Industries

The Mining and Energy Union is pursuing pay increases of up to $40,000 per year for labour hire workers at three BHP coal mines under new legislation, saying the energy giant’s use of labour hire to cut pay was “out of step” with community standards and the law.

The judge overseeing AUSTRAC’s case against Star Entertainment has questioned the parties’ agreement to refer questions of fact and law to a former judge for determination, rather than an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing expert. 

The owner of a major coal power station in Western Australia has lost its bid for an inquiry into alleged misconduct by the receivers of collapsed Griffin Coal after they tried to avoid obligations under coal supply agreements, with a judge saying the allegations were “relatively trivial”. 

The lead applicant in a class action against former Commonwealth Bank of Australia subsidiary Count Financial has settled individual claims in the case, which alleges the financial advisory firm charged fees for no service.

The former headmaster of exclusive Sydney school Cranbrook has settled a dispute with his former employer after it admitted a public statement concerning his management of misconduct allegations against a teacher “may have caused confusion”, but will press on with a complaint against the ABC over the Four Corners episode that sparked the controversy. 

Global insurance law firm Clyde & Co has shown six of its partners in Australia the door and will create a new salaried partner position to cope with high competition in insurance law, with the partnership having decreased by a third in the last 18 months.

A judge has ordered SkyCity to pay a $67 million penalty in AUSTRAC’s case alleging it allowed $4 billion in suspicious transactions, finding it was an “appropriate” sum, even when compared with the $450 million fine handed to Crown last July.

A law firm that has gone after major banks and the federal government over their climate exposure has trained its sight on the National Australia Bank.

A three-year court battle over PepsiCo’s Monster Munch trade mark has been resolved, with Monster Energy negotiating the removal of some beverage products that would have been covered by the mark.C

The Iconic has defeated a challenge to the online fashion retailer’s application to trade mark ‘Considered’ for sustainable or ethically sourced products, with IP Australia rejecting Net-a-Porter’s argument that the label has not been used in the sense required under the Trade Marks Act.