Three weeks ago, the nation’s 13 worst performing super funds were revealed. On the list, was an industry fund most Australians would not have heard of called the “Energy Industries Superannuation Scheme”.

It currently holds $6 billion of retirement savings on behalf of about 20,000 largely blue-collar workers in the electrical industry.

It is also now the subject of serious allegations – revealed exclusively in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald – that member funds have been misspent on lavish Christmas parties, overseas junkets for senior management and a series of questionable sponsorship deals of local community and sporting clubs.

Today on Please Explain, business reporter Charlotte Grieve joins Jess Irvine to discuss.

Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lavish parties, overseas junkets ... how is your super being spent?

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

Society & Culture

Personal Journals

History

Philosophy

Places & Travel

Business

Investing

Careers

Management & Marketing

Business News

Shopping

News

Government

Daily News

A video of a violent attack on a Sydney bishop has sparked an international fight over free speech, censorship, and the potential threats such videos could pose when spread on social media.
US billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform X was ordered by Australia's E Safety Commissioner Julie Inman grant to take down some copies of the clip, amid fees it could be used to radicalise more people.
Musk has been fighting the takedown drawing criticism from politicians across the spectrum, including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The Coalition wants young children blocked from social media to protect them from harmful content, while the country's top policing and spy agencies have vowed to protect children from extremist poison, and called on platforms to do better.
Today political correspondent Paul Sakkal and chief political correspondent David Crowe join Rachel Clun on this week's Inside Politics.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside politics: Elon Musk, the Prime Minister and a cauldron of poison

After more than a decade of weakening strategic resolve under the Obama and Trump administrations, the United States is showing signs of re-emerging as an indispensable power to the world.
The United States helped to curtail broader conflict in the Middle East by rallying a coordinated response to Iran’s attack on Israel, and passed a 95 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
This willingness to again embrace its role as the gamekeeper and gardener of the international order comes after years of miscalculations that served only to embolden the world’s autocrats and their ambitions.
Today, international editor Peter Hartcher on three key positions taken by the United States and what this may mean for its allies and the world order. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peter Hartcher on how the US finally re-emerged as an 'indispensable power'

Earlier this week, the woman at the centre of the mushroom deaths case that captured the attention of the country, attended court for the second time.
Erin Patterson was arrested and charged in November last year with three counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder in the small-town Victorian case tracked around the world.
Legal teams are now focusing their efforts on the timing and location for a committal hearing, which could be impacted by a request from Patterson’s legal team to have the case tested in front of her peers in a local court.
Patterson has already spent five months in custody, and may spend many more waiting for a hearing that could be pushed out to 2025.
Today, crime and justice reporter Erin Pearson on everything we know so far, and what we can expect next. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why accused killer mushroom cook doesn't want case heard in Melbourne

After seven months of war in the Middle East, the world again held its breath when news emerged that Israel had struck inside Iran.
This followed an unprecedented attack by Iran on April 14, when it launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israeli military targets.
What appeared on Friday to be a major response from Israel, and a signal of potentially a significant escalation in the region, then gave way to conflicting reports and confusion.
So what actually occurred, and what might happen from here?
Today, digital foreign editor Chris Zappone on the history of tension between Iran and Israel, a proxy war, and what both sides seek to gain from conflict. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Missile strikes, confusion and tension: What’s happening between Israel and Iran?

Last week, Donald Trump became the first current or former US president to face a criminal trial, charged with falsifying business records in an attempt to cover up a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Allegations he has denied.
The first hurdle of the trial was jury selection, but finally, a 12-person panel was sworn in.
But it took laborious vetting by the legal teams to get there. Prospective jurors took themselves out of selection because they professed they couldn’t be impartial, while a rigorous survey of candidates included questions such as: Have you ever read the ‘Art of the Deal’ or attended a Proud Boys rally?
Today, US correspondent Farrah Tomazin on the highlights from week one, and what to expect from the next six to eight weeks. Subscribe to The Age & SMH: https://subscribe.smh.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lavish parties, overseas junkets ... how is your super being spent?

Download our free app to listen on your phone