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Ebony Bennett

@ebonybennett.bsky.social
5.3K followers 365 following 371 posts

Deputy Director of @australiainstitute.org.au host of webinar series & Follow The Money podcast. Easily startled horror fan. Political tragic, amateur TV critic, solo hiking enthusiast. She/her

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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 3h
Fake spring gets me every year 🥶
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 5h
Australia’s chief security partner.
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 20h
incredible this will get little to no coverage
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The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 02/10/2026
A Northern Territory body with ZERO full-time staff is the de facto national regulator for online gambling. Last year, Australians lost $36 billion gambling. @justinedavismla.bsky.social tells @ebonybennett.bsky.social about this extraordinary situation on Follow the Money 🎧 theaus.in/4jhnKz9
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Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The many & varied ways carbon offset projects worldwide continue to repeatedly fail integrity tests Adrien Tofighi-Niaki investigates #CarbonMarket auditors & '3rd-party verification' for @carbonmarketwatch.bsky.social "what are auditors actually auditing & approving if failure is so widespread?"
Screenshot of post from Adrien Tofighi-Niaki

Our latest research for Carbon Market Watch finds that carbon market auditors and 'third-party verification' are not ensuring integrity for carbon offset projects. We assessed 15 of the largest carbon offset projects worldwide and found:

• 13 different auditors reviewed the 15 projects between 2012-2026.
• 88 validation and verification audits were conducted by these auditors
• 1,641 findings were raised across the 88 audit reports, 483 of which were 'non-conformities' or 'corrective action requests', the most severe category of findings. Nearly all of the findings were subsequently resolved, leading to project approval.

Some of these major auditors include DNV / SCS Global Services / Aster
Global Environmental Solutions / TV SÜD / AENOR / Earthood.

However despite intense and repeated auditing (in some cases, up to 3 audits per year), we find that every single project actually failed our comprehensive project integrity assessment. This assessment combines:

X three ratings agency scores: 13/15 projects failed the ratings agency scoring from Calyx Global, BeZero Carbon, and/or Sylvera.
X two methodological assessments: 15/15 projects failed both the academic and Oeko-Institut's CCQI assessments.
X project developer claims of harm: 12/15 developers had notable and publicly known claims of harm or wrongdoing, such as land grabs, community evictions, sexual abuse, and controversial financial and lobbying practices.So what are auditors actually auditing and approving if failure is so widespread? We find that project failure is basically written into the voluntary carbon market rulebook. Some examples of these poor rules include:

• Consultation vs. consent: Verra's REDD+ permanence risk tool treats a project as low risk if only half of the people living in and relying on the project area are 'consulted'. The tool, which is used to determine a forestry project's overall permanence, does not ask if a supermajority actually consent to or agree to the project. In fact, the tool doesn't even address FPIC at all

• Conflict of interests by design: Under the "select and pay" model, project developers get to choose and pay the auditors they like, creating problematic and dependent professional relationships. On Verra's side, roughly 90% of its revenue historically came from carbon project levies
and fees. So more project approvals = more revenue for Verra's "non-
profit" model.

• Old data for new offsets: Major projects like Pacajai and Kulera were last verified by auditors in 2020, and those audits are based on project monitoring data that predates 2020. Yet, credits were still being retired between 2023-2026, meaning buyers are currently purchasing credits from forestry projects but nobody seems to be legally required to even check if those forests are actually still standing today.

Do you think VCM audits work?
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Jack Cousteau ⚓️ @angrywaterman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
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Left Of Center Orange Hater @leftocorangehater.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
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The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 01/10/2026
Australia’s multibillion-dollar online gambling industry is effectively regulated by a NT body with no full-time staff. @justinedavismla.bsky.social joins @ebonybennett.bsky.social to discuss how the NT became the de facto national regulator & her proposal to lift standards. 🎧 theaus.in/4jhnKz9
Photo of Justine Davis speaking into a handheld microphone
NEW EPISODE | How the NT won Australia’s race-to-the-bottom on online gambling regulation
Listen to Follow the Money now via the link or wherever you get your podcasts
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The Chaser @chaser.com.au · 29/09/2026
"We hope women know we take their safety seriously. It's a top priority, just below protecting the reputation of ourselves and our male students." chaser.com.au/general-news...
Cornell to take rape allegations more seriously: introduces 'naughty corner' punishment - The Chaser
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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 29/09/2026
Send Stephen Miller to The Hague.
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Dylan4eva
static.klipy.com
Luke Perry as Dylan McKay in Sunglasses
ALT: Luke Perry as Dylan McKay in Sunglasses
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The Shovel @theshovel.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Households across Australia are cancelling annual holidays, cutting back on groceries and reducing other spending because the 79-year-old little boy is out of his depth. Read the full story: theshovel.com.au/2026/05/06/i...
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Sue Young @suetas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Australians – remember the CES?
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wow, talk about a sense memory. I can vividly see the 90210 posters on my bedroom wall
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Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
DCCEEW's pay-to-destroy offsets calculator methodology is now out for consultation Pay-to-destroy offsets were inserted into the EPBC 'reforms' to help "streamline assessment & approval processes & reduce uncertainty & administrative burden for proponents" 👉 consult.dcceew.gov.au/restoration-...
consult.dcceew.gov.au
Open Point - Engagement, insights and analytics platform for surveys and consultations
Collect, Manage and Analyse surveys, consultation data and text
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Latest energy figures are out for 2024-25 - once again 83% of Australia's gas is exported or used to convert gas to PNG exports. There is no gas shortage. We do not need more gas. We need to #TAXtheGAS
Charts showing in 2024-25 4,862PJ of gas was exported or used in LNG plants, while only 1,016PJ was use by the domestic economy of mining, manufacturing, residential and gas power plants.
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Journalists enforcing an arbitrary tax-to-GDP ratio as though it’s some kind of economic golden rule 😒
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Rod Campbell @rodcampbell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Do you want more guns or less guns in Australia? The NSW Gov wants less, while the NSW opposition, Vic gov, SA gov, Qld gov all want more. Interesting times. australiainstitute.org.au/post/gun-num...
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eliko thalia @museinrevolt.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
just learned this today
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Yung En Chee @yungenchee.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Great to see the important research by Milad Haghani, Abbas Rajabifard, Iman Taheri Sarteshnizi, & Neema Nassir covered in @news.abc.net.au!
abc.net.au
Researchers who analysed 10,000 crashes say car size does matter
A study of 13 years of crashes in Australia finds a link between car height and risk of pedestrian death, particularly for women and children.
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Rod Campbell @rodcampbell.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Groucho Marx wouldn't join any club that wanted him as a member. I was refused entry into the ATO's consultation group on Australia's biggest fossil fuel subsidy, the fuel tax credit scheme. 😪 But there is some good news. Read all about it: thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
In these cases, they clearly believe our concerns are illegitimate. So illegitimate that they often associate us with – or even proscribe us as – terrorists. Care about Palestinians? Terrorist. Want to burn and kill asylum seekers? We might not like your methods, but you have legitimate concerns.
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Lady Luddite (KJ Colt) @moistenedtart.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Watching McLeod’s Daughters and saw this… Mains board from the local pub. 2001.
Pub meals prices board from Australia in 2001.

STEAK+ CHIPS $7.50

STEAK + VEGETABLES $7.50

STEAK DIANE $8.50

STEAK PEPPER SAUCE $8.50 

STEAK E MUSHROOM SAUCE $8.50 

PORTERHOUSE STEAK $10.00

T-BONE STEAK $9.50
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Nick Feik @nickfeik.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
“Anthony Albanese will use his government’s commitment to online safety and tackling climate change as selling points for Australia’s bid to join the UN Security Council” WTF. You mean a social media ban that has failed completely, and the safeguard mechanism con while we export more gas than ever?
afr.com
PM to spruik digital safety bona fides in UN Security Council bid
Anthony Albanese will use his government’s commitment to online safety and climate change as selling points for Australia’s candidacy.
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Here is the amazing @elinorjohnstonleek.bsky.social in her final Dollars & Sense.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
25 years ago today, George W. Bush signed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force into law. Barbara Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against it, warning it would be a blank check for forever wars. History has proven her lonely and courageous vote right.
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Poverty kills. The level of Jobseeker kills. It is a choice governments make every year. It is a choice the RBA makes when it decides more people need to be unemployed www.theguardian.com/business/gro...
Screenshot showing deaths per 100,000 by age


Not on welfare; on Jobseeker
22-34: 17.1; 137
35-44: 30; 288.1
45-54: 83.4; 427
55-64: 201.6; 615.6
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Wyvernsrose #RaiseTheRate @wyvernsrose.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
croakey.org
As doctors sound a public health alarm over gas, the Beetaloo Basin is pumping
As Doctors for the Environment Australia sounds a public health alarm about the wide-ranging health impacts of fossil gas, an academic investigates the impacts of fracking in the Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin, and highlights the health risks for people in the NT from gas-fired climate change.
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Amy Remeikis @amyremeikis.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Migrant debate is just hot air looking for a problem www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politic...
thenewdaily.com.au
Recycled migrant fuss is just a hot-button topic looking for an issue
With all the talk about Australia’s migration "issue", there is one question that has remained noticeably absent.
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Why does he want to saddle data centres with the most expensive, polluting energy source?
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M Meerkat @kackbro.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Indeed, We The People Should Be Getting The Same Healthcare And Paid Leave As McTurtle.......🐢
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
DEI for animal fuckers in the FBI When we look back on the fall of the US empire, I think this will stand out in my memory.
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Rod Campbell @rodcampbell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Nobel Prize economist Joe Stiglitz writing on inequality for @thepointau.bsky.social. A great piece and a big get for The Point!! thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Preparing to *donate*
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Colonialism was there to abolish slavery is certainly a take
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
No evidence of that so far
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Genuinely cannot predict the next headline generated by the Trump Administration www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Kash Patel defends FBI hiring policy on applicants who have engaged in bestiality
Senators question FBI chief on move to cut restrictions on agent applicants who have engaged in bestiality
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"Inequality does not merely impair economic performance; it is also a profound and direct threat to democracy," writes Professor @josephestiglitz.bsky.social in @thepointau.bsky.social thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...
thepoint.com.au
Extreme inequality is not a given. It is a political choice and we can unmake it
After a year examining global inequality alongside leading economists and experts, Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz describes the crisis as both vast in scale and dangerous in trajectory. He outlines a ...
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Amy Remeikis @amyremeikis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Every single Pauline Hanson story reporting on her latest racist comments should also include that a court has upheld that she racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi.
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Jewish Council of Australia @jewishcouncilau.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Macklemore spoke out. Now you can take action. Sign our petition urging institutions to reject the IHRA definition. Don’t let Israel define antisemitism. Let’s get to 30k. www.jewishcouncil.com.au/2026/08/dont...
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“If this reservation policy were introduced tomorrow, it wouldn’t collect a cent in revenue and all we get told is it’ll put downward pressure on prices; not how much prices will fall,” said Richard Denniss. thepoint.com.au/new/260914-l...
thepoint.com.au
Labor’s watered-down gas reservation plan ‘kicks it into the long grass yet again’: Denniss
Australia Institute co-CEO Richard Denniss has accused the Albanese government of watering down its gas reservation plan, warning the scheme 'probably won’t' lower prices for Australian households and...
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"Nearly 90% of the 90 submissions to the parliamentary committee asked the Government to withdraw the Bill. Farmers, legal bodies, environmental organisations, First Nations peoples and regional communities all raised the alarm" thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...
thepoint.com.au
The LNP’s new pro-mining law is an assault on First Nations rights
Last month, Queensland’s Crisafulli Government passed new laws that gut our rights and our ability to protect Wangan and Jagalingou Country from the unfettered ambitions of extractive industries.
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Let me guess, did the leopards eat her face?
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
I went in to get a $5 shoe horn and came out with a $150 cat bed (and the shoehorn) Well played IKEA
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The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 11/09/2026
"If we were serious about tackling the housing crisis it would be the obvious change to make." Limiting rent increases works, says @maiyazize.bsky.social from @everybodyshome.bsky.social. Hear more on Follow the Money via the link or wherever you get your podcasts. #auspol 🎧 theaus.in/4cbA7IA
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💚🌏Myles🌏💚 @rainbowregionmyles.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
People with dementia are being warned that asking for MORE aged care support can trigger an algorithm that gives them LESS. Their dementia progresses, their needs increase, they ask for help, and risk losing what little help they already have. Who the fuck designed this? #auspol
theguardian.com
Dementia patients warned off seeking home care in case Australia’s aged care algorithm cuts funding
Exclusive: FoI documents show senior health officials were warned of concerns about assessment tool weeks after it launched
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Crikey @crikey.com.au · 11/09/2026
Opinion | With his counterattack on One Nation, Andrew Hastie has shown he's the only major party politician with the guts and smarts to take on Hanson. www.crikey.com.au/2026/09/11/a...
crikey.com.au
Hanson brought a knife to a gunfight with Hastie — the only one who could kill One Nation
Andrew Hastie's fight with One Nation and Gina Rinehart is revealing his cut-through capabilities. Is he the one major party figure who could turn the tables on Hanson and co?
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Nate O @nateo.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Love it when Telegraph commentary runs headfirst into Telegraph journalism
Trump unveils Space Force uniform inspired by Nazi-aesthetic film
Director Paul Verhoeven said his 1997 Starship Troopers was about ‘fascists who aren’t aware of their fascism’
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Ebony Bennett @ebonybennett.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Banning abortion kills women. Full stop. Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans, finds @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/ecto...
propublica.org
Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled. It’s Worse in States With Abortion Bans.
With prompt and appropriate medical care, experts say, people shouldn’t die from an ectopic pregnancy. Women in Texas and Oklahoma have sued over delays in care, which, coupled with our new analysis, ...
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Nick McKim @nickmckim.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
We will not be party to making forest protection contingent on a mechanism that drives their destruction.
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