⏱️This edition of the National Account’s newsletter is a five-minute read.

👋 G’day everyone, Archie here.

Here’s the rundown for today’s newsletter:

First: the disturbing story of the Chelmsford deep sleep therapy scandal.

Then: do you live in a town flooded with Airbnbs?

Finally: how did private companies end up owning our roads, and what’ll it cost us?

Let’s crack into it 🗞️

❝

I distinctly remember not signing for anything in the hospital, and I distinctly remember not giving any permission to give shock treatment…So when I found out that I actually got shock treatment, I actually thought, I felt that I actually been like raped

Barry Hart, a patient at Chelmsford Hospital in 1973

🗣️ Why did he say that?

This week I had a look at the Chelmsford deep sleep therapy scandal.

It was a saga that focussed on a Sydney hospital that had kept patients drugged into comas for weeks throughout the 1960s and 70s, often going on to use electroshock therapy, with multiple deaths occurring before alarm bells were raised.

For my full rundown check out today’s video:

Why rent to locals when Airbnb pays double?🤓

Landlords on the NSW Mid North Coast are making double on short-term rentals than long-term leases. And councils pleading with them to rent to locals are hitting a bizarre wall.

In Byron Bay, one in six properties is listed on Airbnb. In some coastal towns, landlords won't shift to long-term rentals even when asked directly, because the couch is in the way.

Victoria has a 7.5% tax and listings have dropped 0.5%.

Is that a proper solution to the problem?

Watch my rundown below:

🛣️ How did private companies end up owning our roads?

NSW sold WestConnex to Transurban for $20 billion. By 2060, drivers will have paid $64 billion in tolls on that road alone.

Australia's toll roads were supposed to be built, paid off and handed back to the public.

Instead, governments sell them to private companies on long-term contracts that are nearly impossible to undo.

Private companies now control toll roads across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and the bills keep growing.

Watch my rundown below:

Thanks for catching up with me. I hope you enjoyed this issue, and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Just reply to this email and I’ll be on the other side 👋

I’ll be back on Monday.

Cheers, Archie

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