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Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting savages Lang’s ‘bombshell’ letter
By Jesinta Burton
Lawyers for Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting have savaged the 37-year-old bombshell letter a fellow mining dynasty hailed as proof the magnate knew she had to share her iron ore billions, branding it “peripheral” evidence made redundant by a subsequent deal.
The letter Lang Hancock penned to his daughter Rinehart shortly after the death of his business partner Peter Wright set out the division of assets and his intention to retain several Hope Downs mines jointly for the “Hanwright” partnership.
Gina Rinehart and her company Hancock Prospecting, started by her father Lang (far right), is defending claims to its Hope Downs iron ore tenement in the Pilbara from Wright Prospecting, started by Peter Wright (left).Credit: Composite image
The letter was dubbed “significant evidence” by Wright Prospecting’s lawyer Julie Taylor early in the high-stakes civil trial, in which Wright’s descendants are claiming a slice of Hope Downs’ royalties under a 1980s deal to share equally in the spoils of partnership assets.
But Hancock Prospecting’s lawyer Noel Hutley rubbished the characterisation, insisting it was, at best, of the most “peripheral relevance”.
“If anything, it supports our case to the extent it is even relevant and we embrace it,” he told the court.
“It confirms Lang’s understanding that there was an asset of real value to seek to obtain rights over.”
Hutley said Lang’s letter was made redundant by a deal he signed the following year with his late business partner’s son Michael, in which they agreed to divide up the partnership’s assets.
Shoppers slash spending plans despite steady interest rates
By Shane Wright
Sticker-shocked shoppers are slashing their spending plans and are yet to be convinced that the Reserve Bank is finished lifting interest rates, as big-name retailers and the used car market point to a further slowdown across the economy.
Just a week after the RBA held interest rates steady for a second consecutive month, a key measure of consumer sentiment showed confidence among shoppers fell while their outlook for the economy deteriorated.
Used car prices are expected to fall sharply as high interest rates and inflation curb consumer spending.Credit: Nic Walker
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute measure of sentiment slipped by 0.4 per cent in August. But the survey, carried out last week, showed confidence fell by a much larger 4.9 per cent among those people surveyed after the Reserve’s decision to leave the cash rate at 4.1 per cent.
Among people with a mortgage, consumer confidence slipped by 7.2 per cent this month and is lower than when the RBA last increased interest rates in June.
ABC’s legal bill approaches $2 million over four years
By Calum Jaspan
The ABC has spent more than $700,000 in defamation settlements over the past three years, documents filed by the national broadcaster show, with total legal costs for proceedings reaching at least $1.94 million.
The documents were filed last week to federal parliament in response to Nationals senator Ross Cadell’s questions, taken on notice by ABC managing director David Anderson during Senate estimates hearings in May.
ABC Managing Director David Anderson (foreground) during a Senate estimates hearing in May.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The ABC data shows legal settlements totalled $753,450: $414,000 in financial year 2021-22 and $339,450 in 2020-21.
External costs in 2021-22, including legal fees, totalled $871,088, and $315,626 in 2020-21, bringing the total the ABC spent to $1.94 million on legal costs over the four years.
However, that figure is likely to be higher because the broadcaster was not required to disclose figures for 2021-22 and 2022-23 when there were fewer than three defamation cases relating to the ABC.
The ABC declined to comment. Read the full story.
Wong launches first international development plan in a decade
By Angus Dalton
Just now at a speech in parliament, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it has been 10 years since an Australian government launched a new international development policy and that the Indo-Pacific has changed significantly in that time.
“Our nation has to deploy all of our national power, or tools of statecraft to help shape the region we want,” Wong said, naming climate change as the region’s greatest challenge.
Announcing the government’s new international development program, Wong and International Development Minister Pat Conroy said the government committed an additional $1.4 billion over four years in official development assistance to developing nations.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong and Minister for Defence Industry and Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy during an event to launch Australia’s International Development Policy.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Conroy said the government would implement the recommendations of the Development Finance Review, which investigated how the government could more effectively address challenges facing the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
“As recommended by the review we are significantly increasing the blended finance capability of the development program by establishing Australian Development Investments,” he said. “This will be a new vehicle providing up to $250 million as a catalyst for private impact investment in the Indo-Pacific.
“ADI will build on the Emerging Markets Impact Investment Fund pilot program. This proved the enormous potential of blending government finance with the private sector to generate social and environmental impact alongside financial returns.
“The pilot program was leveraging, for every $1 of public investment, $5 of private sector impact ... so I have high hopes for the $250 million fund.”
He said the policy also focused on local employment, climate resilient infrastructure and supporting civil society.
Patriot Battery Metals chairman throws support behind Voice
By Simon Johanson
Lithium hotshot Patriot Battery Metals’ chairman Ken Brinsden has thrown his support behind the Voice to parliament, saying that the referendum offered Australia a chance to embrace Indigenous culture.
The veteran mining executive also expressed surprise at the WA state government scrapping its Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, telling reporters at the Diggers & Dealers forum in Kalgoorlie that it was “heading in the right direction”.
Ex-Pilbara Minerals boss Ken Brinsden is chairman of Patriot Battery Metals.Credit: Trevor Collens
Brinsden said Australia would be “better for it” if it embraced Aboriginal culture.
“I’d say the Voice is a step in the right direction. I’d say don’t overthink it because it’s going to be important to contributing to us embracing Aboriginal culture more fully,” he said.
Watch: Penny Wong launches International Development Policy
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, alongside Minister for International Development Pat Conroy, spoke this afternoon at the launch of Australia’s International Development Policy.
Watch below.
Question time turns to bitter housing debate
By Angus Thompson
The bitter debate over the government’s housing bill, which is being blocked by the Greens, has made its first appearance in question time.
Greens’ housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather, who has been the bugbear of the Prime Minister by pushing for a national coordination of rent caps, asked Anthony Albanese whether he will listen to Australians calling for stronger renters’ rights.
The prime minister responded: “I understand that renters are doing it tough. I also understand that in Australia’s Federation, the Commonwealth does not control rents, the Commonwealth does not have the capacity either to abolish the private rental market.”
He said the key to fixing rental issues was more homes, and that while national cabinet would be discussing renters’ rights next Wednesday “we will not be nationalising private housing in this country”.
“I say to the member if he is at all fair dinkum, vote for – break up this Coalition over there between the Liberals, the Nationals, One Nation and the Greens in the other chamber – and vote for additional housing.”
Max Chandler-Mather, Greens spokesperson for housing.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Critical minerals focus attention on Lynas buyout
By Simon Johanson
Lynas Rare Earth’s boss Amanda Lacaze says the miner has been approached by North American and Asian companies looking to buy out its business as the race to secure supplies of the critical minerals needed to power the globe’s energy transitions heats up.
Asked today at the Diggers & Dealers forum in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, if the company had any buyout approaches, Lacaze confirmed they had, but said the approaches had not happened in recent weeks.
Interest in the company has come from North America and Asia, but Lynas is also in the hunt for potential acquisition opportunities and not just a target, the chief executive said.
“We are always open to think about partnering or doing offtake agreements or acquisitions or whatever,” Lacaze told reporters. “But we haven’t seen anything yet which makes more sense than continuing to invest in our own assets.”
Lynas Rare Earths chief executive Amanda Lacaze says buyout interest has come from North America and Asia.Credit: Simon Johanson
Companies exploring for or extracting the rare earths and materials, such as lithium, needed to power the rapid shift to electric vehicles and new energy systems make up more than half of the mining firms present at this year’s Diggers & Dealers, a forum that in past has been dominated by gold and nickel companies.
The need to speed up the world’s transition from polluting fossil fuels and reduce damaging climate change is putting an investment spotlight on mining exploration and companies with known reserves of valuable “future facing” minerals.
Speaker allows prime minister to skirt answer on treaty
By Angus Thompson
Speaker Milton Dick has told Opposition Leader Peter Dutton the prime minister doesn’t have to directly answer a question about whether he is committed to a national treaty under parliament’s standing orders.
The Voice has dominated question time in parliament today, with questions coming to Anthony Albanese and government ministers from both sides of the house.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during question time this afternoon.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Dutton tried multiple times to have Albanese directly answer whether he was committed to a national treaty, as the opposition hones its questions on the government’s plans for a Makarrata commission under the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Instead, Albanese spoke about treaty processes occurring in states such as Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria.
“Can you answer a question honestly?” Dutton put to him.
Dick said the standing orders said the answer had to be directly relevant, but that’s “not the same as a direct answer”.
“As it stands now, the prime minister is talking about the subject matter, so he is being relevant,” Dick said.
Albanese accuses opposition of ‘more projection than a film festival’
By Angus Thompson
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accused the federal opposition of not being “fair dinkum” about the debate over the Voice referendum.
In response to a question from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton about the government’s choice to legislate the advisory body after the referendum, Albanese said the Coalition’s “conspiracy theories are colliding with each other”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Garma Festival over the weekend.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“If they think the Voice is a bad idea, why are they going to legislate it? If they think they have the right idea for the structure of the Voice, why are they not tabling the legislation?” he said.
“They are simply not being fair dinkum.”
He continued his accusation of conspiracy theories in response to another question from the opposition about the length of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
“What role did Marcia Langton play in the fake moon landing?” he said in jest. “This is absolutely nonsense. A lot projection going on here. More projection than a film festival. It is coming from those opposite.”
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2023-08-08 07:40:02Z
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