Twiggy's green lobbying

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• Rio Tinto’s bold $2.83bn investment in a new mine.

• Twiggy Forrest goes lobbying for green subsidies.

• Virgin Australia IPO expected this spring.

Another week down. Big developments for you below 👇

PRACTICE POINTS

Limits on whistleblowers

• Federal Court has limited the protection for whistleblowers. The Court dismissed claims brought by Mr Ryan Mount, the former acting chief executive officer of Dover Castle Metals for his dismissal which followed emails he sent directors over safety concerns. While Mount’s reports had a reasonable basis, they didn’t meet whistleblower protection criteria. This is because they were sent to persons other than officers or senior managers and did not contain ‘disclosures’ of information.

• NSW Supreme Court hit Allianz with a $13.5m fine and AWP Australia with a $3.3m fine for misleading travel insurance info. The charges stemmed from breaches of s.1041E(1) and 1311(1) of the Corps Act for failing to disclose key policy details on their websites. Both companies pleaded guilty, refunded over $1.26m to affected customers, and have since ramped up internal compliance. The court stressed the need for transparency in insurance advertising: AustralasianLawyer, ASIC

• APRA's got new governance standards for banks, insurers, and superannuation trustees.

  • New rules require the right mix of skills, a 10-year cap on non-exec directors, and third-party performance assessments every 3 years.

  • Conflict management rules for superannuation trustees now extend to banking and insurance.

  • APRA clarifies board, chair, and management responsibilities, with reduced expectations for smaller entities: Capital Brief

WORD ON THE STREET

Maurice Blackburn’s leave “hypocrisy”

• Maurice Blackburn is under fire for offering staff just 4 days of reproductive leave, despite publicly supporting union campaigns for 10 days. Back in 2022, the firm joined Australia’s biggest unions pushing for menstrual and menopause leave, with Maurice Blackburn lawyer Jessica Heron advocating for 12 extra days per year. The Australian Services Union is calling out the “hypocrisy”: Lawyers Weekly

• Hogan Lovells has boosted profits per equity partner to over US$3 million by shrinking the equity partner pool from 361 to 325, while non-equity partners ballooned to 487. The firm’s “magic number” revenue goal of US$3bn remains just out of reach, with $35m to go. Firm CEO Miguel Zaldivar plans to “collect on billable hours in a more effective way” to hit the target by 2026: Bloomberg Law

• Allens partner Rod Aldus led the way on Zenith Energy’s $1.9bn refinancing, boosting the company’s bank debt facilities with over $1bn in growth capital. The deal features green loan facilities supporting decarbonisation in the resources sector: Australasian Lawyer

• Solicitor Alexandar Rashidi has been referred to the Law Society after pulling a vanishing act, dumping his client just before a directions hearing. Justice David Mossop wasn’t impressed, noting Rashidi failed to give the crucial 7 days' notice, leaving his client in the lurch in a negligence and wrongful dismissal dispute against Qantas: Lawyerly

TALKING POINTS

Aussie pay growth falls flat

• Aussie living standards are stuck in neutral. Real income per person is lower than it was a year ago and is only 1.5% higher than a decade ago—the weakest growth since 1983. While wages are up, rising taxes, consumer prices, and mortgage repayments have wiped out gains: AFR

• NSW's new Crimes Amendment (Inciting Racial Hatred) Bill cracks down on racial hate—unless you're a hate preacher. Thanks to an exemption to the new law, religious leaders can engage in hate speech as long as they back it up with a Bible verse. Critics say the law does the opposite of what it promised: The Australian

• Hong Kong's top court overturned the convictions of three former pro-democracy group members, marking a rare win against the national security law. The court ruled that prosecutors must prove an organisation is a foreign agent, not just suspected by police. However, Chow Hang Tung remains in jail facing subversion charges: Bloomberg

• Cyclone Alfred to hit insurers with $2bn bill, with major insurers Suncorp and Insurance Australia Group bracing for impact. One in four Aussies remain uninsured, adding to the crisis: The Australian

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

Biggest acquisition finance

• Family-owned Mars launches $26bn bond offering to finance its takeover of Pringles maker Kellanova, marking one of 2025's largest acquisition financing deals. The eight-part bond is led by Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Rabobank. If completed, it would be the eighth-largest bond deal ever: Reuters

• And we're back. Insignia Financial receives separate revised NBIOs from Bain Capital and CC Capital. Both bidders separately submitted increased bids at $5 cash per share. That's an 8.7% boost to the previous offers made at $4.60 per share. Insignia will now enter into exclusivity deeds with each of Bain and CC Capital. Insignia are advised by King & Wood Mallesons.

• Star Entertainment is offloading its Brisvegas casino to Hong Kong investors Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium for immediate financial relief. The deal includes a $50m cash injection as Star faces $400m in debt and inches toward administration: AFR

• Virgin Australia may be IPO-bound this spring as new boss Dave Emerson takes charge, completing the airline's strategic makeover. Under Bain Capital's ownership, Virgin posted record earnings of $439m and locked in Qatar Airways as a partner. With aviation conditions nearly perfect, Bain could make a multibillion-dollar exit: The Australian

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Twiggy’s goes lobbying

🚜 DIGGERS

• Twiggy Forrest allegedly pursued West Virginia coal assets to win influence over US Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who was pivotal in passing the $US369bn Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA unlocked billions of dollars of taxpayer support for the types of green hydrogen projects Fortescue wanted to build. Leaked emails reveal Fortescue dropped the deal as soon as Manchin's crucial vote was secured, suggesting he played Manchin to secure green subsidies: AFR

• Rio Tinto is dropping $US1.8bn (A$2.83bn) on the new Pilbara mine, aiming to produce 34m tonnes of iron ore annually. Rio’s told investors that it plans to commission a new mine every year this decade to maintain output and quality in the Pilbara: Australian Mining, AFR

🏦 FIN

• HSBC has quietly rebranded its "eastern" and "western" markets as "Asia and the Middle East" and "Europe and Americas". The move fuels talks of a potential east-west split after receiving shareholder pressure to spin off Asian operations: AFR

• CBA’s shares are expected to drop 26% in the next year, according to Bloomberg’s consensus price targets. Brokers point to high valuation concerns and intense competition as the main factors driving the anticipated slide: Bloomberg

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• TEG, the owner of Ticketek, faces claims of a culture of fear, with senior management accused of bullying staff, sending "aggressive late-night Slack messages" and dismissing complaints as "overreactions". Insiders say HR buried harassment claims and the board failed to act: AFR

• Parkline Place in Sydney’s CBD has officially opened its doors, a $1.3bn commercial office and retail hub above Gadigal Station. Managed by Investa, with co-owners Oxford Properties Group and Mitsubishi Estate Asia, the building targets net zero emissions and offers flexible spaces with top-notch amenities. It’s even secured 36,000sqm in leases already: COMO

📱 TECH

• Tesla’s stock surged after Elon Musk’s political ties to Trump, but now the car giant has shedded $1 trillion (US$660bn) off its market cap. Sales are plummeting in key markets like Europe and California, and competitors like BYD are catching up: SMH

• Telstra quits venture capital at fire sale prices. Its stake in Telstra Ventures Fund II was worth about $422m but it’s flogged it for just $137m. The move marks an end to former CEO Andy Penn's strategy, with the telco now refocusing on network investment and the AI boom: The Australian

• Buy-now-pay-later giant Klarna is set to file for a US IPO, hoping to raise at least US$1bn (A$1.58bn). The Swedish company is selling off assets and refocusing on payments and AI, after buying NZ-based LayBy in 2024 to expand its global BNPL footprint: Capital Brief

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