ETC – AUSTRALIA

AMMA hits out at biased, ‘union affiliated’ Fair Work

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Sep-14

The Australian Mines & Metals Association has raised concerns about the processes used to appoint members of the Fair Work Commission. It claims that 19 of the 27 commissioners that were appointed by the previous Federal Government have links to the Australian Labor Party or unions. This has been rejected by the Opposition’s shadow minister for workplace relations, Brendon O’Connor

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LAW COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Brambles invests $556m in UK firm

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 26 : 10-Sep-14

Australian-listed logistics group Brambles has increased its presence in the UK with the acquisition of Ferguson Group for Stg320m ($A556m). Ferguson specialises in the supply of shipping containers to the offshore oil and gas sector, and boasted revenue of Stg56m and EBITDA of Stg30m in 2013. The acquisition will be funded entirely via debt

CORPORATES
BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, FERGUSON GROUP LIMITED

ATO sights on partners with guide to income-splitting rights and wrongs

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Original article by Katherine Towers
The Australian – Page: 31 : 5-Sep-14

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued a new guidance note on the practice of splitting income from a discretionary trust. The structure is becoming increasingly popular among professionals such as law firm partners, after the deregulation of the legal services market. While conceding that the method is "legally permissible", the ATO says it will monitor whether risk reviews and audits may be required

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS

Ruling may incite more class actions

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis,Hannah Low
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 21-Aug-14

Canada-based ­International Litigation Funding ­Partners (ILFP) is bankrolling a stockholder class action suit against Allco Finance Group. The Federal Court of Australia will on 21 August 2014 rule on whether ILFP can claim between 22.5% and 35% of any payout under the "common fund" method that covers all plaintiffs, even those who have not specifically agreed to be part of the funding arrangement. The decision will have an impact on other current class actions, involving major banks and telcos

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION FUNDING PARTNERS INCORPORATED,ALLCO FINANCE GROUP LIMITED,FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA,BENTHAM IMF LIMITED – ASX IMF,KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD,CLAIMS FUNDING AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,CLAIMS FUNDING EUROPE,NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB,SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA,MODTECH ENGINEERING PTY LTD,GPT MANAGEMENT LIMITED,UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES,KING AND WOOD MALLESONS,AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ,CITIBANK PTY LTD,WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC,AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS CONSUMER ACTION NETWORK LIMITED,TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS,SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD,SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT,VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD,HARBOUR LITIGATION FUNDING LIMITED

Newcrest ‘slow to lower its forecasts’

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 23-Jul-14

The Federal Court of Australia is hearing a class action suit against Newcrest Mining, brought by law firm Slater & Gordon on behalf of investors who bought shares in the gold producer between 13 August 2012 and 6 June 2013. It is being claimed that the company was aware close to 12 months before it disclosed this officially to the stock market that its output estimates were flawed. Newcrest has now noted that the case’s scope is wider than its selective briefing of analysts, which recently prompted a settlement worth $A1.2bn with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM|SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH|AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION|FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA|LIHIR GOLD LIMITED

Turnbull urged to take his $1m out of ‘vulture fund’

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Original article by Heath Aston
The Age – Page: 4 : 4-Jul-14

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey are leading a push to crack down on tax minimisation by multinational corporations via profit shifting. However the stance in the lead-up to the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in Brisbane in November 2014 appears to have been undermined by revelations that Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has an investment worth about $A1m in the Bowery Opportunity Fund. The entity, a "vulture fund" acquiring distressed businesses, is registered in the Cayman Islands tax haven. Turnbull’s stake is not in breach of any laws, but at odds with the G20 agenda, critics say

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), CVC GLOBAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY FUND LIMITED, BOWERY OPPORTUNITY FUND LP, BOWERY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC, UNITING CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA, TAX JUSTICE NETWORK, GLENCORE XSTRATA PLC

Treasury Wine class action launched

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 21 : 3-Jul-14

Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) will defend a class action that claims it misled the market. Law firm Maurice Blackburn lodged the case in the Federal Court of Australia on 2 July 2014. The suit alleges that TWE failed to manage its inventory and should have known that writedowns were inevitable, but it did not inform the market. The claim is on behalf of 619 shareholders, who suffered losses after the $A190 million writedown

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, BENTHAM IMF LIMITED – ASX IMF, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA