Approving coal mine projects is not the business of courts, the Morrison government has argued in its challenge to a landmark class action judgment that found it had a duty of care to protect Australian children from the effects of climate change.
Mining magnate Clive Palmer and two of his mining firms have lost a High Court challenge seeking to overturn a Western Australian law which prevented him from suing the state government for $30 billion over mining tenements in the Pilbara.
The High Court has granted special leave to the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner in a case dealing with how the CFMEU’s history as a serial offender should have been considered when assessing the penalty the union should face for breaches of the Fair Work Act.
The High Court has ruled that refugees and asylum seekers can sue the government in Federal Court for allegedly breaching its duty of care by failing to provide them with proper medical care while detained in the government’s custody.
A hearing on the validity of border closures by Western Australia and Queensland should be pushed off while WA’s expert responds to an urgent request by Victoria’s health authorities to help that state deal with its coronavirus outbreak, the Federal Court has been told.
The High Court has quashed a search warrant obtained by the Australian Federal Police and used to raid a News Corp journalist’s home, but did not go so far as to order the return or destruction of documents obtained in the raid.
Coal producer Glencore International has lost its High Court appeal to keep the Australian Taxation Office from reviewing documents related to its offshore assets, which were unearthed as part of the global Paradise Papers investigation.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has narrowly lost its High Court appeal of a ruling that found the owner of a South Australian outback general store had not acted unconscionably by selling used cars through a “book-up” system.