NSW registered clubs (law) in trouble, again
What are described as the “arbitrary powers of the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA)” are the subject of a recent critical comments by Insolvency News Online (INO).[1] Those powers have also been the subject of comment here,[2] not as to their claimed arbitrary nature, but as to why they exist at all. They […]
Virgin Airlines – special leave to appeal granted by the Australian High Court on a matter of the interpretation of the Cape Town Convention
Further to my report of 4 April 2021 below, the High Court of Australia has granted special leave to appeal on a question of the interpretation of the Cape Town Convention as it applies to the voluntary administration of Virgin Airlines in Australia. Leave to a party to appeal to the High Court is granted […]
The new Attorney-General and business bankruptcies
As the new Attorney-General, Senator Michaelia Cash[1] will find her portfolio encompasses the current law reform debate about whether and for how long there should be a period of restriction on a person after the date of their bankruptcy, as opposed to after their corporate failure. Senator Amanda Stoker[2] as Assistant Minister to the Attorney-General, […]
Move bankruptcy from the Attorney-General to Treasury?
In light of the Attorney-General’s need to transfer some matters of his responsibility, a worthy area to transfer is the law and policy of personal insolvency, or ‘bankruptcy’ to most. A matter of economics At the moment, corporate insolvency – company liquidations and the like – is handled broadly as a matter of economic policy […]
Neither a borrower nor a lender be – at least to a friend or a relative …
A guarantee given by a mother to a friend of her son for the son’s business debts ended up in court. There are lessons to again be learned from the outcome; and some law reform suggestions to be considered for SME businesses. Although many people operate their small business through a limited liability company, they […]
Appeals from sequestration orders made by registrars – continued
An appeal from a sequestration order made by a registrar in 2016 is being heard, in 2021. In bankruptcy litigation between a Ms Bechara and a Mr Bates various courts have been found to have made errors in the process of dealing with a purported ‘appeal’ by Bechara from a sequestration order made against her […]
Review of the English Insolvency Rules 2016
The 2016 insolvency rules of England and Wales are being reviewed, in accord with a statutory requirement to do so by 2022. A report on the review must be published within five years of 6 April 2017, the date that the Rules came into force. Australia also (tries to) have statutory reviews of its insolvency […]
‘The Vanishing Criminal – Causes of Decline in Australia’s Crime Rate’ – a book review
This is a very interesting and useful book, trying to explain why Australia’s crime rate has fallen in many areas, and continues to do so. That fall is also found in other comparable countries – Canada, New Zealand and more. I attended the launch of the book by its authors – Don Weatherburn and Sara […]
Double suspension as a liquidator and as a trustee
An experienced Australian insolvency practitioner (IP) has had his right to practise as a liquidator suspended by a Court for 3 years following a finding that, in 2010, he had fabricated documents and forged signatures in the context of an ASIC investigation with the intention of misleading ASIC. This has led to his right to […]
Apprehensions of the fair-minded lay observer – a law reform review of judicial impartiality
The Australian Law Reform Commission has been asked to undertake a review of the laws relating to impartiality and bias as they apply to the federal judiciary – the Federal and Family Courts, the Federal Circuit Court and others. The Australian Academy of Law and the ALRC are hosting a seminar concerning this review entitled […]