Published: 10 Mar 2010
A must see for all waterside workers - ABC Foreign Correspondent last night aired an expose on Dubai and the state owned company Dubai World which owns around half of Australia's stevedoring terminals.
We all know that Dubai got into a bit of debt during the Global Financial Crisis, and has recently been bailed out by fellow Arab Emirate Abu Dhabi. But the extent of the debt, debouchery and fraud, not to mention the questionable justice system that goes with it is a real eye opener.
Foreign Correspondent's Eric Campbell traveled to Dubai to survey the fall-out, check the financial pulse and to see if there is much chance of a bright future for the City Of Dreams.
"Cashed-up Europeans bought luxurious villas, global celebrities bought sandy islands shaped like countries and international businesses and an army of expatriate executives set up shop. This was a place where 5 stars were frankly slumming it, so they bolted another and another to marble edifices everywhere.
"Then just as everyone was getting comfy in their Gucci loafers, Hermes scarves and crispy-cool air-conditioning - the unthinkable! One of the Emirate city's biggest operations Dubai World was billions of dollars down the hole. Confidence was rocked and fears grew that Dubai would sink into its setting as if the desert were quicksand."
