Rex Patrick
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Articles by Rex Patrick
‘Look to the sky’: historic second Sydney airport opens
October 24, 2026 16:27 | News Passengers travelling to the Gold Coast will be the first to take off from Australia’s youngest airport. Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport will open to commercial passengers on Sunday after almost seven years of construction and eight decades of planning. Many leaders have long believed Australia’s most populous city deserved a round-the-clock, second airport for both cargo and passengers.
US DOJ sues to block Alaska Senate certification
October 24, 2026 13:15 | News The US Justice Department has sued to pre-emptively block Alaska from certifying the results of its US Senate race if the Republican incumbent candidate loses by a narrow margin. The lawsuit signals the willingness of President Donald Trump’s administration to contest the results of the November 3 midterm elections that will decide control of the US Congress. Control of the US Senate could come down to Alaska, where incumbent Republican Senator Dan S.
Trump vows to deal with Cuba during Florida rally
US President Donald Trump has used a campaign rally in Florida, where Cuban Americans are a potent voting bloc, to address his concerns about Cuba. In a 90-minute speech in Fort Myers, Trump repeated more military action against Iran may lie ahead as he tries to address the causes of a spike in oil prices that has put Republicans on the defensive ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
Runways to riches? Western Sydney’s billion-dollar bet
October 24, 2026 07:00 | News Visitors will land at an airport almost a century in the making as western Sydney’s biggest gamble begins. Tentiform ceilings, expansive mountain views and tarmac already used by cargo jets will welcome passengers to Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport from Sunday. Master-planned to handle up to 10 million passengers a year, the airport will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with no curfew.
Rex Patrick on the road. One year ‘working from roam’
Last month I spent several days sitting on the rim of a meteor crater in a very isolated part of outback NT. Today I file this article from the banks of the Yarrangobilly River in Kosciuszko National Park in NSW. I’ve been on the road for a year, in a planned five-year sabbatical around Australia. After a year of travel I know, and have proven, that ‘work from roam’ is possible. Work-from-roam. Transparency warrior Rex Patrick hits the road. Modern caravans are enablers to ‘work from roam’.
Yes, Minister! Can a Minister interfere with FOI disclosures?
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources seems unclear about the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act and its (four) Ministers’ right to veto the release of a document. Each Department of the Federal Government has a Freedom of Information (FOI) procedure manual. MWM decided to FOI the Department of Industry’s procedure manual, and most of the document was released to us. As is so often the case, most interesting is what they redacted.
High Court exposing Attorney-General Rowland’s poor judgement
Six High Court justices unite in opposing the Government’s attempts to force a citizen to pay its legal costs. What’s the scam? The scam is that Attorney-General Michelle Rowland ignored 18 Senators and MPs and nine civil society groups who asked her to exercise her judgement and have the Government meet my legal costs, and not expose me to the Government’s legal costs. This followed the Federal Government’s appeal of my ‘AUKUS nuclear waste’ transparency win to the Federal Court.
‘Narrow’ view of AI costing Australians, inquiry told
Technology companies that have genuine utility for Australian governments and businesses are being wrongly tainted by fast-moving and commercialised generative artificial intelligence. That is what one of the nation’s most successful data centre companies, CDC, is expected to tell a government inquiry on Friday. The inquiry has spent a week probing big tech, industry experts and development companies about the future of AI in Australia, including asking if it is moving too fast.
Sydney rents fall despite fears of a post-budget spike
October 9, 2026 03:30 | News Australia’s rental market has experienced its slowest price growth in almost two years, defying expectations of a surge in rents following budget changes to investor tax breaks. In Sydney, rents fell 0.4 per cent in the September quarter, leading a broader slowdown in rental growth as vacancy rates edged up across the nation, data provider Cotality reported on Friday.
Matildas coach backs Fowler’s absence from friendlies
October 8, 2026 19:24 | News Coach Joe Montemurro says the Matildas support Mary Fowler’s decision to miss upcoming friendlies for personal circumstances and is adamant they have the creative players available to cover her. Fowler, 23, this week withdrew from the squad to play world No.3 Germany on Saturday (AEDT) and Haiti on Wednesday.
AI factory firm’s $7b IPO looks doubtful
October 8, 2026 16:29 | News A blockbuster corporate float that was set to be the second-largest in Australian history is at risk of being pulled after institutional investors turned up their noses at its multi-billion-dollar initial public offering. Firmus Technologies was seeking to raise $7 billion in an IPO that valued the data centre operator at a whopping $44 billion, which would have put it ahead of Coles, QBE and all but around 15 companies on the local bourse.
Australian shares slump as miners tumble, Maas crumbles
Australia’s share market is on the back foot after Wall Street’s record-breaking rally ran out of steam, with miners weighing heavily on the leading indices.
Asia shares subdued, bonds swamped by AI debt wave
October 8, 2026 12:09 | News Asian shares slipped as strains in sovereign bond markets were aggravated by reports some major tech companies were seeking to raise billions in debt in direct competition for limited funding. A fresh rise in oil prices added to the pressure on Treasuries, though a strong auction of US 10-year debt overnight did help pull yields off 24-year peaks.
Officials wash hands of divisive Labor election grants
October 8, 2026 11:05 | News A half-billion-dollar election splurge that included a controversial golf club grant has driven a wedge between senior ministers and public servants. The $560 million Major and Local Community Infrastructure Program has drawn sharp criticism from good-governance groups for funding promises made at the 2025 election.
Greens vow New York-style state-owned supermarket trial
October 8, 2026 11:06 | News Essential grocery items would be 30 per cent cheaper under a vision for publicly-owned supermarkets in one state. The Victorian Greens have vowed to committed $350 million to trial 10 state-owned supermarkets should they secure an unlikely victory at the November poll. The move is inspired by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pledge to establish a public grocer in each of the city’s five boroughs.
‘Grounds for hope’ even as wildlife numbers dive
October 8, 2026 10:54 | News Nature is in “freefall” across the world, but recoveries in species from tigers to tuna provide hope for reversing declines, conservationists have said. Conservation charity WWF has unveiled its latest Living Planet report, which shows that wildlife populations have declined globally by nearly three-quarters since 1970.
Big bank, real estate site in lockstep on house prices
October 8, 2026 10:40 | News House prices are likely to continue to fall in the coming months, Australia’s largest residential and commercial property listings site says. REA Group’s outlook is similar to the nation’s biggest home loan lender, Commonwealth Bank. Chief executive Matt Comyn said this week he doesn’t expect the housing market to bottom out until well into 2027.
Labor has ‘real concerns’ over ATO credit card ban
October 8, 2026 09:12 | News The tax man doubling down on blocking credit card payments has prompted accusations of a double standard and sounded alarm bells within the government. Australians will no longer be able to pay tax with credit cards from December, after the ATO declared on October 1 it could not absorb the credit card surcharges it was now banned from passing on to taxpayers.
Banks could join forces to save regional branches
October 8, 2026 05:00 | News Bank branches could return to forgotten corners of regional and rural Australia under an industry plan to save face-to-face services. The industry’s peak body wants the competition watchdog’s blessing to trial banking hubs, basically multi-bank branches, in country Australia. The plan includes a funding model to share costs of supporting bricks-and-mortar outlets and other infrastructure across participating banks.
Industry wants visas for skills that ‘really matter’
October 8, 2026 03:30 | News Migration policies delivered by the major parties are being described as a missed opportunity to bring construction apprentices to Australia to help boost desperately needed housing supply. The government, coalition and One Nation have in recent weeks announced much-touted plans to slash migrant intake across the country as it becomes a hot political issue.
Ratings agency warns on record government spending
October 8, 2026 03:30 | News Near-record high levels of government spending could threaten Australia’s fiscal health in the long run if the nation’s economic luck runs out, a major ratings agency has warned. Federal government payments hit 26.9 per cent of gross domestic product in the 2025/26 financial year, which was the highest level in 40 years excluding COVID-19.
Business lobby looks beyond the hype and risks of AI
October 8, 2026 03:30 | News Australian businesses need better practical training on how to use artificial intelligence if it’s to become a bedrock of the nation’s economy, experts say. Business owners are becoming less scared of the technology but they need more understanding of how to use it in ways that generate innovation and income, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry will tell a government AI inquiry on Thursday.
Complaining NDIS families face child protection threats
October 7, 2026 17:04 | News Under-pressure families suffering cutbacks to their disability supports are being referred to child protection services if they complain. A parliamentary review into Australia’s disability support scheme has been told that the practice – while not commonplace – takes place across the country.
Asia shares weaker as investors weigh Houthi escalation
October 7, 2026 13:42 | News Asian markets were slightly weaker on Wednesday even though US stocks touched new highs, as oil prices rose with a storm heading for the Gulf of Mexico and tensions escalating between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan was down 0.3 per cent after US stocks ended higher. The index is up 1.5 per cent so far this month.
Weather resistant: $3m fund to protect Pacific projects
October 7, 2026 13:28 | News Australia will spend $3 million to buffer Pacific nations against the devastating effects of climate change as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calls on more nations to help the region. The announcement at the pre-COP31 event in Fiji on Wednesday will fund four projects in island nations Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and Kiribati, including road and communication infrastructure.
Border blitz to come with coalition’s migration cuts
October 7, 2026 10:12 | News Tens of thousands of unlawful non-citizens could be rounded up and deported under a former home affairs function the coalition insists holds little similarity to US-style crackdowns. The coalition on Tuesday announced it would reduce net overseas migration from its annual level of nearly 300,000 people to about 100,000 in the first year if it won the next election.
Australian shares trade flat, shrugging off US records
October 7, 2026 12:55 | News Australia’s share market is trading flat, after a tech-led rally on Wall Street failed to translate for local stocks. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 0.1 point by midday on Wednesday, and was broadly flat at 8735.8, with the broader All Ordinaries also effectively unchanged at 8903.9. Local shares shrugged off fresh records for the US market’s S&P500 and Nasdaq indices overnight, given the domestic bourse is missing the secret ingredient to the latter’s success.
Paramount wraps up $US110 billion Warner Bros merger
October 7, 2026 12:34 | News Paramount Skydance has completed its blockbuster takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, creating a Hollywood heavyweight that hands CEO David Ellison control of one of the world’s largest entertainment and news businesses. The deal is worth $US110 billion ($A158 billion).
Two years in, 124,000 behind: housing target slips away
Australia’s goal of building 1.2 million homes in five years has slipped further out of reach, even though the number of homes under construction is the highest on record. The nation completed 355,817 dwellings in the first two years of the National Housing Accord, which started in July 2024. By the end of June 2026, Australia needed to have built 480,000 new homes to be on track to hit the target by the end date of mid-2029, meaning the sector is short 124,183 homes.
Local environmentalists trump coal mine in High Court
Australia’s highest court has upheld a first-of-its-kind climate change bid to overturn a major coal mine expansion. MACH Energy sought to extend the life of Mount Pleasant coal mine in NSW by 22 years and nearly double its yearly output. The state planning commission in 2022 approved the plans before local Hunter Valley residents launched a legal challenge. Muswellbrook residents Tony Lonergan and Wendy Wales challenged the mine’s expansion.
Shakedown at Transparency Corral. Government brings out the money gun
The Albanese Government has reached a new transparency low, using a Federal Court appeal application and questionable legal tactics to avoid scrutiny. Rex Patrick reports from the trenches. On the first occasion, you might give the government the benefit of the doubt and call it an aberration. On the second occasion, it starts to look like a strategy. When the Government’s lawyers also engage in what could be construed as an attempted shakedown, it should concern us all.
Government’s AI hack reveal all in the timing
September 27, 2026 03:30 | News There have been dozens of cases of artificial intelligence agents wrongfully accessing classified information beyond Australia’s Medicare hack, Anthony Albanese says. Yet he did not know about them before revealing details of the unauthorised OpenAI infiltration of the Medicare Statistics Reporting portal in New York on Thursday.
China pushes back against US on Iran, Cuba in UN speech
China has pushed back against the United States in its speech at the UN General Assembly, saying sovereignty of countries in the Gulf should be respected and urging the “relevant country” to stop threatening Cuba and lift its blockade on it. Vice President Han Zheng did not mention the US by name in his remarks. The US has launched a pressure campaign on Cuba that has largely blocked oil from reaching the island. The US war on Iran started with US-Israeli strikes in February.
China and US agree to set up a new AI safety channel
September 26, 2026 22:20 | News China and the US have agreed to set up a channel for handling AI-related incidents and accelerate work on military crisis communications following a three-day summit between their leaders in Washington, both sides say. The two sides agreed to keep working together on a board of trade on selected bilateral trade issues, with the White House saying on Saturday that the board went into operation this week.
PM boosts calls for global AI response after US hack
September 26, 2026 14:33 | News AI agents being able to hack into US government websites is further proof countries need to work together on safeguards, the prime minister says. Anthony Albanese reiterated calls for an international response after revelations an Open AI agent infiltrated US education and commerce department sites. It also hacked the Securities and Exchange Commission. Open AI said the incident was not a breach but further evidence of the technology acting unpredictably.
Criminal bots. When AI goes rogue, who goes to jail?
Artificial Intelligence bots do not have a legal personality and can’t go to jail. But who is to be held responsible for their criminal acts? Rex Patrick asks. The debate is running – will AI end the human race? A more pressing question, because AI is already engaging in criminal activity, is what do authorities do now when AI commits a criminal offence? Running hot in the news this week is the fact that OpenAI hacked an Australian Government Medicare portal.
Marles schtum, but US congressman suggests Perth is going nuclear
A year ago, MWM wrote about the real possibility nuclear weapons would be carried onboard US submarines to be based at HMAS Stirling. What’s the scam? The scam is while US Congressman Michael McCaul, former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reckons it’s a good idea, our own government has been completely silent on the issue. It’s just too explosive a topic to touch.
GST revolt continues with treasurer’s ‘privilege’ claim
WA’s advantageous GST deal defies logic, one state treasurer has argued as the revolt against the beneficial arrangement continues. NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey fronted the Productivity Commission on Monday, a month after the organisation released a scathing interim report that found the “perverse” carve-up was costing federal taxpayers $6 billion a year to line WA’s pockets. That prompted WA Premier Roger Cook to lash the commission and call the report’s authors “east coast clowns”.
One Nation pledges to slash immigration by 750,000
September 14, 2026 10:43 | News One Nation has committed to drastically cut current temporary visa holders under its net-negative migration policy, prompting swift criticism from the major parties. International students would face the brunt of the cuts after party leader Pauline Hanson promised to cut 750,000 temporary visas over three years.
US to repeal carbon standard for gas, coal power plants
The US Environmental Protection Agency is poised to formally repeal carbon pollution standards for coal-and-gas-fired power plants, Bloomberg News is reporting. The latest climate rollback is expected to come as soon as Monday on the sidelines of the G20 energy ministers’ meeting in Houston, Texas, according to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.
Mark Carney wants Canada to cosy up to European Union
September 14, 2026 09:55 | News Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wants a closer relationship with the European Union and is exploring whether his country could become an “associate member” of the bloc, the Wall Street Journal is reporting. The EU, which has not been flexible about membership rules in the past, is open to the idea of granting Canada a yet-to-be-created status of associate membership, the newspaper reported on Sunday, citing unnamed officials both from the EU and Canada.
Trump caps Irish visit with whiskey tariff announcement
US President Donald Trump has announced at the close of a golf tournament in Ireland that he plans to remove a 15 per cent tariff on Irish whiskey. Trump said during the trophy ceremony for the Irish Open that he had been asked about the issue by everyone, including some of the golfers. He told the crowd he had discussed whiskey tariffs with Irish Taoiseach, or prime minister, Micheál Martin and with tournament winner Shane Lowry. “Everybody’s been bugging me” to do it, Trump said.
Major parties clash on tech laws, unite against Hanson
Labor has left the door open to negotiating its planned digital duty-of-care laws with the coalition as the parties find rare unity in condemning Pauline Hanson. Government MPs will return to parliament on Monday hoping to garner bipartisan support for the contentious changes, which have been overshadowed in recent days by simmering feuds centred around the One Nation leader.
Xi pushes economic ties to give BRICS bloc global role
September 13, 2026 19:43 | News Chinese President Xi Jinping has unveiled initiatives from AI to trade to deepen co-operation among “Greater BRICS” emerging economies as Beijing seeks to weld the bloc into a practical platform for Global South development. Co-operation in areas from politics and security to economics and finance is the grouping’s main focus, with 2026 chair India and 2027 chair China seeking wider partnerships to boost its global clout.
First case of bird flu in endangered sea lion
September 13, 2026 15:10 | News A case of bird flu has been detected in an Australian sea lion for the first time, raising concerns for the species’ already dwindling population. A sea lion at South Australia’s Seal Bay on Kangaroo Island tested positive for the highly transmissible disease, authorities confirmed on Sunday. Endangered sea lions are the rarest species of seal in Australia, with more than 80 per cent of the estimated total population of 10,000-12,000 found in SA.
RBA to speak ahead of crucial cash rate meeting
Comments by senior Reserve Bank of Australia officials will be closely monitored as anticipation builds towards another interest rate hike later this month. The central bank’s chief economist, Sarah Hunter, will participate in a fireside chat at a Regional Australia Institute summit in Canberra on Monday. Then, RBA governor Michele Bullock will appear before a parliamentary committee on Friday. Close attention will be paid to what Michele Bollock and other senior RBA officials have to say.
‘Not fit to be PM’: Liberal’s feud with Hanson deepens
September 13, 2026 10:33 | News Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has declared Pauline Hanson unfit to govern as his feud with the One Nation leader deepens over a cartoon that labelled him a traitor. The West Australian MP and former special forces soldier accused Senator Hanson of failing to take responsibility for her actions and hiding behind “childish” material.
Pork barrelling is back, to stay. It’s corrupt but Coalition barely calls out Labor
It’s been a messy week for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after the Centre for Public Integrity called his government out for spending public money for political advantage. Rex Patrick looks at the latest iteration of systematic election corruption. Pork-barrelling is corruption. It’s (major) parties using public money to buy votes for a ‘stay in power’ or ‘get in power’ advantage, and/or for individuals to ‘stay on a high MP salary’ or ‘get on a high MP’s salary’.
No safe space for trees but SA Motor Sports Board safe from scrutiny
While no trees are safe from SA Premier Peter “the wrecker” Malinauskas, his minions protect the Motor Sports Board. What’s the scam? The scam is the SA Premier’s Department refusing to allow the public to see how the South Australian Motor Sports Board weighed all the factors that led to a decision to cut down another 400 trees.
‘Let down Zomi’: slain aid worker’s mates want justice
September 8, 2026 15:19 | News Outside the gates of Israel’s Canberra embassy, a lonely saxophone played. A group, dressed in red to symbolise blood, passed between them a white, tightly bound cloth, designed to look like the dead body of a baby. Images of some of the 20,000 children killed in Gaza were strung across the lawn. About 80 protesters gathered outside the embassy on Tuesday to demand an independent investigation into the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.
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