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.
The orders were made after BHP submitted a last minute application for suppression orders at 7:48pm last night.
Under the orders, 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Needham also ordered that Turner’s notice of cross-claim and statement of cross-claim, filed on 13 May 2026, not be published or disclosed beyond the parties and their legal representatives until the final suppression application is determined.
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Open in new tab 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 today, the court was told BHP had replaced its solicitor on the record, with MinterEllison partner Tom 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
Stephanie is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. She has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.