$5bn housing fund in focus 🏠

G’day.  

Welcome to Point Blank – Ready for that Monday morning coffee? 

 💼 Practice Points

• The Federal Court ruled that Latitude Finance and Harvey Norman misled consumers in an ad campaign for a 60-month interest free payment method by not disclosing the need for a credit card. ASIC highlighted that the financial obligations, including fees and interest rates, differed significantly from the ads.

• From August 2024, a casual employee is now defined as someone without a firm employer commitment to ongoing work and who receives a casual loading or specific pay rate, shifting the focus to the nature of the employment relationship rather than just the contract.

• The QLD Supreme Court has ruled that key claims, such as misleading conduct, under the Corporations Act cannot be brought against ASIC, which also enjoys general immunity for acts or omissions made in good faith.

 📢 Talking Points

• If elected, Dutton plans to establish a $5bn fund to speed up infrastructure works like water and power to help build 500,000 new homes. Dutton matches Albanese as preferred PM as the Coalition retains poll lead.

• Elon Musk will give away $1 million daily until November's election to someone who signs America PAC's petition supporting the US Constitution, which the serial entrepreneur founded to back Trump’s campaign.

• F1 sprints ahead in Austin, Texas over the past weekend for the US Grand Prix. The event featured a 100km dash with world-championship points at stake.

• Trump serves up Harris fries at McDonald’s fry station, calling the VP a liar because of her claim that she previously worked at the fast-food giant.

• After his Australia trip, King Charles will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, where a new secretary-general will be chosen from three African candidates, all closely linked to China, guaranteeing that the selected individual will represent a Chinese client state.

 🏦 The Treasury

• Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from around the world gather in Washington this week for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

 🤝 Deal Room

• All three shareholders of North Queensland Airports are auctioning their stakes for $3bn, marking the first 100% sale of a privately held airport with over a million passengers in 15 years.

• Looming interest rate cuts and easing inflation are expected to surge IPO activity, with recent successful listings like GYG fuelling market confidence.

• The owners of Kestrel, Australia’s sixth-largest coking coal mine, are set to launch a multibillion-dollar auction, capitalising on strong demand for coking coal amid a surge of deal activity in the sector.

🏛 Policy Watch

• New superannuation amendments passed in the House of Reps will impose an additional 15% tax rate on future earnings for balances over $3m, resulting in an average additional liability of $50,000 for affected investors—stay tuned to see if the Senate gives it the green light.

• WA government has introduced a Bill to address the adverse implications of a recent WA Court of Appeal decision. The Bill looks to restore workers’ elections for common law damages that are deemed invalid by the decision.

• Albanese Government wants stakeholder input on a discussion paper looking at how Australian Consumer Law protections apply to AI-enabled goods and services.

• WA government has passed reforms stripping the EPA's role in assessing carbon emissions when deciding whether to approve some of the state's most highly polluting projects in an effort to streamline the approval process.

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• The MinRes board is investigating the allegations that MD Chris Ellison operated an offshore tax evasion scheme. The MD conceded that it was a serious lapse of judgment.

• BHP and Vale are a step closer to finalising a multibillion-dollar settlement (estimated to be A$45bn) with Brazilian authorities for one of the country’s worst mining disasters. 620,000 were affected by the dam disaster, and many have joined the class action lawsuit demanding compensation.

Fin

• Blackwattle Investment Partners, facing backlash for its all-male investment team, is introducing a mentorship scheme for women but stirred controversy by saying it’s hard to find female talent “at a reasonable cost”—what kind of discount does Blackwattle expect for female talent?

• CBA is facing a banking blunder, with duplicate payments overdrawing some accounts.

• ANZ is betting on long-term growth in Asia by forging strategic partnerships with companies like Toyota and Hyundai, despite regional challenges like declining interest rates and a higher risk profile.

Tech

• Tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Uber are struggling with sustainability goals as AI-driven energy demands rise, prompting investments in renewable energy and eco-friendly products.

• Meta has unveiled AI models, including a self-taught evaluator that minimises human input by using AI-generated data to assess responses, advancing the development of AI that learns from its mistakes.

🏘️ Word on the Street 

• The traditional collegiality of legal partnerships is under threat as firms like Bird & Bird move away from lockstep pay models—where pay is based on seniority—to performance-based structures that prioritise top achievers.

• Pinsent Masons takes M&A partner and special counsel from DLA Piper.