DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION – AUSTRALIA

Rio bows to pressure on green steel spending

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 20-Mar-24

Iron ore accounted for nearly 70 per cent of Rio Tinto’s total scope 3 emissions of 578 million tonnes in 2023. The resources group has advised that it will provide increased disclosure of its expenditure on initiatives aimed at reducing scope 3 emissions, including ‘green’ steel projects. Rio Tinto has been under growing pressure from groups such as Fidelity International and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors to improve its disclosures. Daniela Jaramillo from Fidelity says this has been a priority in talks with Rio in recent years.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED

Economists warn of unintended fallout from RBA overhaul

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 17-Jan-24

Economists polled by The Australian Financial Review have expressed some reservations with regard to how the Reserve Bank will communicate monetary policy decisions under its new structure. The RBA’s mew Monetary Policy Board will be responsible for setting interest rates; it will publish details of how the board voted on rate decisions, but not the voting records of each board member. Economists contend amongst other things that not diclosing these votes could potentially give rise to speculation of dissension amongst board members when this does not exist.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Climate body targets cattle barons

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 19-Dec-23

The Climate Change Authority has compiled a list of agricultural entities it contends have large cattle herds that are generating enough carbon emissions to qualify for the federal government’s safeguard mechanism. The list includes companies run by cattle barons such as Gina Rinehart and the Holmes a Court family; the CCA says they should be compelled to disclose the level of greenhouse gas emissions from their herds. Although the CCA is not calling for agricultural emissions to be subject to the safeguard mechanism "at this stage", it has called for greater scrutiny of farmers in this respect, with farmers accounting for 12 per cent of national emissions.

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AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY

Emails to stay secret after Stokes covers Nine’s costs

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Dec-23

Seven and Kerry Stokes’ private company Australian Capital Equity funded Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation action against Nine Entertainment via loan agreements with Roberts-Smith, with Roberts-Smith currently appealing the decision. Nine has been pursuing Seven and ACE for costs in relation to the failed action, and Stokes has now agreed to cover Nine’s costs. As a result, he has avoided the release of thousands of emails between him, his "corporate fixer" Bruce McWilliam, and Roberts-Smith’s legal team

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL EQUITY PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC

Carbon rules could drag in commuters

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 23-Oct-23

Australia’s new accounting standards for carbon emissions will initially apply to large companies, before they are progressively rolled out to smaller businesses over three years. Jo Gorton from Deloitte notes that unlike some countries, the new Australian standards will not be restricted to listed companies. In addition, 15 categories of Scope 3 emissions will be covered by the new reporting regime; amongst other things, they include the emissions generated via business travel, employees commuting to work and ‘fly-in, fly-out’ workforces.

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DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

PwC outs four who saw tax leak emails

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Original article by Edmund Tadros, Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 6-Jun-23

PwC Australia has informed its partners that it has named four former partners who were named in emails in relation to its tax leaks scandal. It has also provided the Senate inquiry into consulting with the names of partners who were placed on leave in the week ending 2 June and the name of one client who PwC provided with confidential information. In addition, it has also supplied the committee with the names of an additional 63 current or former partners and staff who received at least one email containing confidential information regarding the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law. A spokesman for Paul McNab, one of the four former partners named by PwC, says he denies any wrongdoing.

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

Morrison government paid corrupt businessman millions for offshore processing on Nauru

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Original article by Ben Doherty, Rafqa Touma
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 25-May-23

The former Coalition government is under scrutiny over its awarding of contracts to provide offshore processing facilities for asylum-seekers on Nauru. The Senate estimates committee has queried why the Coalition had failed to disclose that it had renewed a contract with Mozammil Gulamabbas Bhojani’s Radiance International group after the businessman had been convicted of bribing two Nauru government officials. Radiance’s contract was worth $17.5m, and continued to be paid until May 2022, nearly two years after Bhojani was given a suspended jail sentence. Its initial contract in 2016 was worth $2.5m, and had been disclosed on the AusTender website.

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RADIANCE INTERNATIONAL

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

Australian Medical Association calls for overhaul of national cabinet secrecy rules

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian – Page: Online : 17-Jun-22

National cabinet will meet for the first time since Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister on 17 June. Albanese was critical of its secrecy prior to Labor’s election, while he also said that local government should be added to it. Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid says Australians have a right to know what is being discussed by national cabinet, and that he disagreed with the practice of the previous Coalition government of exempting national cabinet documents from freedom of information laws.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

10 years on, ASIC drops Rio pursuit

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 15 : 1-Mar-22

Rio Tinto has agreed to settle the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s legal action over the $US29bn writedown of its Mozambique coal assets in early 2013. The $750,000 civil penalty for breaching Rio Tinto’s continuous disclosure obligations in the lead-up to the writedown must be approved by the Federal Court. ASIC has dropped most of the original charges against Rio Tinto, as well as former CEO Tom Albanese and ex-CFO Guy Elliott. Rio Tinto had acquired Mozambique-focused Riversdale Mining for $US3.7bn in 2011.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED