NRL's Pacific plan to pummel AFL in broadcast bonanza
V'landys plans to kick off broadcast negotiations in July after the State of Origin decider and the ARLC chairman says the inclusion of Papua New Guinea will help the code clinch the richest TV rights deal in rugby league history.
V'landys will arrive in PNG this Tuesday to ramp-up the NRL's reconnaissance for the 19th team in 2028 and the next step is thrashing out a Pacific-infused broadcast deal that can blow their AFL rivals out of the water.
A third network has contacted the ARL Commission to formally express interest. Up to five or six bidders are tipped to enter negotiations as current rights holders Fox and Channel 9 face billion-dollar competition for the most watched code in Australian sport.
The NRL's last five-year TV rights deal was worth around $2 billion, including media rights in New Zealand, but V'landys has revealed the sport's next broadcast arrangement may be brokered for a longer term.
The NRL's current TV rights deal ends in 2027. The next cycle was tipped to run from 2028-32, but V'landys says he wants to formalise rugby league's new broadcast deal by season's end in a package that could deliver a decade of certainty.
That scenario would see the NRL smash their current broadcast haul with a potential fiscal TV rights bonanza of between $3 to $4 billion.
'It could be longer than five years, absolutely,' V'landys said.
Asked if the next TV rights deal could be seven to 10 years in duration, he said: 'Yes, it could be.
'We're having some off-the-record talks at the moment, but we plan to start very soon and it will certainly heat up in the next couple of months.
'I definitely want it finalised this year.
'Hopefully that's the case and it's certainly our ambition to do it.
'We want certainty and we know our clubs want certainty.
'Players also want certainty, because if you do a three-or-four year deal or even longer, you know what your revenues are.
'We haven't got to that level of detail yet, but this will be a record deal.
'We have a much more valuable product now, much more valuable.'
There are several variables that give V'landys confidence of broking the most lucrative broadcast deal in the code's 117-year history.
One factor is the emergence of new media streaming giants, with global tentacles, such as Netflix, Amazon and Paramount.
DAZN completed a $3.4 billion purchase of Foxtel in April and V'landys confirmed the world's leading sports entertainment platform will be a major player in upcoming TV rights negotiations.
'Of course they'll be keen,' he said. 'We're the number one sport in Australia.
Why wouldn't they be keen?
'I can confirm we've had genuine interest. We are confident there are several parties in the marketplace and I'm confident there will be more to come when we begin talks.
'We will get a lot more dollars now than we have ever gotten because of the hard work done by the players, the clubs and the NRL.'
Another significant factor is the expansion drive that will trigger the admission of the Perth Bears to the NRL in 2027 before Papua New Guinea's entry in 2028.
V'landys says PNG will not only represent a fresh spectator market, but open a broadcasting gateway that could see the Pacific eventually usurp Australia as the NRL's most lucrative TV rights powerhouse.
The NRL is exploring a cut-price Pacific subscription service to monetise the NRL's 19th team and the 10 million-plus Papua New Guinea fans who will back the franchise with unmatched tribalism.
'Papua New Guinea could end up, in 10 or 15 years, to be worth more in broadcast revenue than Australia,' he said.
'With PNG coming in, that is a massive arm that we have never tapped into, not to mention Perth.
'We're the most-watched sport in Australia, so we now should attract substantial offers.
'Our data shows 1.8 million people streamed the Papua New Guinea game against Australia's Prime Ministers XIII, which was an extraordinary number.
'By having a cheap subscription to watch (PNG and NRL games), we could attract millions of new subscribers in the Pacific.
'We're very mindful of pricepoint. We don't want to make it too expensive for rugby league fans to watch and support the game.
'We definitely want to get the most revenue, but at the same time, we don't want to make it unaffordable for our wonderful fans.
'The game has never been in a better place.
'This has been a planned strategy - and it will pay off big time.' Peter Badel Chief Rugby League Writer
Peter Badel is a six-time award winning journalist who began as a sports reporter in 1998. A best-selling author, 'Bomber' has covered five Australian cricket tours and has specialised in rugby league for more than two decades. NRL
Selwyn Cobbo flew to Sydney for preliminary talks earlier this month in the strongest sign yet that the powerhouse back is on the verge of quitting the Broncos. See which clubs are interested. NRL
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ABC News
26 minutes ago
- ABC News
Victims of fraud and financial abuse caught in ATO's pursuit of $56b in tax debt
Laura remembers the day she decided to leave an abusive relationship. It was January 2020. She was on holiday with her former partner and recalls him getting physically violent in front of their children. "He hit me that day," Laura (not her real name) recalls. ABC News has had to conceal her identity to protect her safety. "After confronting him, he pushed me into the wall and then grabbed me by my throat … in front of the kids," she says. "He grabbed my phone, broke my phone … said he was going to kill me." If you need help immediately call emergency services on triple-0 Laura says the physical abuse was the breaking point, but she had suffered years of abuse and control. Her ex had a criminal record and was running a business under her name that had accumulated massive tax debts. But because Laura was unable to control the business or the financial accounts, she did not know the full extent of the debts. "Even though everything was in my name, I could not even transfer a dollar to myself," she says. "When we got separated, I remember having no roof over my head. "No bills were paid because he wouldn't pay any. He wouldn't allow me to buy groceries for me and the child. "He'd break the doors to [the house]. He kept saying to me, 'You'll never do it on your own. You'll never survive without me.'" When Laura did make the decision to leave and take over the business, her ordeal with the ATO began. She took control of the business in late 2021 for about a year, not realising the extent of the debts owed, and not realising the debt would balloon and she would eventually become personally liable for half a million dollars in debt. Laura is just one story among thousands of Australians experiencing financial hardship as the ATO chases almost $56 billion it says is owed by small businesses and individuals. If you have more information about this story please contact Nassim Khadem at or nassimkhadem@ The Tax Ombudsman and financial counsellors working with people like Laura want the ATO to use its discretion to take a more compassionate and understanding approach. And they want the federal government to change the law to give the ATO the ability to waive tax debts in these situations of financial abuse. They warn that when victims of financial abuse become liable for tax obligations, it can tip people over the edge, both mentally and financially. When the tax system is used to perpetrate financial abuse, the ATO has limited powers to clear a tax debt entirely or to transfer it to the perpetrator of the abuse. New ATO figures provided exclusively to ABC News show more than 65 per cent, or $36.6 billion, of the $55.9 billion in outstanding total debt is owed by small business, and the ATO says much of that is undisputed debt. But the issue is what happens in cases like Laura's, when the tax obligations were borne out of financial abuse. To recover the money owed, the ATO has ramped up its debt recovery action, and this action is sometimes used against women, or in some cases men, whose debt is tied to their ex-partners. The ATO's own data shows it is hitting people more often with a Director Penalty Notice that makes them personally liable for tax debts. It is also returning to using garnishee notices after a drop-off during the pandemic. These notices give the agency the authority to take money directly from people's bank accounts. It is also reporting alleged business debts to credit agencies, which then make it impossible for people to get access to credit. 38,409 Ann Kayis-Kumar, founding director of UNSW Tax and Business Advisory Clinic, deals with victim-survivors of financial abuse. She says Director Penalty Notices (DPN's) can be an effective way of collecting tax debt, "but what we're concerned about is that … this is unwittingly capturing people, survivors of abuse, and there are not appropriate safeguards in place". "We think that the reason for the DPN numbers being as high as they are is because they are in effect sexually transmitted tax debts," she says. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that 1 in 6 women and 1 in 13 men have experienced economic abuse by an intimate partner. "This is over 2.4 million Australians experiencing abuse. It's almost inevitable that a component of those … DPNs will be sweeping up this cohort of people," Ms Kayis-Kumar says. "We have clients come to us in tears sharing that their abusive former partner has said, 'I'm going to financially ruin you'. She says there needs to be a national investment in greater support for victims of abuse, "otherwise people will be playing a postcode lottery and falling through the cracks". "It's quite shocking, for example, that there is only one statewide financial abuse specialist [within the ATO]," she says. A question often asked of people who have faced financial abuse is why they did not make the decision to come forward sooner. This question, according to experts who work with survivors of domestic and family violence, fails to understand the premise of coercive control. "We need to see that culture change within the ATO," says Julie Dal Pra, a financial counsellor at EACH. She says the ATO must stop treating victims of financial abuse as tax avoiders. "These women are not trying to avoid tax or [be] scammers — it's simply not their tax obligations," she says. Ms Dal Pra says they are seeing more cases of women being made a director by their ex-partner without consent, and then becoming liable for the company's tax debts. "People's tax file numbers are being used fraudulently, and they are having earnings reported to the ATO that are not theirs," she says. "And I don't think there's a foundational knowledge of what financial abuse is and what it looks like. So when women are telling their stories to the ATO, they're not being listened to or believed." This is the ordeal Laura faced. In 2017, before Laura's business debt had ballooned because of general interest charges, there was one phone call that Laura's ex-partner made her do with the ATO. He wanted Laura to negotiate a payment arrangement with the ATO for the company's then-outstanding debt. "He was there, and he was prompting me on what to say," Laura recalls. This debt was growing by the day, accumulating general interest charges. It wasn't until February 2022 that Laura next contacted the ATO and revealed what had really happened. The ATO sent Laura a letter in September 2022, rejecting her request to have the tax debt waived, and arguing that in 2017, she should have explained what was going on. It says the 2017 phone conversation "shows that you were involved in the business operations. Therefore, you would have known about the company financial difficulties since then". It tells Laura, "a prudent director would have ensured that all reasonable steps to cause the company to either meet its obligation to pay, or have an administrator appointed, or begin to be wound up, be taken promptly". "A reasonable step could have been seeking advice from the ATO and ASIC and inform the relevant authorities that you were coerced into becoming the director of the company at an earlier point in time ie back in 2017," the letter stated. "In light of the above, the Commissioner is not satisfied that you are not liable for the Director Penalty liability under this defence." Laura says she did not come forward earlier because she was frightened and trapped under her ex's control. Laura breaks down several times while talking to the ABC, crying uncontrollably and struggling to speak. "I thought the verbal put-downs — 'You're fat, you're dumb, you're stupid. I'm going to [kill you] dig you up, pour concrete over you and no one will find you' — I thought that was normal. I didn't know any better. "He wouldn't let me see my family, and if I did, it was secret. It got worse when I had our child, he would keep tabs on me. He would call me 50 times a day … I was so scared." She says it was only in hindsight that she understood what was happening was financial abuse. "I wish that they [the ATO] would look at us as victims and see what we went through," she says. "The person that is liable — they should be going after them … I'll never be able to buy a house for my child. "I did everything they asked for and I still have to pay for such a large debt — that never came from my hands." She says while the ATO gave her contact numbers for lawyers following the 2022 conversation, she could not afford to pay lawyers and instead contacted free support services. She says the ATO has at no point informed her she could have stood down as director and relinquished the debt. In April 2023, Laura received a Director Penalty Notice — saying she had 21 days to repay the total debt, which at that stage had hit about half a million dollars — or she would be held personally liable. She says she then contacted a liquidator to start the process of winding up the business. Since then, the liquidator has sold off the business but Laura remains personally liable for about $200,000. Even when financial abuse survivors can afford lawyers, they must spend years fighting through the courts. "It consumed me going to court, consumed me," says Rose (also not her real name to protect her safety). "It affected my health. It affected the way I was a mother to my son." Rose left her husband after years of abuse. "During the marriage, there was alcohol abuse on his part, a lot of alcohol abuse, and with the alcohol came emotional and mental abuse," she recalled. "It was nine years into the marriage that I made the decision that I couldn't do it anymore. It was in 2020, and it was after a very bad drunken weekend from him." Rose says when she decided to leave him, he emptied their joint business bank account and then she had to spend years dealing with a tax debt he created. "For the first couple of months, he spent outrageously and then it was probably 2–3 months into separation that he just emptied them [the business accounts]," she said. "That money was supposed to be for [paying] our BAS [Business Activity Statements], superannuation, things like that, and he just completely drained them. "We're talking about $70,000, and then he was stopping future earnings going into the account." She said her ex-husband felt like he was losing control, and this was his way to control her. "I contacted my solicitor. There was one night, where $10,000 disappeared in one go and he [the solicitor] said OK, we need to take [legal] action." She said because she was a co-director of the business, the ATO came after her. Rose says in 2021, the ATO called her saying the business owed its staff superannuation that needed to be paid immediately. "These phone calls [from the ATO] went on for days and weeks, almost daily." "I said to them, you know, he [her ex] is also director. Are you contacting him? And they said to me that 'the men never pay, and the women do, so we always go after the women'. Rose says she paid staff superannuation out of her limited wages. But as time went on, more interest on the primary debt was charged and it ended up hitting about $200,000. She says during that time, she and her ex were in and out of court regularly and she was forced to get intervention orders — "there was bad behaviour from my ex … And in the end, the judge ordered that the business be sold." When the business was sold, the creditors, including the ATO, were paid. Rose says that when it comes to victims of financial abuse, the ATO must "be more compassionate" and "investigate further into situations like that rather than just chase" victims. "They were threatening me with jail, and I was just a tiny, tiny little person. I felt like I was maybe an easy target for them," she says. The ATO is currently undergoing consultation on a new ATO Vulnerability Framework, which it says seeks to "carefully differentiate those taxpayers who may be experiencing vulnerability" and look at ways the agency can offer them "tailored support". It says this framework "may include victims of financial abuse" but does not confirm that will be the case. Tax Ombudsman Ruth Owen recently undertook a review into financial abuse within the tax system. "Personally, I found it really shocking — the amount of coercive control and economic abuse within the Australian community," Ms Owen says. "It's really the responsibility of parliament to consider whether legislation needs to change in these instances. She says while legislative changes could give people an opportunity to clear the debt, the other problem that can be addressed more immediately is for the ATO to have more specialised staff who can recognise the warning signs of abuse. "The ATO has a responsibility to recognise there are people out there who have tax debts for which they are not responsible," the Tax Ombudsman says. She calls on the ATO to set up specialist teams to recognise these particular types of cases. "It's very, very difficult to identify cases of financial abuse victims, survivors of financial abuse quite often won't report," she says. Ms Kayis Kumar says in the United States, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has legal provisions that recognise victims of domestic violence are deserving of special protection. She says the US has had some form of "innocent spouse relief" in place since 1971, providing relief for spouses who are jointly liable for tax debts. And she says following legislative reform of the US provisions in 1998, the IRS has, in recent years, been recognising that survivors of economic abuse may deserve relief from tax debts. She says while this provision may not be directly translatable given differences between the Australian and the US filing systems, there is much to learn from the US system for the Australian context. While legal changes are being contemplated, Laura wants to see immediate action. She wants the ATO to employ staff who are specialised in domestic and family violence and take a more understanding approach. "It's not easy coming out. It's not easy telling someone that you were abused in many different ways," she says in tears. Laura says the ATO is now investigating her case and reviewing information from the liquidator that she was not involved with running the business when the debt was incurred. "I don't have the means, the funds, to pay that debt," she says. "I'm hoping they acknowledge what has happened and that the debt is removed from my name."
ABC News
26 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tax fossil fuel exports or risk losing revenue to other nations, says Zali Steggall
Climate change has been left on the sidelines of the government's upcoming productivity roundtable, Zali Steggall warns, as she pitches a proposal to ensure Australia collects on fossil fuel exports rather than foreign nations. The federal government is hosting the event in search of new solutions to overcome Australia's falling productivity, which risks limiting incomes and the overall quality of life for Australians. Ms Steggall said climate change was already hurting the economy and weighing on the federal budget, pointing to record-breaking floods in NSW and Queensland earlier this year and the ongoing algal bloom in South Australia, killing marine life in the thousands. "I have been discussing with a number of ministers the need for climate resilience to be at that roundtable, there is no productivity without resilience," Ms Steggall said. "Let's be really clear, as soon as climate risk hits, productivity is down to zero. You can't really talk about a strong future Australian economy without the resilience piece underpinning everything." Ms Steggall said a $10 billion climate resilience fund that could invest in infrastructure to mitigate the impact of climate disasters would help to limit local economies from grinding to a halt when disasters struck. Her pitch follows a visit to parliament by the United Nations' chief climate diplomat, Simon Stiell, who warned climate disasters were already costing Australian home owners $4 billion a year, but that Australia could reap "colossal" rewards by embracing clean energy. One of the key measures Ms Steggall proposes is for Australia to get the jump on collecting revenue from an emissions price on exported fossil fuel prices, instead of that being collected by a foreign nation. She said the revenue from that could help to pay for the proposed resilience fund without burdening taxpayers. Known as 'carbon border adjustment mechanisms', several nations, including the European Union and the United Kingdom, are moving to establish levies at the border on polluting imports, priced based on the emissions intensity of those products. But those levies only collect where emissions have not been priced in earlier in the supply chain. While Australia's 'safeguard mechanism' requires the biggest polluting industries to progressively cut their direct emissions over time, and penalises them for each gram of emissions over a set amount, it does not apply to emissions resulting from products exported for consumption overseas, exposing those goods to possible levies imposed by foreign nations. Ms Steggall said that rather than emissions price revenue being collected overseas, Australia should introduce its own fossil fuel export levy, set at the same effective emissions price as the safeguard mechanism, so that revenue was not lost. "The EU's is due to come into effect in 2026, other jurisdictions in 2027, so it's not like this is something that's not happening around the world … we don't have the luxury of time," Ms Steggall said. In exchange, the Sydney MP proposes Australia should also introduce its own levy at the border to level the playing field for domestic industries, so they are not having to unfairly compete with imported products that do not have to pay an emissions price. Australian National University economist Emma Aisbett, who helped to develop Ms Steggall's pitch, said the mechanisms could help to drive new clean industries. "The whole point is Australia has a huge opportunity to grow industries that we have struggled with traditionally, like steel, because we can make clean and green steel," Dr Aisbett said. "Australia, despite being the world's biggest iron ore exporter, actually imports all of its steel … it's really about enabling an environment for growing those clean industries." A government-commissioned review investigating the feasibility of a carbon border adjustment mechanism, particularly concerning steel and cement, is due to be handed to the government later this year. Dr Aisbett said, unlike market-distorting tariffs, a carbon border adjustment was designed to make it fair for those already paying a carbon price domestically, with those importing products into the country. Federal and state governments have committed billions of dollars collectively to incentivise home owners to take up more energy-efficient products, rooftop solar, and batteries — including federal Labor's election promise to establish a $3 billion subsidy to household batteries. But Ms Steggall said there were opportunities for the government to change rules that were causing roadblocks for renters, landlords, apartment owners, and strata companies who want to adopt renewable and energy-efficient technologies. As an example, she said exemptions for stratas in the government's battery subsidy scheme were limiting opportunities to make apartments more efficient. "We need to look at some of the regulatory roadblocks — it's not just about subsidies, it is sometimes that the regulations don't permit," Ms Steggall said. "It seems counterproductive. There is still a process of picking winners and losers." She said the National Construction Code should also be updated so that new builds were made energy efficient and resilient to climate change. Ms Steggall also suggested tax breaks, such as negative gearing, could be limited where rental properties did not meet minimum energy standards — using an already existing subsidy to drive an outcome desired by the government. Ms Steggall's proposals will be submitted alongside a raft of ideas from industry, unions, community groups, and other politicians to next month's roundtable. She hoped the government, with its massive majority in parliament, would consider the opportunity it has to do more than just tinker around the edges. But Ms Steggall also joined several other voices who have expressed skepticism over whether the government was entering the event with a pre-determined plan already in mind. "I hope this is not a situation where they have got a policy setting they want to go in and they're reverse-engineering a roundtable to suit their purposes," she said. "I certainly hope the treasurer and the prime minister look at this term of government with their big majority to genuinely be change makers."
Daily Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Ticketing programme launched for Rugby World Cup 2027
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News. It's time to get planning rugby fans. The 2027 Rugby World Cup is on its way Down Under and now fans can start booking everything in. The launch of the ticketing programme officially launched in Sydney on Tuesday with over 2.5 million tickets on offer to fans across the globe. It makes it the biggest and most accessible tournament in history with fans able to get their hands on tickets for just $40. Tickets are set to be released in phases starting with a presale in February 2026 for fans who register before the end of January 2026, with further tickets sold via an application phase in May 2026. For the real diehard fans who want to go a notch above, a superfan pass is up for grabs which gives the individual the ability to purchase up to four tickets per match and includes the World Cup opener and final. Chris Stanley, Managing Director of Rugby World Cup 2027 speaks during the launch. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images) 'In total, over 2.5 million tickets will be made available for this expanded edition, more than any previous Men's Rugby World Cup, reflecting the ambition to deliver a tournament that is truly for everyone,' a statement read. 'Making the tournament as accessible as possible for everyone has been a key focus, with ticket prices for adults starting from just $40 for pool matches, and $65 to watch the Wallabies in their home tournament. 'Families have also been a core priority, with children's tickets starting at $20 available for all matches except the semi-finals and the final. The aim is to encourage families to enjoy world- class rugby in an unforgettable setting, creating lifelong memories. Children under two can attend RWC matches for free.' Michael Hooper speaks on stage during the Rugby World Cup 2027 Australia Ticketing Program and Hospitality Launch. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images) The announcement comes on the heels of rugby booming in Australia off the back of the Wallabies taking on the British and Irish Lions tour. The Wallabies were denied an upset win in heartbreaking and controversial fashion after the visitors scored a last-gasp try to claim a thrilling 29-26 victory. Hugo Keenan went over for the Lions in the 79th minute to win it, only for Australia to desperately appeal the try, claiming Jac Morgan had made contact with the head of Carlo Tizzano at the breakdown in the lead-up. Referee Andrea Piardi, however, deemed there to be no foul play in the lead-up, much to the frustration of fans watching on. Despite the back-to-back defeats, interest in the Wallabies has risen and will only keep thriving as the World Cup draws closer. Head to and sign up before 31 January 2026 to access the presale tickets for the World Cup. Originally published as Ticketing programme launched for Rugby World Cup 2027
