[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":193},["ShallowReactive",2],{"active-categories":3,"blowouts":28,"stories-page-1":83},[4,6,8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27],{"category":5},"follow-the-money",{"category":7},"cost-of-living",{"category":9},"government-waste",{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":5},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":9},{"category":7},{"category":5},{"category":7},{"category":9},{"category":9},[29,39,49,58,66,75],{"path":30,"title":31,"category":9,"date":32,"blowout":33},"\u002Fstories\u002Fbom-website-96-million-one-year-on","One year on: the BOM website that cost $96.5 million, not $4 million","2026-10-24",{"project":34,"originalCost":35,"currentCost":36,"announced":37,"note":38},"BOM website",4100000,96500000,"2025","$4.1m was the figure first given to the public.",{"path":40,"title":41,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":43},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcross-river-rail-cost-blowout-19-billion","Cross River Rail was sold as a $5.4 billion project. The government now says it costs $19 billion","2026-10-25",{"project":44,"originalCost":45,"currentCost":46,"announced":47,"note":48},"Cross River Rail",5400000000,19041000000,"2017","Queensland Government figure (Oct 2025). It includes 25 years of tunnel maintenance and network works; Labor disputes counting them.",{"path":50,"title":51,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":52},"\u002Fstories\u002Fhunter-class-frigates-27-billion-three-ships","Hunter-class frigates: sold as nine warships for $35 billion. We're now paying $27 billion for three",{"project":53,"originalCost":54,"currentCost":55,"announced":56,"note":57},"Hunter-class frigates",35000000000,45600000000,"2018","2020 Force Structure Plan estimate for nine ships. The program is now six ships; close to $27bn is allocated for the first three, including the Osborne shipyard.",{"path":59,"title":60,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":61},"\u002Fstories\u002Finland-rail-cost-blowout-45-billion-parkes","Inland Rail was sold as a $10.7 billion project. It now costs $45.6 billion, and stops at Parkes",{"project":62,"originalCost":63,"currentCost":55,"announced":64,"note":65},"Inland Rail",10660000000,"2015","Both P90 estimates for the full Melbourne to Brisbane line. Only Beveridge to Parkes is now being built.",{"path":67,"title":68,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":69},"\u002Fstories\u002Fnorth-east-link-cost-blowout-26-billion","North East Link was sold as a $10 billion road. It now costs $26 billion",{"project":70,"originalCost":71,"currentCost":72,"announced":73,"note":74},"North East Link",10000000000,26100000000,"2016","Victoria's December 2023 estimate. Includes the Eastern Freeway and M80 upgrades added since.",{"path":76,"title":77,"category":9,"date":42,"blowout":78},"\u002Fstories\u002Fsnowy-2-0-cost-blowout-25-billion","Snowy 2.0 was sold as a $2 billion project. It could now cost $25 billion",{"project":79,"originalCost":80,"currentCost":81,"announced":47,"note":82},"Snowy 2.0",2000000000,22200000000,"Target cost. Up to $25bn with contingency; transmission not included.",{"stories":84,"total":192},[85,96,106,115,124,134,142,152,160,168,176,184],{"path":86,"title":87,"description":88,"date":89,"category":9,"author":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":91,"bigNumber":92,"bigNumberLabel":93,"readingTime":94,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fsuburban-rail-loop-cost-96-billion","Suburban Rail Loop cost: $50bn promised, $96.4bn forecast","How much will the Suburban Rail Loop cost? $33.3bn for stage one, says the government, but the Auditor-General says it could top $36bn. Two stages: $96.4bn.","2026-11-01","Aussie Outrage",null,"$96.4bn","What Victoria's Parliamentary Budget Office estimated in 2024 it would cost to build two sections of the loop. All of it was promised for $50bn.",12,false,{"path":97,"title":98,"description":99,"date":100,"category":7,"author":90,"image":101,"imageAlt":102,"bigNumber":103,"bigNumberLabel":104,"readingTime":105,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcar-insurance-premiums-up-42-percent","Car insurance premiums: up 42%, and insurers don't say why","Car insurance premiums in Australia rose 42% in five years and another 8% last year. ASIC found no insurer explained why. What's driving it and how to pay less.","2026-10-28","\u002Fimages\u002Fcar-insurance-eastern-freeway-traffic.jpg","Morning peak-hour traffic banked up on Melbourne's Eastern Freeway","42%","Rise in the average comprehensive car insurance premium from 2019 to 2024, before another 8% in 2024-25",8,{"path":107,"title":108,"description":109,"date":100,"category":7,"author":90,"image":110,"imageAlt":111,"bigNumber":112,"bigNumberLabel":113,"readingTime":114,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcoles-down-down-court-case-discounts-not-genuine","Coles Down Down court case: 13 of 14 discounts not genuine","The Coles Down Down court case: a judge found 13 of 14 discounts weren't genuine. No penalty until 2027, Woolworths awaits judgment, and profits are up.","\u002Fimages\u002Fcoles-aisle-trolley.jpg","A shopping trolley in a Coles supermarket aisle lined with stocked shelves and yellow price tickets","13 of 14","Coles 'Down Down' tickets the Federal Court found misleading, because the discount wasn't genuine",7,{"path":116,"title":117,"description":118,"date":100,"category":7,"author":90,"image":119,"imageAlt":120,"bigNumber":121,"bigNumberLabel":122,"readingTime":123,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Frent-prices-australia","Rent prices in Australia now take a record 34% of income","Rent prices in Australia: the median is $713 a week, renters pay a record 34% of income, and a full-time minimum wage worker can afford 0.5% of listings.","\u002Fimages\u002Frent-paddington-terraces.jpg","A row of terrace houses on a leafy street at Fiveways, Paddington, in Sydney","34%","Share of pre-tax income the typical renting household spent on rent in June 2026, the highest on record",6,{"path":125,"title":126,"description":127,"date":128,"category":7,"author":90,"image":129,"imageAlt":130,"bigNumber":131,"bigNumberLabel":132,"readingTime":133,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Faustralia-inflation-rate","Australia's inflation rate climbs to 4.3%. Here's why","Australia's inflation rate rose to 4.3% in September 2026, up from 4.0%. Petrol, up 23.6% in a year, and power bills after the rebates ended led the rise.","2026-10-27","\u002Fimages\u002Finflation-petrol-prices-brisbane.jpg","A United service station in Brisbane with its price board showing unleaded at 241.9 cents a litre and diesel at 295.9","4.3%","Australia's inflation rate, 12 months to September 2026",13,{"path":135,"title":136,"description":137,"date":128,"category":7,"author":90,"image":138,"imageAlt":139,"bigNumber":140,"bigNumberLabel":141,"readingTime":105,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Finterest-rate-rises-australia-2026","Interest rate rises in Australia: four in 2026, and the cost","Every RBA interest rate rise in Australia in 2026, why the Reserve Bank raised rates to 4.60%, and what they add to a typical mortgage: about $470 a month.","\u002Fimages\u002Frba-building-sydney.jpg","The upper floors of the Reserve Bank of Australia's office tower in Sydney","$470","Extra a month on the average new home loan after four interest rate rises in 2026",{"path":143,"title":144,"description":145,"date":146,"category":9,"author":90,"image":147,"imageAlt":148,"bigNumber":149,"bigNumberLabel":150,"readingTime":151,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fbig-build-office-pot-plants-1-6-million","$1.6 million on pot plants for Big Build offices","Rail Projects Victoria spent an estimated $1.64 million on plant hire and maintenance, and the Suburban Rail Loop Authority almost $200,000 more, according to the state opposition.","2026-10-26","\u002Fimages\u002Foffice-plants-desk.jpg","Small potted succulents on a timber office desk","$1.6m","Estimated spend on plant hire and maintenance at Rail Projects Victoria",2,{"path":153,"title":154,"description":155,"date":146,"category":9,"author":90,"image":156,"imageAlt":157,"bigNumber":158,"bigNumberLabel":159,"readingTime":151,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fcommonwealth-games-cancelled-589-million","$589 million to host nothing: what cancelling the Commonwealth Games cost Victoria","Victoria pulled out of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to save money. The Auditor-General found walking away cost $589 million with no discernible benefit, and the $6.9 billion figure used to justify it was overstated.","\u002Fimages\u002Feureka-stadium-ballarat.jpg","An aerial view of Eureka Stadium in Ballarat, with a blue athletics track behind it","$589m","What Victoria paid to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games",{"path":161,"title":162,"description":163,"date":146,"category":9,"author":90,"image":164,"imageAlt":165,"bigNumber":166,"bigNumberLabel":167,"readingTime":151,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fmachete-ban-13-million-bins","The $13 million machete ban: what the money actually pays for","Victoria set aside $13 million for its machete ban and amnesty bins. The bins cost about $2,400 each. The government still hasn't said where the rest of the money goes.","\u002Fimages\u002Fmachete-amnesty-bin-echuca.jpg","A navy steel bin labelled Machete Amnesty Safe Disposal Bin outside Echuca police station","$13m","Budgeted for Victoria's machete ban, including about 45 disposal bins",{"path":169,"title":170,"description":171,"date":146,"category":9,"author":90,"image":172,"imageAlt":173,"bigNumber":174,"bigNumberLabel":175,"readingTime":151,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fmetro-tunnel-plaques-70000-replaced","$70,000 to fix the wording on Metro Tunnel plaques","Commemorative plaques for the Metro Tunnel were replaced after errors were found in their wording, at a reported cost of about $70,000. Nobody has said who got it wrong or who paid.","\u002Fimages\u002Fmetro-tunnel-town-hall-platform.jpg","Orange arches above the crowded platform at Town Hall station in Melbourne's Metro Tunnel","$70k","Reported cost of replacing Metro Tunnel plaques after a wording error",{"path":177,"title":178,"description":179,"date":42,"category":5,"author":90,"image":180,"imageAlt":181,"bigNumber":182,"bigNumberLabel":183,"readingTime":114,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fato-tax-transparency-2024-25-companies-paid-no-tax","1,149 of Australia's biggest companies paid no income tax last year","The ATO's latest tax transparency report covers every company earning more than $100 million. More than one in four paid nothing. Here's what the numbers show, and why the tax office says it's not always a scandal.","\u002Fimages\u002Fato-building-canberra.jpg","A multi-storey Australian Taxation Office building in Canberra's city centre, with a car park in front","1 in 4","Large companies that paid no income tax in 2024-25",{"path":185,"title":186,"description":187,"date":42,"category":9,"author":90,"image":188,"imageAlt":189,"bigNumber":190,"bigNumberLabel":191,"readingTime":123,"featured":95},"\u002Fstories\u002Fbig-build-cfmeu-15-billion-corruption-estimate","The $15 billion question: what corruption on Victoria's Big Build may have cost you","A senior barrister estimates criminal infiltration of the CFMEU added about $15 billion to Victoria's Big Build. The government disputes it. A premier has resigned, a royal commission is under way, and Victorians vote on 28 November.","\u002Fimages\u002Fbig-build-metro-tunnel-abeckett-street.jpg","Hoardings and a white shed around a Metro Tunnel construction site on A'Beckett Street in Melbourne","$15bn","Geoffrey Watson SC's estimate of what corruption may have cost taxpayers on Victoria's Big Build (disputed by the government)",21,1793586229979]