Pauline Hanson is gearing up for a High Court fight. Just yesterday, the Full Federal Court upheld the finding she racially vilified Senator Mehreen Faruqi over a 2022 tweet. Now, Hanson’s recruited big wigs Bret Walker, SC and Perry Herzfeld, SC to challenge whether section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act oversteps the Constitution’s implied freedom of political communication: AFR

⚖️ Evidence: The Queensland Supreme Court's decision in Santos v Fluor, one of the largest construction cases litigated in Australia, sets out clear expectations for quantum evidence. The Court confirmed that an expert's opinion is of little use unless the underlying facts and reasoning are exposed for scrutiny, rejecting evidence based on general industry experience rather than structured analysis. One side relied on quantity surveying methodology, tracing indirect costs to site activity and contemporaneous records. The other relied on critique and professional judgment. The Court preferred the former, finding that challenging assumptions is not the same as proving them wrong: Accura Consulting

⚖️ AI/Governance: The US is mulling a proposed "kill switch" law that would require AI developers to maintain the ability to slow, suspend or shut down high-risk AI systems, floated after a rogue AI agent engaged in unauthorised cyber activity. The Governance Institute of Australia says that misses the real point: organisations should focus on stopping agents going rogue in the first place, not just reacting once they do. That means applying the principle of least privilege, limiting what agents can access and do, and having the board approve clear delegation authority for each agent, including what decisions it can make and when a human must step in. Accountability should sit with the deploying organisation, not just the developer: Governance Institute of Australia

⚖️ Employment: The Federal Government has announced a new specialist Fair Work Court to handle underpayment claims and industrial disputes — the first federal industrial court since the Industrial Relations Court was abolished in 1997. Details are thin: jurisdiction, structure and whether it'll run alongside existing courts are all subject to consultation later this year. The move follows Justice Adam Hatcher's warning that the Fair Work Commission's caseload has jumped over 70% in three years, largely driven by AI making it easier to file claims. Employers are already nervous about an employee-friendly bench: Clayton Utz

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Uncle Pabai Pabai and Uncle Paul Pabai, traditional owners from the Torres Strait, are back in court appealing their failed climate case against the Commonwealth. Justice Wigney found the government owes them no duty of care, despite accepting its emissions targets weren't backed by the science. Now the Full Federal Court hears the appeal, with a likely trip to the High Court next whichever way it goes: Capital Brief

Take five on US-Iran negotiations. Now, Trump is saying there's a "good chance" of an Iran deal after the US skipped a third straight day of strikes and Tehran paused hitting Gulf states like Kuwait. Back home, petrol prices just had their biggest weekly jump since March, with drivers now paying A$1.82 a litre and diesel nudging A$2.20: Bloomberg

🏦 Perpetual has received a third bump from EQT's Windflower vehicle, with the offer now sitting at $22.50 a share, up 2% on the last go and 4% on the original. That's well above Perpetual's last close of $18.92: Capital Brief

💵 HSBC is finalising the sale of its $30bn+ Australian loan book to Blackstone's private credit arm, marking the giant's first crack at Aussie home lending. Mallesons advises Blackstone, Citi while Allens reps HSBC: AFR