Category Archives: Law (Australia)

Uber to pay $272m compensation in settlement with Australian taxi drivers

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Rideshare company agrees to settle long-running class-action lawsuit, finally giving cab and hire-car drivers the compensation they deserve, lawyers say

Uber will cough up almost $272m to compensate taxi and hirecar drivers who lost out when the rideshare company “aggressively” moved into the Australian market.

A class action against Uber was expected to go to trial in the supreme court of Victoria on Monday but judge Lisa Nichols vacated it after the rideshare giant agreed to the $271.8m settlement.

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NSW premier backs top prosecutor who says criticism of sexual assault cases is ‘preposterous’

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Sally Dowling announced audit of all sexual assault cases after judicial concern over ‘secret policies’

The New South Wales premier has backed the state’s top prosecutor after she said it was “preposterous” to suggest sexual assault cases were being run that were doomed to fail.

The director of public prosecutions (DPP), Sally Dowling SC, on Wednesday revealed all sexual assault matters currently committed for trial would be audited by senior prosecutors.

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Greens-Coalition alliance may force Chalmers to keep power to overrule RBA on rates

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Chalmers had announced plans to scrap the veto power but former treasurers and RBA governors say it is a vital ‘safety valve’

An alliance between the Greens and Liberal parties in the Senate could force Jim Chalmers to keep a government power that allows treasurers to overrule Reserve Bank decisions on interest rates.

Chalmers announced plans to scrap the veto power in the government response to recommendations from a panel which reviewed the Reserve Bank operations and made suggestions for improvement.

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New Australian environment laws would not stop widespread deforestation, organisations say

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Three groups familiar with draft conservation laws say they do not go far enough and may allow political influence on development decisions

New national environment laws being developed by the Albanese government fail to address systemic flaws in the existing system and would continue to allow widespread deforestation, according to three organisations familiar with the plans.

Officials representing the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, have been sharing sections of draft conservation laws to be introduced this year in consultation meetings with conservation, business and other groups.

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Ban on doctors raising voluntary assisted dying with ill patients to remain as Victoria reviews law

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Advocates lament missed opportunity for reform, saying some safeguards have become barriers

Allowing doctors to start conversations with terminally ill patients about voluntary assisted dying will not be considered under a review of Victoria’s euthanasia laws – sparking criticism from advocates who say it is a missed opportunity for reform.

A five-year review of the dying laws is open for public submissions and will consider issues including access to the scheme and safeguards. Advocates say Victoria – which in 2017 became the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise VAD – is now lagging behind other jurisdictions.

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Snowtown ‘bodies-in-the-barrels’ accomplice Mark Ray Haydon due for release in May

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SA government seeks legal advice on whether new laws criminalising concealing or interfering with human remains could keep inmate in jail

A man imprisoned for his involvement the Snowtown murders, one of Australia’s most notorious crimes, could be free within months.

Mark Ray Haydon was convicted for his role in the so-called “bodies in the barrels” murders in Snowtown, South Australia, in the 1990s. Eight of the 11 people killed were found in barrels in a disused bank vault in the town, which is 150km north of Adelaide. A 12th death was linked to the killers.

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Andrew O’Keefe avoids jail time for assault and drug possession convictions

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Judge tells court assault was ‘violent and degrading’ as former TV host ordered to serve 18 months on community corrections order

The former TV host Andrew O’Keefe has avoided jail despite being found guilty of “violent and degrading” domestic attacks.

The broadcaster was hit with three sets of charges over multiple incidents in 2021, including assault causing actual bodily harm, breaching a domestic violence order and possession of the synthetic stimulant drug mephedrone. O’Keefe denied the charges.

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In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org

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Kurtley Beale trial: jury to be shown CCTV footage of Wallabies star allegedly groping woman

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Rugby union player pleads not guilty and denies groping and sexually assaulting the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, at Bondi Beach venue in 2022

Footage showing the Wallabies star Kurtley Beale allegedly groping a woman at a pub before sexually assaulting her in a bathroom will be played to a jury as he fights the accusations.

More than an hour of recorded CCTV from the Beach Road Hotel near Bondi beach is expected to be played to the New South Wales district court jury hearing the case on Tuesday.

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Australia sanctions Russian citizen Aleksandr Ermakov over 2022 Medibank cyber-attack

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Government uses cyber sanctions powers under Magnitsky laws for first time to target Aleksandr Gennadievich Ermakov, alleged to be responsible for hack

Australia has used its new cyber sanctions powers for the first time against a Russian citizen, Aleksandr Ermakov, in connection with the Medibank Private data breach.

Magnitsky-style sanctions laws that were introduced in Australia in late 2021 include a world-leading measure to allow the imposition of Australian travel bans and asset freezes on those allegedly involved in “significant” cyber-attacks.

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Victorian opposition drops support for treaty, citing ‘issues around cultural heritage’

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The Coalition backed a bill in 2022 to start the treaty process but spokesman Peter Walsh says ‘things have changed’

The Victorian opposition has dropped its support for a treaty with the state’s Indigenous people, citing concerns about cultural heritage laws.

The move was described by the state’s First People’s Assembly as “disappointing but not surprising”.

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Labor’s sexual harassment changes could clog courts with ‘unmeritorious’ claims, Law Council warns

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Costs protection bill would tilt balance in favour of accusers and move financial risk to accused, legal body says

The Law Council of Australia has warned that proposed changes removing cost barriers for applicants in sexual harassment and discrimination cases could result in “arbitrary and unintended consequences” such as clogging the courts with “unmeritorious” claims.

Before a parliamentary inquiry hearing into the bill next Wednesday, the peak legal body said in its submission it was concerned Labor’s bill too heavily tilted the balance towards those accusing sexual harassment and placed the burden of financial risk on those being accused.

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Linda Reynolds seeks advice on bid to freeze Brittany Higgins’ assets in France

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The former minister aims to apply order in France where her former staffer, whom she is suing for defamation, now lives

Linda Reynolds says she is awaiting advice on whether a bid to freeze Brittany Higgins’ assets could apply in France where the former Liberal staffer she is suing now lives.

The Western Australian senator is suing Higgins, and her partner David Sharaz, in the state’s supreme court over social media posts that contained a list of complaints against the former defence minister.

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Traditional owners call for special rights to prevent government repossessing land as Victoria prepares for treaty talks

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Indigenous traditional owner groups and advocates submit major land reform proposals to state’s truth-telling commission

Victorian traditional owner groups are calling for special land rights to prevent land they own from ever being repossessed by the government, as the state prepares for nation-first treaty talks to begin this year.

Indigenous traditional owner groups and Aboriginal advocacy organisations have submitted major land reform proposals to the state’s Indigenous truth-telling commission which is this year investigating housing and land inequality facing First Nations Victorians. The inquiry’s recommendations could inform treaty negotiations which are scheduled to begin later this year.

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Freed immigration detainee sues Australian government for damages for alleged false imprisonment

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Stateless Kurdish man’s compensation case is the first sparked by high court ruling that indefinite detention is unlawful

A stateless Kurdish man released from immigration detention is seeking “aggravated” and “compensatory” damages for alleged false imprisonment – the first such case sparked by the high court’s ruling that indefinite detention is unlawful.

The intellectually impaired man, known as DVU18, has sued the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, through a litigation guardian, in a case that could pave the way for the 149 people released to sue for hundreds of thousands of dollars of compensation each.

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Howard government worked with Canada to oppose UN declaration on Indigenous rights

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Cabinet papers from 2003 show the government pursued talks without consulting peak Indigenous body – which it then abolished

The Howard government fought strongly against recognising the right of Indigenous peoples to “self-determination” and worked secretly with Canada to try to change a draft UN declaration, newly released cabinet papers show.

The cabinet papers from 2003, released by the National Archives on Monday, show that some Australian government departments held concerns about potential impacts of the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, but Australia’s talks with Canada on amendments were being pursued with “no Indigenous consultation about the process or its product” as such input would be “premature”.

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Brittany Higgins told ‘complete falsehoods’ amid ‘political hit job’, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers say as defamation trial ends

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Judge concludes case and reserves his decision after more than four weeks of evidence

Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers have argued on the final day of his high-profile defamation trial that Brittany Higgins told “complete falsehoods” and her allegations were part of a “political hit job” fuelled by her partner.

Justice Michael Lee on Friday concluded the case and reserved his decision after more than four weeks of evidence and submissions.

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Convicted Melbourne terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika to be released from prison

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Electronic monitoring and rules on who he can associate with will be imposed by Victorian supreme court

Convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika is set to be released from prison within hours and placed on an extended supervision order that will force him to comply with 30 conditions, including electronic monitoring.

The Victorian supreme court heard on Tuesday that Benbrika would be released later on Tuesday – after spending nearly 20 years behind bars – after the order was finalised.

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Lehrmann proceedings day 18 – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Meakin agreed that The Project was “going further” towards identifying Lehrmann than Samantha Maiden’s article in news.com.au which was published first.

He said The Project was relying on Maiden’s article to promote the program that evening and that the promotion could improve ratings.

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Brittany Higgins told senior colleague she remembered Bruce Lehrmann on top of her, defamation trial hears

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Linda Reynolds’ then chief of staff Fiona Brown was first to interview pair after alleged rape, which Lehrmann has always denied

Former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown was dramatically compelled to give evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial on Monday on the proviso the federal court’s live stream was disabled while she was in the witness box.

Brown was Senator Linda Reynolds’ chief of staff at the time Brittany Higgins claims Lehrmann raped her on the ministerial couch, and was the first person to interview both of them. She took contemporaneous notes.

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Lisa Wilkinson rejects idea she put ‘pride and ego’ before Bruce Lehrmann’s right to a fair trial

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Broadcaster also hits back during defamation trial at suggestion she was ‘captured’ by Brittany Higgins and had no desire to ‘check or scrutinise anything she said’

Lisa Wilkinson has hit back at suggestions she behaved “like a cheap tabloid journalist” in her handling of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, saying her team investigated the story “extremely well”.

The broadcaster’s much-anticipated evidence began on Thursday in the federal court, where she is facing lengthy cross-examination by Bruce Lehrmann’s legal team.

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