A judge has blessed a $132.7 million settlement and a $33 million common fund order in a class action over toxic firefighting foam, saying he was “not vexed” by whether he had power to grant the funder’s payout despite the Full Court having reserved on the contentious issue.
An environment group that alleges former treasurer Josh Frydenberg rejected advice from the climate change office on a high-rise apartment development on protected wetlands near Brisbane has won access to correspondence about the project.
Pinsent Masons has recruited an energy specialist from the embattled PricewaterhouseCoopers to grow its property team in Australia.
A traditional custodian has taken Woodside Energy to court in a bid to halt offshore seismic blasting for its Scarborough gas project, in a legal challenge similar to one that put Santos’ $4.7 billion Barossa project on ice.
Active Super has become the latest target of greenwashing claims by ASIC, with the corporate regulator alleging it misled the market about its responsible investment credentials, including by investing in coal mining, gambling, tobacco and Russian companies.
A group representing Australian parents has taken EnergyAustralia to court for allegedly misleading over 400,000 consumers by marketings a product involving a carbon offset scheme as ‘carbon neutral’.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released guidelines to help businesses avoid greenwashing and greenhushing, calling on general counsel to avoid broad terms like ‘sustainable’ and ensure businesses have research to back up green claims.
ASIC has brought enforcement action against Vanguard Investments Australia, accusing the investment firm of misleading claims that its ethically conscious hedge fund screened securities for their environmental, social and good governance bona fides.
A court has set aside former Federal Minister for Resources Keith Pitt’s decision to develop a nuclear waste facility in Napandee in South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, saying a fair-minded observer may have perceived that Pitt was biased in selecting the site over two other proposed locations.
A court has found that residents living near an allegedly loud and foul-smelling Graincorp oilseed factory in rural Victoria can band together to bring a class action suit.