BUSINESSMEN – AUSTRALIA

Forrest election plea: Force Meta to set up local operation

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 24 : 8-Apr-25

Mining magnate Andrew Forrest contends that Australian sovereignty should be the key factor when considering how to regulate foreign technology platforms such as Meta. He says the winner of the federal election on 3 May should take immediate action to require digital platforms to operate in Australia via a local legal entity and be subject to the nation’s laws and regulations. Forrest has been engaged in a long-running battle with Meta to remove scam ads that use his likeness from its platforms. He has opted for legal action in California because Meta has sought to use a 30-year-old US law that grants online companies immunity regarding content that is posted on their platforms.

CORPORATES
META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED

PM, the dodgy foreign student college, the degustation dinner – and Dan Andrews

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Original article by Damon Johnston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 30-Jan-25

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under scrutiny following revelations that he attended a private dinner with members of the Indian-Australian business community at a Toorak mansion in November. They included the Barkly International College’s founder Rupinder Brar, who is seeking to overturn the Australian Skills Quality Authority’s decision to deregister the Melbourne-based private vocational education provider. Barkly is primarily focused on Indian students, and some of the guests at the dinner have indicated that visas are among the issues that were discussed. The guest listed included former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BARKLY INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

Musk joins Dick Smith in stoush over ABC fact-check

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Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 26-Mar-24

Dick Smith has threatened to sue the ABC for defamation if a report issued by the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit is not corrected. The report was issued in response to an interview between Smith and 2GB host Ben Fordham, in which he stated that "no country has ever been able to run entirely on renewables – that’s impossible". Smith claims that the report basically made him out to be a liar, and that "fact checkers are traitors to Australia". Billionaire Elon Musk has weighed in on the issue, claiming in a tweet on his X social media platform that "having government ‘fact-checkers’ is a giant leap in the direction of tyranny"

CORPORATES
RMIT UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Crikey: small independent news website challenges Lachlan Murdoch to sue it for defamation

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Original article by Ben Doherty
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 24-Aug-22

Private Media has taken out a full-page advertisement in The New York Times in which it challenges Lachlan Murdoch to sue for defamation. Private Media is the publisher of the Crikey news website, which has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Murdoch over an article written by political editor Bernard Keane that linked the Murdoch family to the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol building. The article referred to the name "Murdoch" several times in both the title and text, but Crikey has contended that Lachlan Murdoch is not specifically named at any time, and that any defamation action "is bound to fail". Murdoch’s lawyers in turn have argued that the article and associated social media posts contain "scandalous allegations of criminal conduct and conspiracy" and "highly defamatory and false imputations" about him.

CORPORATES
PRIVATE MEDIA PARTNERS PTY LTD, CRIKEY.COM.AU

Packer’s Crown influence extinct

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 3-Feb-22

The Western Australian government’s royal commission into Crown Resorts’ casino in Perth has commenced hearing the closing submissions. James Packer’s legal representative Noel Hutley SC told the inquiry that imposing a shareholding cap on Crown would affect the company’s ability to raise capital. Concerns have also been expressed that such a cap could potentially prompt private equity firm Blackstone to withdraw its $8.9bn takeover bid from Crown. Hutley has also told the inquiry that Packer no longer has any influence over Crown or its casinos. Packer’s family company Consolidated Press Holdings has a 37 per cent stake in Crown.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, CONSOLIDATED PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED

Andrew Forrest sues Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook over scam ads

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Original article by Danielle Le Messurier
The West Australian – Page: Online : 3-Feb-22

Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest has filed criminal charges against social media giant Facebook in the Magistrates Court of Western Australia. Forrest alleges that Facebook has been "criminally reckless" in failing to take sufficient action to block fake advertisements that use his name and image to promote cryptocurrency scams on its platforms. Forrest has also accused Facebook of breaching Australia’s money-laundering laws. Forrest previously filed a US civil case against Facebook in September 2021.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FACEBOOK, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, MAGISTRATES COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Lew seizes 20pc of Myer as endgame nears

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 : 2-Feb-22

Premier Investments has advised that it recently paid more than $15m for more than 33 million additional shares in department store group Myer Holdings. Premier now has a 19.88 per stake in Myer, which is just below the takeover threshold. Premier has spent some $132m to progressively lift its stake in Myer over the last five years. The latest share purchase may give Premier’s chairman Solomon Lew sufficient leverage to secure his long-sought representation on Myer’s board.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV

Clive Palmer: Federal Govt should put 10 per cent tariff on Australia’s iron ore exports

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Original article by Peter Gleeson
Sky News Australia – Page: Online : 4-Oct-21

United Australia Party chairman Clive Palmer has called on the federal government to impose a 10 per cent tariff on iron ore exports to China. Palmer said the money raised from the tariff would be used to help Australian industries that have been impacted by Chinese tariffs, such as the wine sector. He says he has made an additional one billion tonnes of iron ore available in the Pilbara, with Citic, his Chinese lessee, to be taking up that option.

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UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, CITIC LIMITED

Blow to Packer as NSW commits to casino shake-up

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Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Aug-21

The New South Wales government has advised that it will implement all 19 recommendations made by the Bergin inquiry into Crown Resorts. Amongst other things, former judge Patricia Bergin recommended the creation of an independent casino regulator and a ban on individuals or businesses owning more than 10 per cent of a casino operator without regulatory approval. This is likely to require James Packer to reduce his 37 per cent stake in Crown, while it may also make it harder for him to sell his stake to potential buyers of the group.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

No peace deal: Lew rejects Myer offer of board seat

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Jul-21

Premier Investments’ chairman Solomon Lew has called for Myer Holdings’ three remaining independent directors to step down. He contends that $760m of shareholder value had been lost since his listed retail investment vehicle become Myer’s biggest shareholder in 2017. Lew adds that Premier has "nothing to gain" by engaging with Myer’s current board, after the department store group’s acting chair JoAnne Stephenson offered to provide his company with "appropriate" board representation. Lew has been advocating board renewal at Myer for several years.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV