colourful with…
What Australia is doing to refugees in the middle of the steamy desert
My following investigation appeared in Crikey this week: The drive from Broome in Western Australia to Derby, the town closest to the remote Curtin detention centre in the Kimberley, is two-and-a-half hours through endless, surprisingly green desert. Mobile phone reception soon dies after the journey begins and from there you see few people or cars…
Who trusts corporates to help the poor when real agenda is clear?
Troubling piece in the Guardian that details the various ways in which supposedly well-meaning corporations are “helping” disadvantaged communities across the world but without appropriate government care are in fact making the situation worse. Vulture capitalism: Nestlé is using a floating supermarket to take its products to remote communities in the Amazon. Unilever has a…
Woodside in the Kimberley; Exploitation Inc
My following investigation appears in today’s Crikey: When West Australian Premier Colin Barnett said recently that he welcomed the announcement of a permanent US military presence in northern Australia, his words were worth considering in a wider context. “We have a large open expanse in northern Australia, we are near one of the most troubled…
Disaster capitalism photo collection
I’ve spent the last 3 weeks in Western Australia and Christmas Island researching a book and other projects on disaster capitalism (overseas travels planned in 2012). I investigated the role of Serco in remote detention centres, Woodside attempting to develop a multi-billion dollar gas hub in the Kimberley and a tropical paradise being used for…
Rest easy, citizens, Serco rides to the rescue
Is there anything Serco can’t do with enough money? It’s the company that’s always in the right spot at the right time (helped, of course, by the fact that countless politicians on all sides believe in “efficiency”, aka cutting services). The Guardian reports: Privately employed engineers are being trained to detect “dirty bombs” so that…
Three examples of disaster capitalism in action
One (via Wired): An obscure Pentagon office designed to curb the flow of illegal drugs has quietly evolved into a one-stop shop for private security contractors around the world, soliciting deals worth over $3 billion. The sprawling contract, ostensibly designed to stop drug-funded terrorism, seeks security firms for missions like “train[ing] Azerbaijan Naval Commandos.” Other…