O7540 Justice

IBAC changes too weak: ex-judge

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Original article by Royce Millar
The Age – Page: 1 : 13-Oct-14

Tim Smith QC has written to all political parties in Victoria for the Accountability Round Table lobbying body. He cites a review by ex-Supreme Court judge Stephen Charles QC of proposed legislative changes to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). These will be discussed in the State Parliament from 13 October 2014. Charles argues that even after the amendments the IBAC will be inferior to the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption

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VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION, NEW SOUTH WALES. INDEPENDENT COMMISSION AGAINST CORRUPTION, THE ACCOUNTABILITY ROUND TABLE LIMITED, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Serial litigant’s bid against judge fails

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Original article by Michaela Whitbourn
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 9 : 13-Oct-14

New South Wales (NSW) Attorney-General Brad Hazzard is seeking to have serial litigant Tosson Mahmoud banned from launching any further cases without the express consent of the courts, drawing on the Vexatious Proceedings Act. The matter will be heard on 9 March 2015, and in October 2014 Mahmoud has applied to have Supreme Court of NSW judge Monika Schmidt excuse herself. He argues she will be biased against him due to his well-known views on women in positions of authority. Schmidt has rebuffed the move

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SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL AND JUSTICE, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

AussieCommerce sued over part-sale

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Original article by Sarah Danckert, Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 21 : 13-Oct-14

Adam Glezer, ex-national sales manager of AussieCommerce, has launched legal action in the Supreme Court of Victoria against founders Adam Schwab and Jeremy Same. Glezer alleges he was pressured into selling them his 19.8% holding in Deals.com.au, subsequently acquired by AussieCommerce, for just $A282,000 in April 2013. This was despite the board members valuing the business at between $A10m and $A25m. AussieCommerce, the self-proclaimed market leader in online retailing in Australia, is preparing for an IPO

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AUSSIECOMMERCE.COM.AU, DEALS.COM.AU PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, BRANDSEXCLUSIVE (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CUDO PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN

Body cut up with angle grinder in bathroom

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Original article by Amanda Banks
The West Australian – Page: 5 : 10-Oct-14

The Supreme Court of Western Australia has been told that an alleged murderer used an angle grinder to dismember his victim before dumping the remains at sea. Aaron Carlino has been charged with the December 2012 murder of Stephen Cookson, with whom he shared an apartment in Perth. The jury was told that the accused shot Cookson twice in the head before cutting up and disposing of his corpse

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SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Life advice so bad it was illegal: ASIC

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Original article by Andrew Main, Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 21 : 10-Oct-14

Peter Kell, deputy at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, says a new survey of the life insurance industry shows that standards are disappointingly low. The advice given to some 37% of consumers on such policies was so deficient that it actually contravened the relevant laws. Kell points out that the new Future of Financial Advice legislation puts the onus on providers to act in the best interests of their clients, and that the sector must act to improve its compliance

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AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, ASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL ADVISERS LIMITED, FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

More sex crimes are blamed on sleep condition

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Original article by Harriet Alexander
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 2 : 8-Oct-14

Sleep expert Peter Buchanan has given expert evidence in three cases of sexsomnia in the last 18 months. There is concern that some people who are facing sex offence charges are falsely claiming to suffer from this medical condition. The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research’s Dr Dev Banerjee says doctors who act as expert witnesses in such cases must be familiar with the symptoms

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WOOLCOCK INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALASIAN SLEEP ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED

PwC enlisted to count cost of metadata laws

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 20 : 8-Oct-14

The Australian Government aims to soon pass new laws that will force telcos and ISPs to store metadata for 24 months, to boost national security. It has now emerged that a study has been commissioned from PricewaterhouseCoopers by the Attorney-General’s Department, of the projected cost burden for the sector that will be created by the implementation of the necessary IT solutions. Second-ranked telco Singtel Optus has put this at between $A30m and $A200m

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SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TWITTER AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, TWITTER INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED

Chief scientist may sue Jones over coal seam gas remarks

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Original article by Nicole Hasham
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 9 : 6-Oct-14

Sydney talk show radio host Alan Jones, a long-standing critic of the coal seam gas (CSG) sector, has accused New South Wales (NSW) Chief Scientist Mary O’Kane of bias toward the industry. She had issued a report on 30 September 2014 that found any risk posed by CSG drilling activity was manageable, and she is now considering a defamation law suit against Jones. He has also been attacked by Tom Fontaine, chair of the Magnum Gas & Power company that has had its joint project with Apex Energy rejected by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission

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MAGNUM GAS AND POWER LIMITED – ASX MPE, MACQUARIE RADIO NETWORK LIMITED – ASX MRN, APEX ENERGY NL, NEW SOUTH WALES. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST AND ENGINEER, NEW SOUTH WALES. PLANNING ASSESSMENT COMMISSION, 2GB, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, NATURE CONSERVATION COUNCIL OF NSW INCORPORATED, LIBERAL PARTY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

More bushfire class actions against AusNet

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Original article by Steve Lillebuen
The Age – Page: 3 : 3-Oct-14

Residents who lost property in separate bushfires in Gippsland and to the north of Melbourne in early 2014 have launched class action law suits. The respondent is listed electric utility AusNet Services, which previously reached out-of-court settlements worth close to $A400m related to the devastating 2009 bushfires in Victoria. In the two new cases, the claimants are seeking $A50m and $A5m respectively. The law firm acting on their behalf is Maddens

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AUSNET SERVICES LIMITED – ASX AST, MADDENS

Essendon opts to drop legal action, move on

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Original article by Jake Niall, Samantha Lane
The Age – Page: 47 : 2-Oct-14

Essendon Football Club has decided not to appeal the verdict of the Federal Court that supported the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency. The club has received legal advice that it would win an appeal. However, the Australian Football League does not want it to appeal and the players want the matter to be settled. Coach James Hird has decided to launch his own appeal

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ESSENDON FOOTBALL CLUB, AUSTRALIAN SPORTS ANTI-DOPING AGENCY, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE COMMISSION, WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY