Latest news with #Deripaska
The Age
12-08-2025
- Politics
- The Age
New Year's Eve no longer a time to Shrine
Russians in the High Court Brace yourselves. The Russians are coming for the High Court of Australia. Last week, the country's top court heard an appeal by the Russian Federation against laws created by the Albanese government to effectively cancel a lease for Russia's new Canberra embassy, down the road from Parliament House, on national security grounds. Russia claimed the lease cancellation was 'Russophobic hysteria', and quickly retained the services of Australia's foremost High Court winner, Bret Walker, SC, who led a challenge to the laws' constitutional validity. The day after that hearing, the court announced it would consider another high-profile case, this time brought by billionaire Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. An industrialist with a stake in an alumina refinery in Gladstone and ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Deripaska was sanctioned by the Morrison government following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The designation stopped Deripaska from travelling to Australia or profiting from his company's share in the Gladstone refinery. Deripaska has been fighting those sanctions ever since, arguing that they are constitutionally invalid because they stop him travelling to Australia to challenge them. Last week, the High Court granted Deripaska special leave to appeal a March decision of Federal Court judges rejecting his argument. The sanctions against Deripaska, which aligns with similar decisions made by the United States, United Kingdom and European Union following the Ukraine invasion, were implemented by Marise Payne in her then role as foreign minister. And at the centre of the oligarch's legal challenge is one of Payne's old cabinet comrades, former attorney-general Christian Porter, who quit parliament before the 2022 election after using anonymous donors to fund an aborted defamation case against the ABC after the public broadcaster reported a historic rape allegation against him (which Porter has always denied). Porter, as CBD regulars would recall, has returned to the Perth bar with gusto, where he's acted in a series of high-profile cases. Which has now brought him into the orbit of a billionaire Russian oligarch, and paved the way for a dramatic return to Canberra. Steel yourself for a swim Spare a thought for the residents of Kew, who have to schlep off to the nearby eastern suburbs of Balwyn or Hawthorn for a swim after promises of a new recreation centre came crashing down. Kew Recreation Centre on High Street was knocked down to make way for a slick $73 million centre with pools, childcare, fitness rooms, indoor sports courts and a party room, all intended to be available from mid-2023. Unfortunately, like many knockdown-rebuild jobs, what came next was inferior to what it replaced. The centre's roof collapsed overnight in 2022, triggering Victorian Building Authority and WorkSafe investigations, and a blame game that continues to this day. The building authority has charged builder ADCO Group and its director, John Conroy, over the collapse, while WorkSafe's case against ADCO and facade contractor Colab Building are scheduled for a return to court next month. Boroondara Mayor Sophie Torney has been assuring residents the new centre 'is taking shape' and will be all-electric when it finally opens. So, when's the big day? Will the kids who should have learnt to swim there be adults by then? Council minutes show it was once expected the new pool would open in early 2025. But the council's website now says doors will open in late 2026. Boroondara Council told CBD it was working with the contractor 'to determine the opening date of the centre'. All going swimmingly then. Uncertainty maxes out for ADH TV Ever since broadcaster Alan Jones was arrested and charged with dozens of indecent assault offences last year (to which he has pleaded not guilty), the fate of the conservative media ecosystem that revolved around him has appeared increasingly uncertain. Jones was the face of online right-wing outrage merchants ADH TV, founded in 2021 by twenty-something chief executive Jack Bulfin and boosted by a very generous investment by billionaire nepo baby James Packer. Jones was a conspicuous absence from ADH TV ever since this masthead first reported allegations of groping a year before the criminal charges were laid. Now, the company is struggling to adjust to life after Alan. First, its plans to acquire regional TV licences from Southern Cross Austereo fell apart after Seven West Media stepped in. That's left us a little sceptical about the success of ADH's $42 million bid to buy the radio assets of this masthead's owners, Nine. But ADH's most newsworthy ploy is its deal to become an Australian launchpad for American conservative cable TV station Newsmax, a once niche Florida-based broadcaster which has had its influence turbo-charged by Dona ld Trump 's rise. ADH TV has since rebranded its online profile and social media accounts as Newsmax Australia, which the website said in January was 'coming soon'. But so far, nobody seems to know when that is, or what it will look like. Rumours that Newsmax had enlisted former NRL Footy Show host Erin Molan as a flagship presenter turned out to be just that. Molan has since landed a rather bizarre gig hosting an Elon Musk -backed show called 69X Minutes on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Molan is also set to unveil an eponymous show on the Salem Network, a Christian family-themed American broadcaster financially backed by the president's failson, Donald Trump Jr. Which probably takes her out of the running. Presenters at ADH TV who remained hopeful of broadcasting with Newsmax have no sense of when they'll be back on air, if at all. We've heard whispers of an October launch, but little more. Bulfin didn't return our calls. A complicated, and as yet, unsettled situation, it seems, that left CBD wondering whether Newsmax Australia would ever see the light of day. Which to us, is a sad day for Australian media. ADH TV provided a welcome home for so many of the right's has-beens: former Australian Christian Lobby boss Lyle Shelton, arch-monarchist David Flint, twice-rehabilitated News Corp broadcaster Chris Smith and, for some reason, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price 's husband.
Sydney Morning Herald
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Alan Jones' former conservative home still waiting for Newsmax relaunch
Loading To us, that is a sad moment for Australian media. ADH TV provided a welcome home for so many of the right's has-beens: former Australian Christian Lobby boss Lyle Shelton, arch-monarchist David Flint, twice-rehabilitated News Corp broadcaster Chris Smith and Jacinta Price's husband, for some reason. Where would we be without them? Red scare Brace yourselves. The Russians are coming for the High Court of Australia. Last week, the country's top court heard an appeal by the Russian Federation against laws to effectively cancel a lease on its new Canberra embassy on national security grounds. Russia claimed the lease cancellation by the Albanese government was 'Russophobic hysteria', and quickly retained the $25,000-a-day services of Australia's foremost High Court winner Bret Walker SC, who led a challenge to the laws' constitutional validity. The day after that hearing, the court announced it would consider another high-profile case, this time brought by billionaire Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. An industrialist with a stake in an alumina refinery in Gladstone and ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Deripaska was sanctioned by the Morrison government following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The designation stopped him from travelling to Australia or profiting from his company's share in the Gladstone refinery. Loading Deripaska has been fighting those sanctions since, arguing they are constitutionally invalid because they stop him travelling to Australia to challenge them. Last week, the High Court granted Deripaska special leave to appeal a March decision of the Full Federal Court rejecting his argument. The sanctions against Deripaska, which aligns with similar decisions made by the United States, United Kingdom and European Union following the Ukraine invasion, were implemented by former foreign minister Marise Payne. At the centre of the oligarch's legal challenge is one of Payne's old cabinet comrades, former attorney-general Christian Porter, who quit parliament in 2022 after using anonymous donors to fund an aborted defamation case against the ABC after the public broadcaster reported a historic rape allegation against him (which the ex-minister has always denied). Porter, as CBD regulars would recall, has returned to the Perth bar with gusto, where he's acted in a series of high-profile cases. His reinvention has brought him into the orbit of Deripaska, who he is now representing, and paved the way for a dramatic return to Canberra.
The Age
11-08-2025
- Politics
- The Age
New Year's Eve no longer planned for Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance
Brace yourselves. The Russians are coming for the High Court of Australia. Last week, the country's top court heard an appeal by the Russian Federation against laws created by the Albanese government to effectively cancel a lease for Russia's new Canberra embassy, down the road from Parliament House, on national security grounds. Top barrister Bret Walker. Credit: Steven Siewert Russia claimed the lease cancellation was 'Russophobic hysteria', and quickly retained the services of Australia's foremost High Court winner, Bret Walker, SC, who led a challenge to the laws' constitutional validity. The day after that hearing, the court announced it would consider another high-profile case, this time brought by billionaire Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. An industrialist with a stake in an alumina refinery in Gladstone and ties to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Deripaska was sanctioned by the Morrison government following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The designation stopped Deripaska from travelling to Australia or profiting from his company's share in the Gladstone refinery. Former attorney-general Christian Porter, now a Perth-based barrister. Credit: Trevor Collens Deripaska has been fighting those sanctions ever since, arguing that they are constitutionally invalid because they stop him travelling to Australia to challenge them. Last week, the High Court granted Deripaska special leave to appeal a March decision of Federal Court judges rejecting his argument. The sanctions against Deripaska, which aligns with similar decisions made by the United States, United Kingdom and European Union following the Ukraine invasion, were implemented by Marise Payne in her then role as foreign minister. And at the centre of the oligarch's legal challenge is one of Payne's old cabinet comrades, former attorney-general Christian Porter, who quit parliament before the 2022 election after using anonymous donors to fund an aborted defamation case against the ABC after the public broadcaster reported a historic rape allegation against him (which Porter has always denied). Porter, as CBD regulars would recall, has returned to the Perth bar with gusto, where he's acted in a series of high-profile cases. Which has now brought him into the orbit of a billionaire Russian oligarch, and paved the way for a dramatic return to Canberra. Steel yourself for a swim Spare a thought for the residents of Kew, who have to schlep off to the nearby eastern suburbs of Balwyn or Hawthorn for a swim after promises of a new recreation centre came crashing down. Kew Recreation Centre on High Street was knocked down to make way for a slick $73 million centre with pools, childcare, fitness rooms, indoor sports courts and a party room, all intended to be available from mid-2023. Unfortunately, like many knockdown-rebuild jobs, what came next was inferior to what it replaced. The centre's roof collapsed overnight in 2022, triggering Victorian Building Authority and WorkSafe investigations, and a blame game that continues to this day. The site of the Kew Recreation Centre construction collapse in October 2022. Credit: Jason South The building authority has charged builder ADCO Group and its director, John Conroy, over the collapse, while WorkSafe's case against ADCO and facade contractor Colab Building are scheduled for a return to court next month. Boroondara Mayor Sophie Torney has been assuring residents the new centre 'is taking shape' and will be all-electric when it finally opens. So, when's the big day? Will the kids who should have learnt to swim there be adults by then? Council minutes show it was once expected the new pool would open in early 2025. But the council's website now says doors will open in late 2026. Boroondara Council told CBD it was working with the contractor 'to determine the opening date of the centre'. All going swimmingly then. Uncertainty maxes out for ADH TV Ever since broadcaster Alan Jones was arrested and charged with dozens of indecent assault offences last year (to which he has pleaded not guilty), the fate of the conservative media ecosystem that revolved around him has appeared increasingly uncertain. Jones was the face of online right-wing outrage merchants ADH TV, founded in 2021 by twenty-something chief executive Jack Bulfin and boosted by a very generous investment by billionaire nepo baby James Packer. Jones was a conspicuous absence from ADH TV ever since this masthead first reported allegations of groping a year before the criminal charges were laid. Now, the company is struggling to adjust to life after Alan. Alan Jones outside court in 2024. Credit: Rhett Wyman First, its plans to acquire regional TV licences from Southern Cross Austereo fell apart after Seven West Media stepped in. That's left us a little sceptical about the success of ADH's $42 million bid to buy the radio assets of this masthead's owners, Nine. But ADH's most newsworthy ploy is its deal to become an Australian launchpad for American conservative cable TV station Newsmax, a once niche Florida-based broadcaster which has had its influence turbo-charged by Donald Trump's rise. ADH TV has since rebranded its online profile and social media accounts as Newsmax Australia, which the website said in January was 'coming soon'. But so far, nobody seems to know when that is, or what it will look like. Rumours that Newsmax had enlisted former NRL Footy Show host Erin Molan as a flagship presenter turned out to be just that. Molan has since landed a rather bizarre gig hosting an Elon Musk-backed show called 69X Minutes on the platform formerly known as Twitter. Molan is also set to unveil an eponymous show on the Salem Network, a Christian family-themed American broadcaster financially backed by the president's failson, Donald Trump Jr. Which probably takes her out of the running. Erin Molan on the set of 69X Minutes. Credit: Screenshot Presenters at ADH TV who remained hopeful of broadcasting with Newsmax have no sense of when they'll be back on air, if at all. We've heard whispers of an October launch, but little more. Bulfin didn't return our calls. A complicated, and as yet, unsettled situation, it seems, that left CBD wondering whether Newsmax Australia would ever see the light of day. Which to us, is a sad day for Australian media. ADH TV provided a welcome home for so many of the right's has-beens: former Australian Christian Lobby boss Lyle Shelton, arch-monarchist David Flint, twice-rehabilitated News Corp broadcaster Chris Smith and, for some reason, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's husband.
The Journal
30-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
An Bord Pleanála raised concerns over use of ChatGPT for inspector's report into Limerick plant
AN BORD PLEANÁLA removed one of its inspectors from deliberations on a controversial expansion of a large steel plant in Limerick following concerns that a report was being written with the help of ChatGPT. A spokesperson for the State body told The Journal that the report was scrapped 'out of an abundance of caution' as its board members felt the use of artificial intelligence (AI) had the potential to 'raise concerns about the integrity of the decision-making process' for the report into Aughinish Alumina, near Foynes on the Shannon Estuary. An Bord Pleanála also 'advised all staff that the use of unapproved technology was strictly prohibited' in the wake of the incident. The file was then re-assigned to a new inspector for fresh consideration, with the second inspector's report sent to a 'newly constituted' board to decide on. This board granted planning permission to expand Aughinish Alumina's waste storage at the site in March. It was the second time the development had come before An Bord Pleanála, with the High Court previously quashing its decision to expand the site following objections by environmental groups. However, the use of AI now forms part of a challenge by Limerick-based environmental group Environmental Trust Ireland in its bid to halt the expansion of the site. The Aughinish Alumina plant near Foynes Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo A spokesperson for An Bord Pleanála told The Journal that it learned that the 'unapproved technology' was used for 'editing and formatting certain aspects' of a report after the employee reported their use of ChatGPT. In a lengthy statement, An Bord Pleanála said the incident 'raised the need to improve the policy' relating to the acceptable use of technology such as artificial intelligence. Access to AI software was also disabled on An Bord Pleanála systems in response to the discovery, the body's spokesperson said. 'The incident reaffirmed the need for bespoke GenAI technology specifically designed for the requirements of An Bord Pleanála,' the spokesperson added, pending the development of a digital strategy with guidelines for use of the advanced AI programmes. The spokesperson said that this work was already underway since the appointment of a new director of digital strategy last year. Major employer with Russian links A major employer in the mid-west, Aughinish Alumina employs 450 people on its 222-hectare site. The plant is owned by Russian metals company Rusal, which was co-founded by Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska, who is still a shareholder in Rusal, is an industrialist who is reported to have had close ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin. Advertisement In 2018, Deripaska was placed on a US sanctions list and the UK government also announced sanctions against the oligarch in 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The businessman is well-connected in Russian politics and business, and was pictured earlier this month at the Kremlin in Moscow for a ceremony ahead of World War II commemorations. Rusal co-founder Oleg Deripaska addressing a meeting of the Bank of Russia's financial congress last year. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Aughinish Alumina has been looking to expand its disposal area for bauxite residue – an ore from aluminium, also known as 'red mud' due to its copper colouring. The site's expansion plans have been the subject of legal challenges over recent years, with the High Court quashing previous planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála. The amended planning application that received approval in March included findings from An Bord Pleanála stating that the development 'would not have significant negative effects on the environment' if given the go-ahead. This permission has now been challenged by two environmental groups – Environmental Trust Ireland and Futureproof Clare – in separate judicial reviews lodged this week. Environmental Trust Ireland, which is represented by Limerick firm Hayes Solicitors, has taken a case which it is understood is partly based on the alleged concerns raised internally within An Bord Pleanála. In the planning authority's board minutes from last October for the Aughinish refinery's expansion – seen by The Journal – it records that it was 'brought to the Board's attention that certain parts of the Inspector's report may have been written following interaction with an external technology system', later referring to ChatGPT. However, it is understood that Environmental Trust Ireland is challenging whether the inspector remained involved in the process after the AI use was flagged, referring to later minutes for An Bord Pleanála's March meeting to discuss the refinery's expansion. While the inspector was listed in later minutes, An Bord Pleanála has stressed to The Journal that the individual was not involved in the case after November 2024. It is understood that an admin error may have resulted in the confusion. Environmental claims The judicial review taken by Environmental Trust Ireland is one of two filed this week against the expansion of the refinery's disposal area the red mud waste. A group called Futureproof Clare has taken the other, separate case. It is represented by FP Logue solicitors and The Journal understands its arguments are based around the environmental impact of the expansion. The plant has capacity at its bauxite residue disposal area (BRDA) until 2030 and the new extension will extend the lifetime of the BRDA up to 2039. The proposed development would increase the height of sections of the disposal area by 12 metres. It would bring the total height to 44 metres. The company has maintained that it can't continue production unless its waste facility is expanded. Aughinish Alumina did not respond when contacted for comment. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ukrainian court freezes Russian oligarch Deripaska's assets worth nearly $50 million
A Ukrainian court has frozen the assets of Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska worth Hr 2.1 billion (nearly $50 million), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Jan. 29. Deripaska, formerly Russia's richest man and founder of the Basic Element industrial group and the Rusal aluminum company, was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 and the U.K. in 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukraine nationalized some of Deripaska's business assets already in February 2023. In the latest move, the court immobilized a large consignment of industrial products and raw materials stored in the warehouses of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, which the Russian oligarch previously owned. The consignment included almost 500,000 tons of bauxite and alumina produced before the outbreak of full-scale war, the SBU said. The seized materials were the main component to produce aluminum at Deripaska's Russian Rusal plants, according to the SBU. Deripaska owned these assets through a subsidiary registered in a European Union country. The company was a formal customer of the plant's products, which were then re-exported to Deripaska's Russian enterprises. In 2023, Ukrainian law enforcement authorities blocked the shipment of raw materials. Deripaska reportedly manufactures products for the Russian military-industrial complex, including components for Iskander ballistic missiles, drones, and radar systems. In February 2024, the SBU charged Deripaska in absentia with financing actions aimed at overthrowing Ukraine's constitutional order, seizing state power, and changing Ukraine's state border. Since 2018, Deripaska has been under U.S. sanctions as a person close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who finances his projects. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the billionaire was also stripped of his Cypriot citizenship, which he received in 2017. Read also: Trump's stance on Ukraine, Russia — what we know from his first week in office We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
