Liquidators seeking to recover almost $67 million in taxpayer funds paid to former Queensland Nickel employees have avoided a "chase for Skase" scenario after they yesterday served papers on counsel for holidaying ex-director Clive Palmer and 20 others.
A full Federal Court has found a ship's officer who quit the maritime industry after a bungled investigation into alleged bullying by her captain is entitled to a greater proportion of her costs, but rejected claims for more than $1.6 million in damages.
The main protagonists have landed their last blows ahead of Sunday penalty rate cuts coming into effect this weekend, United Voice calling on restaurant and pub patrons to pressure bosses over whether they value their staff, while AiG insists that July 1's parallel "hefty" minimum wage rise not only sees workers better off, but saddles employers with bigger wage bills.
An employer who refused requests by police and an OHS inspector to allow two CFMEU officials onto her building site to investigate a Facebook-notified safety issue has avoided an $18,500 penalty because the union's notice of entry did not include the officials' middle names.
The National Farmers' Federation will argue the FWO has misconstrued the horticulture award's piecework provisions in a Federal Court case it believes has the potential to remove much of the incentive to work across the entire sector.
United Voice has launched its Federal Court challenge to the FWC's decision to cut Sunday penalty rates, arguing that the Commission "misconceived" its obligation to uphold workers' living standards.
The HSU says it is unlikely to pursue former national secretary and ex-Labor MP Craig Thomson for the repayment of about $378,000 because it would incur further legal costs with little chance of recovering the money.
The prosecution has reworked its case against former HSU leader Kathy Jackson, who now faces 164 charges that mostly relate to alleged theft and fraud from her time as a union official.
