BHP has won court orders to force Michael West Media to remove stories from publication, with no evidence tested in court. Stephanie Tran reports.
A federal court judge has ordered Michael West Media to remove two articles from its website and suppressed a cross-claim filed by injured former BHP coal miner Simon Turner.
Under the orders, yet to be published by the Court but heard in proceedings, MWM must remove publicly available content “that discloses, refers to or contains any portion of the Cross-Claim”, including two articles published earlier this month.
The first article, published on 15 May, was titled “BHP wanted us silenced NOW. The Federal Court said no”. The second, published on 25 May, was titled “Coal wage theft. BHP’s solicitor MinterEllison faces conflict of interest claim”.
Needham also ordered that Turner’s notice of cross-claim and statement of cross-claim, filed on 13 May 2026, not be published or disclosed beyond the parties and their legal representatives until the final suppression application is determined.
The proceedings arise from litigation connected to a wage theft case involving labour hire workers at BHP-operated coal mines.
On 17 April 2026, Justice Needham dismissed Turner’s case against BHP and awarded sweeping suppression orders over the court documents. Turner has filed an appeal of the decision however, a hearing date has not yet been set.
At the hearing yesterday, the court was told BHP had replaced its solicitor on the record, with MinterEllison partner Michael Fletcher appearing in place of Trent Forno.
The matter will return to court at 10:15am on June 4, 2026, when the court is expected to determine whether final suppression orders should be granted.
BHP seeks urgent suppression orders in trial against coal miner and MWM publisher