CBD
Welcome back, Meredith Hellicar. The former James Hardie chairman is back in business after serving out her ban over one of the most disgraceful episodes in Australian corporate history.
In 2009, Hellicar, pictured, copped a five-year ban from managing a corporation for breaching her director's duties by being party to misleading statements about the adequacy of a fund James Hardie set up to pay asbestos victims.
The statement, made in 2001 before James Hardie ran off to the Netherlands, claimed the fund was adequate to meet future claims by the victims. It wasn't.
However, after an appeal all the way up to the High Court last year, Hellicar's penalty was cut, with an end date fixed at April 30.
Lo and behold, on May 22 the ASIC database records Hellicar as being appointed to the board of Bagtrans Group, which owns transport company Bagtrans.
No doubt she'll be most useful at Bagtrans, which specialises in delivering pallets of goods to retailers.
Of course, there won't be much applause from the victims of James Hardie's asbestos. It's hard to clap when you're dead or breathing through a tube.
Hellicar is yet to return CBD's phone call on Sunday to her home in affluent Sydney beachside suburb Mosman.
Holidays to fear
What will it take before tardy politicians wake up and take action against a menace that has cost Australian business billions?
CBD speaks, of course, of public holidays. Yet again the curse of a day off in Australia has struck Newcrest Mining's operations, even those overseas, this time in the shape of a $6 billion writedown announced on Friday - just as everyone was preparing for the Queen's Birthday long weekend.
CBD has previously (April 3) warned its shareholders to beware of public holidays. That came after Newcrest unveiled a gold production downgrade just before the Easter long weekend. It followed a similar downgrade on the eve of Anzac Day, and yet another gold production downgrade just five days before Christmas 2011.
Corporate watchdog ASIC is investigating an apparent leak of the latest downgrade. But CBD suggests a wider probe is needed, perhaps by an inter-agency taskforce, into how the sinister claws of Australian holidays reach overseas to cripple the operations of Newcrest's mines in places like Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
Last time, CBD's crystal ball had a malfunction and we got the date of the next tranche of bad news wrong by plumping for Anzac Day instead of the Queen's Birthday.
And this time the outlook is even murkier, with no nationally observed public holidays until Christmas Day.
This will no doubt be some relief for chief executive Greg Robinson, who must regard the calendar with dread. But it remains to be seen whether state-specific holidays such as Melbourne Cup Day (Victoria, November 5) or Labour Day (NSW, October 7) will have a similar devastating effect.
Etched in stone
Newcrest's cuts are bad news for the company's workers and even worse news for any who've decided to accept a permanent reminder of the mining boom with a tattoo.
Australian Mining magazine has been collecting images of mining tattoos on its Facebook page, and some are very impressive.
There's a woman with a geological cross-section on the back of her shoulder, each different type of rock painstakingly inked; a bloke with a full back tattoo of a mine tunnel, complete with cart and rails; and a touching tatt commemorating the 2010 Pike River disaster, when a New Zealand coal mine exploded killing 29 men.
But CBD's favourite so far would have to be a simple bit of arm ink depicting a crossed pick and shovel and the immortal words: "COAL. I DIG IT."
Got a tip?
bbutler@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Meredith Hellicar is the former James Hardie chairman who served a ban for breaching director duties related to misleading statements about an asbestos compensation fund. Her return made headlines after her ban ended and she was appointed to the board of Bagtrans Group, according to the ASIC database.
Hellicar was banned in 2009 for being party to misleading statements in 2001 that claimed James Hardie’s asbestos fund was adequate to meet future claims when it was not. An appeal reduced her penalty and fixed an end date of April 30, after which she was able to take up new directorships.
The ASIC database recorded Hellicar’s appointment to the board of Bagtrans Group on May 22. Bagtrans Group owns Bagtrans, a transport company specialising in delivering pallets of goods to retailers.
The article refers to misleading statements that claimed the James Hardie fund was sufficient to meet asbestos victims’ future claims when it was not. For investors, this is a corporate governance red flag showing how misstatements about liabilities can lead to regulatory action and long-term reputational and financial consequences.
Newcrest Mining revealed a roughly $6 billion writedown announced just before the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and has made several production downgrades around public holidays. Such large writedowns and downgrades can hurt the company’s earnings outlook and share price, which is important for shareholders to monitor.
The article notes a pattern of Newcrest announcing downgrades or bad news just before public holidays (Easter, Anzac Day, Queen’s Birthday and past Christmas). Investors should watch timing of company announcements and consider whether operational or reporting issues are being revealed around holiday periods.
Yes, the corporate watchdog ASIC is investigating an apparent leak of Newcrest’s latest downgrade, according to the article. For investors, an ASIC probe could lead to further scrutiny of the company’s disclosure practices and potentially regulatory outcomes that affect market confidence.
The article highlights two lessons: first, poor governance or misleading statements (as in the James Hardie case) can lead to regulatory bans and long-term reputational damage; second, operational risks and the timing of bad news (as with Newcrest) can materially affect share prices. Everyday investors should monitor governance records, regulatory notices, and the timing and transparency of company disclosures.
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