BHP has been found legally liable for one of the worst environmental disasters in the history of Brazil in a landmark case brought in the UK over the 2015 Mariana dam collapse. The High Court in London ruled that the risk of the structure’s collapse had been “foreseeable” BHP was “strictly liable for damage caused to the environment and to third parties”.
There was a big sell-off in the market on Friday, with the S&P/ASX200 closing down 1.4 per cent, which is the equivalent of $37 billion, to its lowest point since mid-July. Investors are grappling with the potential that interest rates in Australia and the US will not fall again this economic cycle.
The Coalition has launched a “technology agnostic” energy plan, which includes more gas but is not anti-renewables, according to Liberal leader Sussan Ley. She said renewables must be in the right place and be balanced by baseload power. Meanwhile a poll in The Australian Financial Review shows the Coalition's primary vote fell 5 percentage points in a month to a record low of 24 per cent, while support for One Nation rose 4 points to a record high of 18 per cent.
Australian graziers will be disappointed that President Donald Trump cut tariffs on beef as well as hundreds of other product categories including fruits, coffee, nuts and spices. Why? Australian beef exports to the US have surged 26 per cent last quarter as a result of a tariff advantage against rival producers, such as Brazil and New Zealand.
Scientists have discovered a new native bee species with tiny horns, naming it Megachile Lucifer. Researchers found the bee while observing a rare wildflower that only grows in the Bremer Ranges in Western Australia's Goldfields region, about 500 kilometres east of Perth.
