9 September 2026
‘No angel’: One Nation’s Victorian leader dabbled in drugs, sex AFR
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9 September 2026
Reports that the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission — an agency that has access to NDIA data — used Palantir software as part of a multi‑agency fraud taskforce raise fundamental questions about trust, oversight and the treatment of people with disability. The National Disability Insurance Scheme was established to give participants dignity, choice and control; anything that risks confidential personal information being handed to opaque commercial analytics platforms deserves public scrutiny. Palantir is no ordinary vendor. Since May there have been calls to ban the company’s software from Australian government use after a manifesto circulated by its founder was said to imply some cultures were inferior to others. A UK MP described those writings as the “ramblings of a supervillain.” Those controversies make the software’s use in relation to NDIA data especially sensitive: we are not talking about generic administrative information, but records tied to people who depend on supports to live and participate in the community. Governments have a legitimate obligation to tackle fraud. Fraud against welfare and insurance schemes can harm public confidence, divert resources and reduce support for people who need services. Multi‑agency taskforces that pool information can be effective at detecting organised fraud rings and recovering public money. But effectiveness must be balanced against privacy, proportionality and the rights of individuals. The ACIC’s use of Palantir as part of a taskforce prompts hard questions: what specific NDIA data were used, on what legal basis, and under what safeguards? Were participants and providers informed? What retention and access controls apply? And crucially, what independent oversight exists to ensure analytics aren’t used in ways that unfairly profile or penalise people already living with disadvantage? Public trust in the NDIS is fragile. Reports of misuse or opaque handling of data will amplify scepticism among participants, families and providers. That scepticism has consequences: people may withhold information, disengage from services, or face stigma based on analytics-driven conclusions. For vulnerable Australians, the risks are not abstract — they can mean the loss of essential supports. There are practical ways forward that respect both the need to counter fraud and the rights of participants. First, any use of sensitive NDIA data by external analytics platforms must be transparent and clearly justified. Second, legal and contractual safeguards should be published, including data minimisation, purpose limitation and strict access logs. Third, independent oversight — by the privacy commissioner or parliamentary committees — must be exercised before, during and after deployments of such tools. The public debate about Palantir is not merely about a company’s reputation. It is about whether government can use powerful technology responsibly when the stakes are people’s lives and livelihoods. Australians who rely on the NDIS deserve both robust fraud prevention and ironclad protections for their personal information. If those aims are in tension, the burden must fall on governments to demonstrate, with facts and oversight, that they can be reconciled. Anything less will erode trust in one of the nation’s most important social programs.
Community angle
Frames the NDIS-Palantir issue around trust for people with disability and local communities, urging transparent safeguards, independent oversight and clear privacy protections.
9 September 2026
‘Lying cowards’: Scathing reply to ‘traitor’ slur News. com. au
9 September 2026
Ten people have been taken to hospital after a head-on crash near the summit of the Crown Range.
9 September 2026
Downing Centre court hears that the alleged victim was usually outgoing but his demeanour changed at a meeting with Jones at his apartment • Listen to the podcast Alan Jones on Trial A politician who worked with an alleged victim of Alan Jones has told a Sydney court the man looked uncharacteristically “sunken and diminished” when meeting with the broadcaster at his Circular Quay apartment. The former MP, who Guardian Australia has chosen not to name because it may lead to the identification of the alleged victim, known as complainant C, said the man was usually outgoing and engaged but his demeanour changed once he sat down at a table with his former boss.
9 September 2026
Norwegian offshore seismic vessel player Shearwater Geoservices has launched the Amapá 3D multi-client seismic survey in partnership with energy technology company SLB. The survey will be conducted offshore Amapá, in northern Brazil’s Equatorial Margin, and will be one of Shearwater’s most significant multi-client investments expanding high-quality 3D seismic coverage in an underexplored area of the …
9 September 2026
L&T Energy Hydrocarbon Offshore (LTEH Offshore), the hydrocarbon business of Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, has secured more work on ONGC’s Ratna–I and NLM-14 project off India’s west coast. The project involves engineering, procurement, construction, installation, and commissioning of three new wellhead platforms, one riser platform, multiple segments of subsea pipelines, and cables, and …
9 September 2026
The next phase of digitalisation, according to Ben Palmer, president of Viasat Commercial, will be defined by measurable returns and technology that solves problems rather than creating new ones. Ben Palmer is unusually candid about what Inmarsat got wrong as maritime digitalisation accelerated over the past five years. The mistake, says the president of Viasat …
