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Lithium explorer may face class action

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Original article by Tom Richardson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 21-Dec-22

Law firm Johnson Winter Slattery is set to launch a class action against lithium explorer AVZ Minerals. The legal action will be financed by litigation funder Omni Bridgeway, and centres on AVZ’s disclosures regarding the Manono lithium project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It will be alleged that AVZ breached its continuous disclosure obligations and misled investors over its rights to the project. AVZ’s shares have been in a trading halt since early May.

CORPORATES
AVZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX AVZ, JOHNSON WINTER AND SLATTERY, OMNI BRIDGEWAY LIMITED – ASX OBL

Rupert Murdoch to testify in Dominion voting machine defamation case

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Original article by Richard Luscombe
The Guardian – Page: Online : 7-Dec-22

Media baron Rupert Murdoch has been issued with a subpoena to give evidence in a lawsuit over his Fox network’s reports on a conspiracy theory regarding the 2020 US presidential election. Dominion Voting Systems has launched a $US1.6bn lawsuit against Fox News and parent company Fox Corp for broadcasting allegations that the voting machines company had rigged the election. Murdoch is the most senior executive of Fox to have been served with a deposition; his son Lachlan Murdoch gave evidence in the case on Monday.

CORPORATES
FOX NEWS,{SPAC}FOX CORPORATION,{SPAC}DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS

US policy drives growth in rare earths sector

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-Dec-22

The US consul-general to Perth, Siriana Nair, says Australia is well positioned to benefit from incentives in the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, due to the free-trade agreement between the two nations. They include incentives to assist US companies to source critical minerals and rare earths; Nair says this could boost US interest in Australia’s critical minerals projects. She says the global supply chain disruptions that occurred during the pandemic highlighted the need to have suppliers from a range of countries. China is the dominant player in the critical minerals sector.

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October retail results remain solid despite economic headwinds

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Original article by
Australian Retailers Association – Page: Online : 29-Nov-22

Retail sales continue to show robust year-on-year growth, with $35 billion spent in stores and online in October; this is an increase of 12.5 per cent on the same time a year ago, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. However, retail turnover fell 0.2 per cent compared to the previous month, which is the sector’s first monthly fall in 2022. There were strong year-on-year sales increases for clothing, footwear and personal accessories (up 32.8%), cafes, restaurants and take-away food (up 35.3%), and department stores (up 23.0%). Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra says that while the results remain solid for retail, some softening of sales is inevitable as Australians confront the cost-of-living challenges. He says the ARA is optimistic about pre-Christmas trading, anticipating a $63.9 billion spend this year; this is up three percent on 2021 spending, according to the ARA-Roy Morgan predictions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

‘Publishing is not a crime’: media groups urge US to drop Julian Assange charges

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Original article by Jim Waterson
The Guardian – Page: Online : 29-Nov-22

The media organisations that first helped WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to publish leaked diplomatic cables in 2010 have called on the US to drop its prosecution of him. They contend that the prosecution of Assange is an attack on media freedom, and that "publishing is not a crime". Assange is currently being held in a UK prison, where he is awaiting the outcome of an appeal against a ruling in June by then UK home secretary Priti Patel that he be extradited to the US.

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WIKILEAKS

MEAA to review standards for Clarion media awards after Walkley Foundation rescinds its award

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: Online : 24-Nov-22

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance will undertake a review of the state-based Clarion awards. The review has been prompted by the fallout arising from the Walkley award that was given to a news story on former federal MP Andrew Laming which was subsequently found to have been defamatory. Nine Entertainment journalists Peter Fegan and Rebeka Powell also won a Clarion award for their articles on Laming, who intends to make a submission to the MEAA’s review. The Walkley Foundation recently decided to rescind the Walkley award of Fegan and Powell.

CORPORATES
MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE, WALKLEY FOUNDATION FOR JOURNALISM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Good news in store for retail this Christmas – new research

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Original article by
Australian Retailers Association – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

The Christmas Gift Buying Survey has been undertaken by the Australian Retailers Association in collaboration with Roy Morgan. The survey shows that 59% of Australians intend to spend the same or more (12%) on Christmas gifts compared with 2021, despite growing inflationary pressures. It also found that the average gift purchase is $700, down slightly ($26) on last year. Alcohol and food top the list of intended gift purchases for this year, followed by gifts cards and toys. The ARA and Roy Morgan forecast that Australians will spend nearly $64 billion in the lead up to Christmas, up 3% on last year. They also forecast that sales over the four-day Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend (25 – 28 Nov) will reach a record $6.2 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Activist investor aims to scuttle Murdoch’s $39b megamerger

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Original article by Elizabeth Knight
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

Irenic Capital owns two per cent of News Corporation’s Class B shares. The activist investor opposes Rupert Murdoch’s proposal to merge News Corp and Fox Corp, warning that reunifying the two companies would be expensive and distracting. He has written to the committee of News Corp directors that is assessing the merger proposal, urging them to recommend not proceeding with the deal. Irenic instead is of the view that News Corp should spin off its real estate assets, which include a 61 per cent stake in realestate.com.au owner REA Group.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FOX CORPORATION, IRENIC CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LP, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU

Australian TV news presenters still mostly white, report shows, sparking row over balance

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Original article by Mostafa Rachwani
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 23-Nov-22

A new report highlights the lack of diversity among Australian television news and current affairs presenters. The report from Media Diversity Australia shows that 78 per cent of TV journalists have an Anglo-Celtic background, up from 75.8 per cent in 2020; meanwhile, people from a non-European background account for just 6.1 per cent of appearances on news and current affairs programs, despite comprising 24.7 per cent of the nation’s population. The report is based on a sample of free-to-air news and current affairs programs over a two-week period in June. The ABC’s Gavin Fang says the sample size was not large enough, while restricting it to one media format is also a shortcoming.

CORPORATES
MEDIA DIVERSITY AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Review into ABC and SBS financial stability

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: Online : 16-Nov-22

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has advised that her department has commenced a review of the ABC and SBS that will examine measures to support the stability and independence of the public broadcasters. Rowland disclosed details of review while attending a function organised by ABC Friends, which is not affiliated with the ABC. She emphasised that the review will not consider issues such as funding of the ABC and SBS or proposals to merge them. The review will include public consultation in 2023.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS)