BIG CHOCKY
About the publication

Where the
money went

Money to Burn is an investigative publication about Australian government spending. We read the budget papers so you don't have to, and we show you where your tax dollars actually went.


Why we exist

Public money is public business. Every year the Commonwealth spends billions of dollars, spread across thousands of programs, statements and portfolio budgets. Almost none of it is written for an ordinary person to read.

We take one figure at a time, explain what it paid for, and cite the document it came from. No opinion dressed up as fact. No numbers without a source.

How we work

Every claim in the book carries a footnote. We work from primary sources first: Budget Papers, Portfolio Budget Statements, Senate Estimates, Auditor-General reports, the ABS and departmental or ministerial statements.

It is general information drawn from public documents, not financial, legal or professional advice, and you are trusted to read the evidence and decide for yourself.

Our standards
Sourced

Every factual claim ends in a source code to an official document.

Plain

Short sentences. One idea at a time.

Independent

No party, no lobby, no advertiser. Funded by readers who buy the book.

If you paid for it, you should be able to read where it went.

Read the 2026 Edition

Eleven chapters, thirty-six pages. Every figure sourced. Digital PDF, delivered to your inbox.

Buy now · $4.99