Partners take home $5m

G’day.  

Welcome to Point Blank – Happy Friday fun day!

We’ve got a full suite of insights and news stories for your fun day leading up to the weekend. Here’s what you need to know 👇

 💼 Practice Points

• A software engineer sues the accounting software company Xero for paying her less than her male equivalents because it would be difficult to justify a pay rise after she returned from parental leave. Her claim falls under s 351 of the Fair Work Act, which prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against an employee based on gender, race, age, etc.

• ASIC is taking Oak Capital to court for allegedly engaging in unconscionable conduct. The regulator claims Oak structured $37m in loans to dodge hardship protections, allowing for excessive fees and interest, which ultimately led to defaults and home repossessions for distressed clients. Expect more court action from ASIC soon, targeting similar lender models. ASIC Deputy Chair said, "ASIC is watching, and ASIC will take action".

• The Court of Criminal Appeal has ruled that the two-year limitation period under the Work Health and Safety Act kicks off when the regulator spots a risk of injury or illness, not when harm actually happens. This means SafeWork NSW can now act right away when they see a risk, moving from a reactive to a proactive approach.

• The Federal Court ruled that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson racially vilified Senator Mehreen Faruqi in a series of tweets on Twitter, now X. The tweets fell within the scope of s 18C of the Racial Discrimination as they were reasonably likely to “offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate”. Stewart J labelled the comments as a “strong form of racism”. Hanson’s barrister, Kieran Smark SC, argued the provisions fell foul of the implied freedom of political communication under the Constitution and were invalid in full or in part. Stewart J rejected this argument.

 📢 Talking Points

• Grab your sunscreen, Australia is bracing for longer and more frequent heatwaves, with the climate warming by 1.5°C over the past century. According to a new report from CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology, eight of the nine hottest years on record have occurred since 2013.

• America’s billionaires are quietly backing Trump’s comeback, whether from fear, sympathy, or profit motives. Big names like Amazon, Intel, and Pfizer, who promised to cut funding for election deniers, have done a complete 180 and are sending cash their way. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’s owned Washington Post has lost over 250k subscribers since deciding to ditch the age old tradition of endorsing a presidential candidate—another sign of Trump acquiescence.

• North Korea just fired a missile that flew for 1 hour and 26 minutes, potentially putting the continental US in its sights. It landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, prompting concerns about nuclear threats in the region.

• The ATO just smashed records – raking in $100bn from corporate Australia. This is all thanks to booming minerals and its tough stance on tax-dodging giants. With an extra $2bn clawed back by the Tax Avoidance Taskforce (almost as cool as the US Space Force), big players like Chevron, Rio Tinto, and BHP faced the heat for stashing profits offshore—Chevron alone had $45bn in interest expenses blocked.

• That money has got to go somewhere, right? Welcome Albo. Labor is thinking about slashing student debt to help Aussies battle with cozzie livs. Options on the table? Cutting HELP debts by up to 20%, pausing indexation, tweaking repayment rates, raising the income threshold so grads don’t start paying until they earn more (~$51k), and pausing repayments for those on parental leave.

 🏦 The Treasury

 🤝 Deal Room

• The UK takeovers panel was quick to accept BHP’s attempt to clarify BHP chairman Ken MacKenzie’s remarks that they’d “moved on” from the Anglo American deal. The mining giant apologetically noted that the comments weren’t meant to put a future deal on ice. Under UK takeovers law, saying you won’t bid can put a six-month freeze on making future offers.

• When Mitsui and Beach Energy couldn’t move fast enough, Gina Rinehart swept in, assembling a team of global valuation experts to lock down the $1.1bn deal with MinRes in just six weeks. The swift move gave MinRes the cash to cut down its $4.4bn debt. Could Gina be Chris Ellison’s saviour? Perhaps not. We could see the WA gas market tighten with much of the uncontracted gas supply in WA likely ending up in the hands of Hancock and Woodside. Now, all eyes are on MinRes’ next big decision—what they’ll do with their lithium assets.

• The ACCC has given Brookfield the thumbs up for its $10bn buyout of Neoen, but with a catch: the Canadian giant must offload several Victorian wind farms and battery assets.

• Looks like Glencore might only go for parts of Anglo American’s coal assets, which gives Yancoal a leg up. With the green light from China and plenty of bank backing, Yancoal is all set to make a strong play with bids rolling in next week.

• Bidders are lining up for the $2 billion sale of Zenith Energy, with APA Group and KKR leading the charge.

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• WaveX, a Perth-based start-up tapping into ocean wave energy, is looking for $3.5m to launch a prototype off Albany, following a $2.4m boost from the federal government. WaveX is on a mission to turn ocean waves into renewable energy, targeting a commercial rollout soon.

• BHP’s boss throws shade on QLD’s investment appeal, saying Premier Crisafulli should rethink the high coal royalties that are driving the mining giant to explore greener pastures like Chile and Canada.

• Enviro minister Tanya Plibersek, who’s been under fire for blocking to McPhillampys tailings dam, now faces pressure to approve a new tailings dam for Newmont’s Cadia mine—a project vital to maintaining over 2.1k jobs.

• MinRes is slashing 570 jobs and pausing construction at its Mount Marion lithium project as it grapples with a struggling balance sheet, hit hard by falling lithium prices. Analysts at Barrenjoey previously warned that the company’s earnings for the year would fall short of covering its debt interest payments, further highlighting the need for strategic moves to stabilise its finances.

• Gina continues to cash it in as Australia’s biggest private company Hancock Prospecting scores a $5.57bn net profit for FY24 and $14.73bn in revenue. Not to mention (but we will) the $40.9bn in total net assets.

Fin

• ACCC Chair is putting the spotlight on the banking sector’s lack of competition, pushing for reform to help everyday Aussies switch home loans and compare deposit products amidst rising interest rates.

Tech & Media

• Canva’s valuation just reached a whopping $48bn after a recent share sale. As Australia’s top privately owned tech firm, Canva is drawing serious attention from foreign investors. This jump also adds about $1.5bn to the net worth of co-founders Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, now worth a cool $15bn.

• Google just scored a win as London's High Court tossed out a trademark lawsuit from Shorts International, the company behind a channel dedicated to short films, ruling that YouTube's "Shorts" won't confuse consumers or harm Shorts International’s brand.

Retail & Real Estate

• Coles is embracing a "less is more" strategy with fewer, bigger discounts on staples to boost sales this Christmas season. Though sales grew 3.5%, trailing behind Woolies, they’re capitalising on the dining-at-home trend to keep sales high.

• Sydney house prices declined for the first time in almost two years, October data revealed. While a modest -0.1%, medium dwelling prices sit at a less modest $1.19m. Across the Nullarbor, Perth led the charge with a 1.4% price rise and a 22.6% year-on-year increase – that’s a handsome 76% increase since the Covid onset showing the ripples of our monetary easing.

🏘️ Word on the Street 

• A $5m pay packet? That’s CEO territory—but think again. Top firms like Allens, Ashurst, G+T, and HSF are dishing out over $5m annually to lure and keep high-billing partners, amidst competition from American giants.

• Speaking of the Yanks, American firm White & Case is stirring the pot in Sydney by luring senior partners from A&O Shearman and Baker McKenzie. These moves are a big blow to A&O's transaction capabilities, especially as the firm deals with ongoing restructuring challenges and a wave of partner exits.