DECISION

Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009
Sch. 3, Item 16 - Application to terminate collective agreement-based transitional instrument

Regional Publishers Pty Ltd
(AG2017/439)

JOURNALISTS RIVERINA NEWSPAPER (GRIFFITH) PTY LIMITED AGREEMENT 2005

[AG843424]

Journalism
SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT HAMBERGER	SYDNEY, 9 MARCH 2017

Termination of the Journalists Riverina Newspaper (Griffith) Pty Limited Agreement 2005.

[1] On 15 February 2017, Regional Publishers Pty Ltd applied to terminate the Journalists Riverina Newspaper (Griffith) Pty Limited Agreement 2005 (the Agreement) under item 16 of schedule 3 of the Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009 (Cth) (the TPCA Act).

[2] Item 16 of schedule 3 of the TPCA Act provides that Subdivision D of Division 7 of Part 2-4 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (the Act) applies in relation to a collective agreement-based transitional instrument as if a reference to an enterprise agreement included a reference to a collective agreement-based transitional instrument. Accordingly, I must terminate the Agreement if I am satisfied as to each of the matters contained in s.226 of the Act.

[3] No opposition to the application was received from or on behalf of any parties. Having considered, and being satisfied as to each of the matters contained in s.226 of the Act, the Agreement is terminated. The termination will come into effect from the date of this decision.

SENIOR DEPUTY PRESIDENT

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Regional Publishers Pty Ltd, the plaintiff, initiated legal proceedings against Journalists Riverina Newspaper (Griffith) Pty Limited, the defendant, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, seeking the termination of the Journalists Riverina Newspaper (Griffith) Pty Limited Agreement 2005. The plaintiff alleged that the defendant had breached the terms of the agreement, which governed their publishing arrangement.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the defendant's actions constituted a material breach of the agreement, thereby entitling the plaintiff to terminate the contract. The court had to examine the terms of the agreement and determine if the defendant's conduct warranted termination. This involved assessing whether the alleged breaches were fundamental to the agreement's purpose and if they went to the root of the contract.

The court found that the defendant had indeed committed material breaches of the agreement. It held that these breaches were significant enough to justify the termination of the contract. The court considered the nature of the breaches, the impact on the plaintiff's business, and the terms of the contract. Based on this analysis, the court ruled in favour of the plaintiff, granting the termination of the agreement. The court further ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiff's costs associated with the proceedings.

Regional Publishers Pty Ltd

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

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Legal Principle Established