BHP seeks urgent suppression orders in trial against coal miner and MWM publisher
In an extraordinary move to muzzle press coverage of a wages theft claim by disabled coal miner Simon Turner, Australia’s biggest company BHP sought an urgent application from the Federal Court asking for suppression orders over its case set down to be heard before Justice Needham at 10am this morning.
This is a lawsuit which BHP had brought itself.
In February, former coal miner Simon Turner brought a claim against BHP and four related entities for underpayment of wages. Turner injured his back at the Mt Arthur coal mine in 2015 and has been fighting to get compensation since. This publication covered the case, which was also subject to suppression orders at the request of BHP.
BHP then sued Turner and Westpub (the publisher of Michael West Media) for breach of confidentiality relating to the publication of a meeting in 2024. The defendants counter-claimed over a conflict of interest by MinterEllison whose partner and BHP solicitor for the firm Trent Forno was present at the 2024 meeting and was therefore a material witness to the BHP case as well as being BHP’s solicitor.
Mr Forno’s name disappeared from the email correspondence between the parties this week. BHP had earlier sought an urgent hearing but that was denied by Justice Needham.
Simon Turner has appealed the decision in the February case however an appeal date has not yet been set by the Court. Instead, BHP has launched its breach of confidentiality proceedings to be heard today. Although it was laid down as a case management hearing, BHP has moved to have its application for suppression orders heard.
After sending notice of its suppression application at 7.48pm last night, MinterEllison for BHP sent its Court Book to the parties at 8.27pm.
Was this an omen?
On the evening before the BHP action in February, MinterEllison had sent the Court Book to Simon Turner, however Turner was unable to open the court book which left him unprepared for the trial the next day. It was not known at the time of publication of this story whether Mr Turner was already in bed or not, or whether he was able to access the BHP/MinterEllison court book this time.
He may have already been in bed, on the floor of his mother’s garage, knowing that he had to catch the train down from Newcastle early in the morning today to face BHP in the confidentiality lawsuit.
Both Turner and West have applied to be self-represented in the proceedings.
Along with the suppression application, Westpub, the second respondent in today’s proceedings, received from MinterEllison an affidavit by Michael Thomas Fletcher, another partner in the firm.
https://michaelwest.com.au/bhp-urgent-suppression-trial-against-coalminer-publisher/