Is BHP making wild accusations about “wild accusations”?

BHP has accused coal miner Simon Turner of making “wild accusations” but refuses to say what they are. Michael Westalso according to reports cited in the lawsuit.

Coal miner Simon Turner, who is fighting mining giant BHP in the courts over wage theft, cannot afford a lawyer.

In fact, he is sleeping in his garage and has to catch the train from Newcastle to Sydney to fight BHP, five other corporate defendants and their group of lawyers.

There were ten people to one (one man without legal counsel) at the hearing before Judge Needham in Federal Court last Thursday.

The proceedings have already been silenced after BHP won a confidentiality order to suppress the evidence Turner gave to the Court.

It’s truly a David-Goliath battle in the courtroom; It’s further unbalanced by the fact that Turner had to find a lazy man to get access to the evidence in his case, namely the transcripts from last week’s hearing.

$1,952.53 for payment of public evidence presented in open court.

You can collect 53 cents, but $1,952 is harder to come by. To inform the public. About his own case. In open court.

Similarly, the cost is too high for those who want to know what Turner’s claims are that BHP was involved in more than $2 billion in wage theft along with other parties.

David versus Goliaths. Lone coal miner battles BHP and partners in Court over massive wage theft

The same cost to both us and the public. Anyone seeking public information. Despite Michael West Media and the author of this story was taken to court by BHP’s lawyers, Minter Ellison.

Minters claimed on behalf of his client that Turner had made “wild claims.” We are fascinated when we learn about these “crazy claims”. However, even if their name is mentioned at the hearing, journalists must also pay for court documents. We are also allowed to visit the Court Records to read the transcripts, but we are not allowed to photograph them.

Minter Ellison’s wild claims?

We contacted Minter Ellison and told him that they made these “crazy claims” and told us (MWM) possibly in Court in connection with these “crazy allegations” – if they choose to share with us their allegations, statements submitted as evidence and transcripts of these “wild allegations”

Their client, BHP, is trying to get the matter out of court and the Judge’s decision on the strike-out application has been reserved. Therefore, since we cannot physically go to Court, it would not be appropriate to properly report on the case or these allegations of “wild accusations” without reference to the minutes.

This would be “word of mouth” and therefore unreliable.

Unfortunately, our petitions to Minter Ellison appear to have gone unheeded. The company does not share its “crazy allegations” accusations with us so that we can make this so-called disgrace and brutality known to the public.

This was disappointing; It was disappointing that a top-tier law firm, whose Federal government bills alone amount to nearly $20 million annually, did not disclose what it told the judge about people in open court.

However, we reminded them of the high ethical principles and commitment to the highest standards of honesty and transparency that we also embrace here.

We wrote to them: “I would like to note that Ministers value the principles of transparency, ethics, accountability and the “highest standards of integrity” and in the interest of these principles, I anticipate that you will be kind enough to provide us with these documents.

“You also told me that Trent [Trent Forno: the Minters partner handling the Turner v BHP case] He has recently made at least two affidavits to the Court regarding these matters. Therefore, in order for your case to be reported accurately, could you please forward this and other documents related to the case?

So, we’re flying a bit blind here and will have to wait to properly report on the proceedings until we can find the money for the transcripts or convince someone at the court registry to take notes on multiple pages of the transcripts instead of photos (that would be too easy).

At least one foreign venture capital firm is making money from Australia’s justice system. Is this a hopeful thing? VIQ Solutions Australia, a subsidiary of Canadian technology group VIQ Solutions Inc., will charge $1,952.53 for accessing this public information from another hemisphere.

It’s probably worth noting that VIQ criticized by legal profession For providing inaccurate transcription services, which is a problem because if one cannot trust the accuracy of the transcription, how can one trust court transcriptions, for example, to file an appeal?

Wild accusations and rumors

In any case, we remain astonished by Minters’ and Trent’s wild accusations. Could it all be a mistake? BHP and its corporate clique are not foolproof.

For years BHP and Chandler Macleod had alleged that a gang called Ready Work Force was Simon Turner’s employer. It appears they have now pushed back on that claim and argued that it doesn’t matter who the employer is, what matters is that there is a promissory note between Ready and Turner and that the promissory note shows that Turner was paid correctly.

We can’t say for sure – that they misrepresented this – as this would be considered “headscratching” by the Court and perhaps “wild allegations” by BHP and its lawyers.

But what we can say is that there was a court decision from Judge Altobelli in 2017 that found Chandler MacLeod to be Turner’s employer. Additionally, Turner’s PAYG records, ATO records, mining contract and miners’ pay slips, employer contribution records and Coal LSL (long service leave) documents all show Chandler MacLeod as the counterparty; He said Turner was paid by Chandler MacLeod.

No sign of Hazrat.

One bill, one bill, one bill

It’s also crazy that BHP and its partners are arguing that it doesn’t matter whether this rumored mysterious Ready is on the Land Registry or whether Ready is Simon Turner’s employer. What matters is the applicability of the Deed!

So should we get a fake title deed approved by the Court?

In the meantime, we look forward to the legal information and briefs required to tell this story (without giving room to hearsay) and remove any doubt that Australia’s corporate icon BHP and its world-class law firm Minter Ellison, which is committed to the highest standards of ethics, transparency, integrity and accountability, may be engaging in any unsavory practice of solicitation.

Such a wild accusation should never be made.

Simon’s legal crowdfunding

David versus Goliath. BHP against a coal miner. Epic court battle under suppression orders

Michael West was founded Michael West Media Focusing on public interest journalism in 2016, particularly the increasing power of corporations over democracy. West was formerly a journalist and editor for Fairfax newspapers, a columnist for News Corp and was even once a stockbroker.