Mark Willacy
Mark Willacy is an investigative journalist for the ABC’s National Reporting Team, based in Brisbane. A former Middle East and North Asia correspondent, Mark has reported for the ABC in more than 30 countries. He's a three-time winner of Australia's premier journalism prize the Walkley Award - winning for his coverage of the 2003 Iraq War, his reporting of the 2011 Japan tsunami and nuclear meltdowns, and for breaking the story of one of Australia's biggest environmental contaminations. In 2010 he was named Queensland Journalist of the Year for his investigation into the massacre of more than 30 journalists in the southern Philippines. Mark has written two books. Mark tweets from @MarkWillacy.
'Pain ranking' used to help Newman government decide on budget cuts
Posted | Updated
Massive cuts to Queensland's public service and government programs under the LNP administration of Campbell Newman were given a "pain" ranking, confidential documents reveal.
Topics: federal---state-issues, government-and-politics, liberal-national-party-queensland, budget, environmental-policy, qld
Agency assessing $1b Adani loan blocks FOI request for board meeting times
Posted | Updated
The Federal Government agency considering a $1 billion loan to mining giant Adani rejects an FOI request from Greenpeace for information about its upcoming board meetings, saying it could encourage protesters and media interest.
Topics: mining-industry, industry, business-economics-and-finance, mining-environmental-issues, environment, australia, qld
Flammable levels of hydrogen found near site of Queensland gas project
Posted | Updated
An Environment Department investigation confirms the contamination near Linc Energy's underground coal gasification plant is much more widespread than previously thought.
Topics: oil-and-gas, electricity-energy-and-utilities, energy, environment, states-and-territories, hopeland-4413, chinchilla-4413, qld
Coal spillage discovered in waters near Great Barrier Reef
Posted | Updated
A Queensland Government investigation finds a large spillage of coal from a ship loader at the Port of Hay Point in the state's north.
Topics: water-pollution, pollution, environment, great-barrier-reef, oceans-and-reefs, mackay-4740, qld
Crime rate manipulated to mask rise, police sources allege
Posted | Updated
The Queensland Police Minister is briefed about allegations from within the police service that reports have been manipulated in an effort to keep a lid on crime rates.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, police, public-sector, qld
Parents' heartbreaking search for children lost in Japan tsunami (photos)
Posted | Updated
Naomi Hiratsuka is just one of the indomitable parents left behind when their children were swept away in the 2011 Fukushima tsunami. But her long search for her daughter's remains finally brought some closure after her unthinkable loss.
Topics: tidal-wave, earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, nuclear-accident, japan
'I'm paying their tax': More 7-Eleven workers speak out about 'cash back' scams
Posted
More 7-Eleven workers are speaking out about the so-called "cash back" scam, in which employees are forced to hand back part of their pay to franchisees of the convenience chain.
Topics: fraud-and-corporate-crime, work, community-and-society, law-crime-and-justice, corruption, business-economics-and-finance, brisbane-4000, qld, sydney-2000, nsw, australia
Rogue tyre recycler hit with environmental protection orders
Posted
A series of environmental protection orders are issued against a rogue recycling operator whose sites were exposed as a dumping ground for hundreds of thousands of old tyres.
Topics: environment, environmental-technology, recycling-and-waste-management, states-and-territories, government-and-politics, law-crime-and-justice, rocklea-4106, kingston-4114, brisbane-4000
Norfolk mutiny brewing against island's Australian administrator
Posted | Updated
It may be a lonely speck in the South Pacific, but the Australian takeover of Norfolk Island is sparking criticism from the other side of the world and exposing deep divisions within the small community.
Topics: federal-parliament, state-parliament, parliament, government-and-politics, norfolk-island, australia
Fukushima nuclear plant remains a gap in Japan's disaster defences Analysis
Posted | Updated
Japan has the most sophisticated earthquake detection network in the world, but warnings are only effective if people heed them, writes Mark Willacy.
Topics: earthquake, disasters-and-accidents, nuclear-accident, nuclear-issues, japan
Exchange over alleged N Korea sanctions breach to remain secret
Posted | Updated
DFAT is refusing to release correspondence from the United Nations about alleged breaches of North Korea sanctions by two Australian companies, saying to do so could damage Australia's international relations.
Topics: international-law, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, law-crime-and-justice, mining-industry, korea-democratic-people-s-republic-of, australia
7-Eleven worker forced to pay back wage, covert video shows
Posted | Updated
Scandal-plagued convenience chain 7-Eleven is coming under fresh scrutiny over the underpayment of workers, with covert video showing an employee handing back a sizeable portion of her pay to the store franchisee — known as a "cash back" scam.
Topics: work, community-and-society, law-crime-and-justice, corruption, fraud-and-corporate-crime, business-economics-and-finance, brisbane-4000, qld, australia
Five former Linc Energy bosses charged over contamination
Posted | Updated
The Queensland Government charges five former executives of Linc Energy with environmental offences over the failed company's alleged contamination of huge swathes of prime farmland in the state's south-east.
Topics: industry, environment, courts-and-trials, oil-and-gas, company-news, law-crime-and-justice, activism-and-lobbying, chinchilla-4413, toowoomba-4350, bundaberg-4670, qld
Queensland recycler fined over transportation of thousands of used tyres
Posted | Updated
A Queensland tyre recycling company that unloaded about 40,000 used tyres at a facility in south-west Brisbane is fined tens of thousands of dollars.
Topics: recycling-and-waste-management, environment, state-parliament, parliament, government-and-politics, wacol-4076, qld, australia
Rogue tyre recycler accused of ripping off small businesses
Posted | Updated
The owner of a tyre recycling business is accused of ripping off his suppliers hundreds of thousands of dollars while a joint Government taskforce is investigating claims against him.
Topics: small-business, corruption, pollution, law-crime-and-justice, rocklea-4106, kingston-4114
Rehabilitating mines could create thousands of 'badly needed' jobs
Posted | Updated
Queensland alone has more than 15,000 abandoned mines, including 300 classified as mega, large or medium size and a new report is suggesting several thousand jobs could be created by rehabilitating these sites.
Topics: mining-environmental-issues, environment, mining-industry, industry, business-economics-and-finance, mining-rural, rural, townsville-4810, qld, australia, cloncurry-4824, mount-isa-4825
QPS refuses to answer tax questions about fundraiser
Posted | Updated
"Project Synergy" is run by the police fraud squad and raised nearly $200,000 over two years from some of Australia's biggest companies, but the Queensland Police Service will not say if it paid tax.
Topics: fraud-and-corporate-crime, corruption, law-crime-and-justice, police, crime, brisbane-4000, qld, australia
Rare Indigenous 'library of rock art' under threat by gold mine, traditional owners say
Posted | Updated
Indigenous traditional owners from Queensland's Cape York are warning a proposed gold mine would potentially damage one of the world's oldest and most important collections of rock art.
Topics: indigenous-culture, community-and-society, arts-and-entertainment, mining-industry, mining-environmental-issues, qld
Company run by LNP members among consortium awarded $3m in federal funds
Posted | Updated
A company run by prominent Queensland Liberal National Party members is part of a consortium awarded $3 million under a federal infrastructure program, the ABC reveals.
Topics: state-parliament, parliament, federal---state-issues, government-and-politics, qld, australia, brisbane-4000
Operator of rogue recycling business charged over threatening phone calls
Posted | Updated
Police charge the operator of a rogue tyre recycling business at the centre of a recent ABC expose with making threatening phone calls to a former associate.
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, brisbane-4000
Queensland Government approves mine on conservation land
Posted | Updated
An in-stream mine on a Cape York property is one step closer after the Queensland Environment Department issued a draft authority for the project, despite the same department buying the land for conservation earlier this year.
Topics: environment, environmental-impact, mining-environmental-issues, health, environmental-health, great-barrier-reef, oceans-and-reefs, lakeland-4871, cooktown-4895
Newman's aborted defamation defence cost Queensland thousands
Posted
Documents obtained under Right to Information reveal taxpayers funded tens of thousands in legal bills for an aborted defamation defence of former Queensland premier Campbell Newman and his attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie.
Topics: laws, law-crime-and-justice, parliament, state-parliament, government-and-politics, qld
Pump crews work to keep toxic mine spill out of Murray-Darling Basin
Posted
Heavy rainfall this week threatened to trigger a toxic spill of the storage ponds at the Texas silver mine in southern Queensland, prompting government officials to take emergency action.
Topics: pollution, industry, mining-rural, rural, environment, environmental-impact, mining-environmental-issues, water-pollution, texas-4385, qld, nsw, goondiwindi-4390, moree-2400
Bikies' alleged boss asked to hand over $360,000 made in drug sales
Posted | Updated
The Queensland Government asks the Supreme Court to force the alleged boss of the outlaw Black Uhlans bikie gang to hand over $360,000 in alleged proceeds from drug sales.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, crime, drug-offences, australia
Rural gun owners 'targeted' in black market weapons trade
Posted | Updated
The fearsome South Korean USAS-12 semi-automatic shotgun is among the weapons seized from bikies in Queensland amid warnings from police rural gun owners are being targeted in the black market gun trade.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, brisbane-4000, qld, australia, coolangatta-4225
Connect with ABC News
Got a news tip?
If you have inside knowledge of a topic in the news, contact the ABC.
