Legal page 551 of 568

The Queensland Government has repealed its requirement for unions to conduct a ballot of members before engaging in any political campaigning worth more than $10,000.

The Senate's Education and Employment Legislation Committee has recommended today that the upper house pass the government's Fair Work Amendment Bill unamended, with the ALP and the Greens tabling separate reports opposing the legislation.

A positive economic outlook and sustained labour productivity improvement are key factors in yesterday's Fair Work Commission's decision to award a 3% increase to award rates of pay, with the minimum wage panel again advising employer groups that they need to introduce more rigour to their surveys if they are to have any influence on the tribunal's deliberations.

Both sides are claiming victory in the contractual tug-of-war over veteran programming executive John Stephens, following the NSW Supreme Court's refusal to grant the Ten Network an injunction to stop him taking up a new role with the Seven Network.

Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim has ordered the Fair Work Commission to give the Nine Network the CCTV footage relied on by the SA Rail Commissioner in an unfair dismissal hearing, finding that it was not exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Victoria's Office of Public Prosecutions has been ordered pay a $10,000 fine and to reinstate a solicitor it subjected to unlawful adverse action when it stood him down then dismissed him for misconduct that "arose wholly" from his anxiety and depression.

A member of the Fair Work Commission's expert panel has resigned after being disqualified, due to a potential conflict of interest, from participating in the review of default superannuation funds. Meanwhile, the Financial Services Council's challenge to the make-up of the panel is to be heard this week.

The FWBC has included CFMEU construction and general division national secretary Dave Noonan in its fourth prosecution over the $1.2 billion Perth Children's Hospital project.

The construction watchdog says it pursuing action against 25 building workers who owe penalties of $135,625 dating from unlawful industrial action on the North-West shelf gas project in 2008.

The Fair Work Commission's decision to temporarily halt a planned 48-hour strike at Tidewater Marine took into account that an MUA official was unavailable to give evidence in person to the tribunal.