The world is awash with Russian oligarchs these days. Some have even washed up in Australias gas-and mining-fields. But one wonders, are there other oligarchs floating around under the radar?

The world seems to have come to some realisation that oligarchs, particularly Russian oligarchs, are not a good thing. After years of super-yachts and super-secure crowds appearing suddenly at marinas and casinos and luxury locations across the world, their presence hasacquired a pong, and polite Western politicians, governments and resorts are clearing their web sites of any mention of ever knowing an oligarch.

Why is that? Well, in Putins Russia oligarchs only become so if favoured by Mr Putin, and they only stay there if they also favour him. Fabulous wealth, unbridled corruption, and ruthless personalities are the hallmarks of Russian oligarchy. In Putins Russia - critics, journalists and whistle-blowers are ruthlessly prosecuted, raided or killed in bombings, shootings and poisonings. But being a Russian oligarch has its dangers too total obedienceto your political master is a necessity. Any hint of disloyalty and your name-plate is taken down, perhaps permanently.

British newspapers are currently full of horror headlines of My Worst Oligarch by personalities wanting to declare they are now woke to their dangers. But here in Australia politicians clamour still to shake the hands of home-grown oligo-types. Somehow, we have not yet noticed that some of our magnates are virtually identical to the Russian prototype. And we are fain to notice that our current government has a_Putinesque_flavour too.

The wealth of many Australian magnates is underpinned by a government dedicated to creating highly favourable laws and tax breaks for their business, to the point where many pay zero tax.Australian gas-field royaltiesare a mere fraction of that collected by comparable gas producing lands, providing companies with incalculable windfall profits, yet stripping Australians of the claimed social benefits of mining. Safety and social compliance laws are waived to allow unbridled resource exploitation. Our legal system also seems tostymie complaintsby the public of corrupt use of power. And as we approach the coming federal elections, all stops are being withdrawn to licence additional mining ofgas and coal basins, while negating environmental compensation and global climate heating consequences with furphies such as cutting red-tape. Previously our federal COVID recovery plan was built around .. yes, you guessed it, a gas-led recovery. One wonders what our flood recovery plan will entail surely not more gas?

Occasionally the venality of Australias oligarch political-regime axis is seen when a line is crossed that the rest of the world finds objectionable Rio Tintos legal dynamiting of irreplaceable 46,000 year-old Indigenous rock paintings atJuukan Gorge caves, and the bugging ofTimor-Lestes government to favour Woodsides commercial oil and gas objectives are examples of notoriety. The deal here is that Australian oligarchs know their name-plates are safe. And instead, reputational damage should be carried by their political-regime collaborators. Yet here again, instead of fallout harming politicians, its the whistle-blower who is prosecuted, its the newspaper offices raided and individual journalists and defence lawyers prosecuted for handling state secrets.

When the actions of the last decades of Australias Coalition governments are aligned with Putins oligarchic state, identical intentions and outcomes become obvious, as do differences. In Putins Russia the oligarchs dance to Putins tune. In Australia the power balance is opposite, the Coalition government dances to the oligarchs tune and its getting louder.

Here, political opponents aretaken to court, or enquired into, while the Murdoch News Corp media, an apparent extension of the Coalition governments propaganda machine, literally scream ideological venom against all who question Australian miners rights to dig and pump and sell carbon dioxide. Incredibly these Australian sirens of self-immolation, the global warming deniers would tell us that increased renewables have led to Putins invasion of the Ukraine, and that only increased use of oil, gas and coal can prevent military adventures by Russia and China.

All of this support is to be expected consideringMurdoch commercial interests in oil and gas, while in lock-step the Coalition government contributes$10.3 billionin annual subsidy to the fossil fuel industry, greater than its support for the Australian Army. Remarkably, the IMF estimates Australias annual fossil fuel exploration and production subsidies to be four-times greater at$47 billion. Even as News Corp media decry increased windfallprofits for Russianfuels, they simultaneously applaudwindfall profits for Australianfossil fuel and grain producers which the war brings. If I was fighting for my country like Ukrainians are, I would not want Murdochs two-faced monsters watching my back.

Recent revelations that notorious Russian oligarchs are in business partnership with Australian gas and mining projects are compounded by the fact that the Coalition government has uniquelynot imposed sanctionsagainst these individuals, despite many years of sanctions against them by UK and US governments. One might ask, is Mr Morrisons much vaunted verbal support for the Ukraine simply spin?

Previously, such reports might have elicited the Coalition government to send in theFederal policeto raid outspoken news media and their journalists homes, but the spate of recent natural disasters (the bushfires,the floodsand the mishandledCOVID pandemic) has reduced public support of the government and they dare not take such steps now. Yet, if the Coalition should win the next federal election, perhaps we shall see overt repression against climate protesters, alternative news media and public critics to levels more associated with regimes such as Putins. If we want to save our livelihoods and our planet and save our souls too, we need to restore political integrity.

The payola from Australias miners to facilitate this flood of underhand political support must be incredible. The chicken-feed reported in parliamentary declarations are mere pennies, when compared to amounts Russian oligarchs hand over to Putin. One can only surmise that off-shore tax-havens have special boltholes for more Australians than we currently know about.

Keith Mitchelson has a 40-year experience in academic and commercial biotechnology sectors in the UK, China, and Australia.