LAW – AUSTRALIA – CASES

ASIC expands rate-rigging case at CBA

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 27-Feb-18

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is now alleging that Commonwealth Bank traders tried to manipulate the interbank lending rate on six occasions. It had previously only contended that such manipulation had occurred on three dates. National Australia Bank and the ANZ Bank have already paid fines to settle their cases with ASIC, while Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach is expected to soon hand down his decision in regard to ASIC’s case against Westpac.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Actress at heart of case against Rush revealed

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Original article by Rosemary Neill
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Feb-18

The defence document of Sydney tabloid "The Daily Telegraph" shows that actress Eryn Jean Norvill has accused Hollywood star Geoffrey Rush of touching her inappropriately during the Sydney Theatre Company’s performance of "King Lear" in early 2016. Rush has denied the allegations, and he launched defamation proceedings against the newspaper in late 2017. Federal Court lifted a suppression order on the defence document on 19 February, although it has reserved a decision on an application to strike out some elements of the document.

CORPORATES
SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Cash fails in bid to have AWU raid subpoenas thrown out

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 21-Dec-17

The Federal Court has ruled that Employment Minister Michaelia Cash must provide the Australian Workers’ Union with access to documents relating to a police raid on its offices in October. The AWU had sought access to communications between Cash’s office and the Registered Organisations Commission, which had authorised the raids as part of its investigation into an AWU donation to activist group GetUp.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN

No mischief at Westpac, Rat told RBA

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 20-Dec-17

Transcripts from the court case concerning the activities of Westpac traders in regard to alleged manipulation of the bank bill swap rate were released by Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach on 19 December. Closing submissions were presented on 14 December, and a judgment is not expected until 2018. The transcripts were taken from phone calls, including one made by Westpac trader Colin Roden to Reserve Bank of Australia official Matt Boge, in which Roden seeks to assure that himself and fellow traders are not up to any "mischief".

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED

Westpac legal team casts doubt on ASIC evidence

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 15-Dec-17

Closing arguments in the Australian Securities & Investment Commission’s bank bill swap rate rigging case against Westpac continue to be heard in the Federal Court. Matthew Darke SC, appearing for Westpac, told the court that it was wrong for ASIC to claim that the evidence it had presented was "gilt edged". He added that many of the comments of Westpac traders that were recorded on tapes and transcripts are open to interpretation. A decision on the case could potentially by delayed until April 2018.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

CBA’s terror breaches after lawsuit

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Original article by Nicola Berkovic, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 15-Dec-17

Austrac filed an amended statement of claim against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia on 14 December, alleging that there have been further breaches of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing laws since it first launched legal action against the bank. The new allegations include claims that CBA allowed money to be withdrawn from a bank account even though there were suspicions that the account-holder had links to terrorism. CBA has admitted to more than 53,000 of the breaches of money-laundering laws that Austrac had alleged in its original statement of claim.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Unions to urge ALP to ease anti-strike rules

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Dec-17

ACTU secretary Sally McManus has warned that a landmark High Court ruling will make it more difficult for unions to take protected industrial action. The court ruled that lawful industrial action during enterprise bargaining negotiations is not permissible if previous orders of the Fair Work Commission had been breached during the bargaining process. McManus says Australia’s rules on the right to strike are "complex and onerous", and she argues that reforms are needed to make them consistent with the International Labour Organisation’s standards. The ACTU will lobby the Australian Labor Party to pursue changes to the right-to-strike regime.

CORPORATES
ACTU, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL PTY LTD, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA, VICTORIAN TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

High Court removes strike protections in landmark ruling

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Dec-17

A landmark ruling of the High Court of Australia has major implications for unions regarding negotiations over enterprise bargaining agreements. The court ruled that unions are not permitted to take protected industrial action while EBA negotiations are underway if the union had previously breached an order of the Fair Work Commission regarding that bargaining. The Australian Workers’ Union had argued that unions are only required to comply with current rather than past orders of the FWC. The ruling could potentially result in the AWU being required to pay significant damages to Esso over strike action at the Longford gas plant in Victoria in 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ESSO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED)

Federal Court targets sham EBAs

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 14-Nov-17

One Key Resources’ enterprise bargaining agreement has been deemed to be invalid in a landmark ruling of the Federal Court. The labour hire firm supplies workers for black coal mining companies such as BHP Billiton and Glencore. Just three employees voted on its proposed EBA, which included pay rates that were only $A1 per week higher than the minimum rate in the industry award and which was subsequently approved by the Fair Work Commission in 2015. One Key Resources then ramped up its workforce and boasted more than 1,100 casual employees by early 2017.

CORPORATES
ONE KEY RESOURCES PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIAN RUGBY FOOTBALL LEAGUE, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

NAB traders didn’t read swap rate rules

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 14-Nov-17

Former National Australia Bank trader Brock Johnson has admitted that he was not aware of the rules governing the bank bill swap rate (BBSW). NAB, like the ANZ Bank, has settled with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission over allegations that they tried to rig the BBSW, but ASIC is still pursuing its case against Westpac over the matter. Johnson has told the Federal Court that he had not read the Australian Financial Markets Association’s rules concerning the BBSW.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL MARKETS ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED