8 Mar 2023

Australia: Gold scandal, rate hike, India pitch, women in flight

From Nine To Noon, 9:45 am on 8 March 2023

Australia correspondent Karen Middleton joins Kathryn to look at calls for a royal commission into how the only producer of gold in Australia sold diluted gold to China and allowed a prominent gang member to buy $27,000 worth of bullion without background checks.

Perth Mint is owned by Western Australia and the situation gold bars could leave taxpayers with a $9b buy-back on their hands.

Official interest rates were raised for the 10th consecutive time yesterday, PM Anthony Albanese heads to India today on an official state visit and Virgin Australia will become the first airline in Australia to dispatch a flight on which every job in the air and on the ground will be performed by a woman, right from the airline's CEO Jayne Hrdlicka to all the staff at Melbourne and Brisbane airports.

Karen Middleton is chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper. 

Gold bullion.

Photo: 123RF