Michael Hodge

The government has agreed to acknowledge that climate change is a systemic risk that could affect the value of its bonds in order to resolve a class action on behalf of sovereign bond investors over its climate disclosures.

A judge has hit BlueScope Steel with a $57.5 million penalty for engaging in attempted cartel conduct and ordered a former executive to personally pay a $575,000 penalty.

Fox News CEO Lachlan Murdoch has paid $1.3 million to Crikey publisher Private Media for costs incurred successfully defending his defamation suit.

SkyCity has set aside $45 million for its legal costs and a possible penalty in AUSTRAC proceedings alleging it allowed $4 billion in suspicious transactions at its casino.

A class action brought on behalf of sovereign bond investors over the disclosure of climate change risks has settled with the government on terms that don’t preclude further proceedings, a court has heard.

A judge overseeing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case alleging auto mechanic Ultra Tune failed to comply with court orders has labelled its managing director Sean Buckley as “one of the more dreadful witnesses” he had seen.

Dairy processor Lactalis Australia has been hit with a $950,000 penalty in the first proceedings against a company for breaches of the Dairy Code.

SkyCity may be the first company to test the strength of AUSTRAC's claims in court, according to a judge who recently said in a separate case that the regulator's habit of agreeing to penalties could give rise to a "moral hazard".

A judge has approved a $450 million penalty put forward by Crown Resorts and AUSTRAC despite reservations about evidence going to the casino operator’s financial position.

The judge asked to approve a proposed $450 million penalty in AUSTRAC’s case against Crown Resorts has questioned whether the practice of regulators settling enforcement action ahead of trial gave rise to a "moral hazard” problem.