The Brown and Hatton Piggery group has paid $250,000 in workers’ compensation premiums and costs in settlement of claims made by New Zealand Insurance.
The group is half owned by the Prime Minister, Paul Keating, and his family.
The premiums were owed under the NSW Workers’ Compensation Act. NZI sued as an agent for the NSW Work Cover Authority. They go back to 1989-90, though most were incurred after Mr Keating and his family obtained a half interest in the group for $430,100 in May last year when he was Treasurer.
NZI sued Brown and Hatton Rural Pty Ltd, which runs the groups Parkville piggery near Scone, NSW, in the Supreme Court for $158,217; Olympia Industries Mfg Pty Ltd for $68,626 in the District Court and Olympia Interiors Pty Ltd for $12,581 in the Local Court.
According to a statement issued by the Opposition spokesman on the arts, Senator Michael Baume, NZI said all outstanding money had been paid and the actions discontinued.
NZI filed the claims in November. A response would normally be required within 28 days or default judgment could be entered, but NZI allowed a period of grace for Christmas.
The settlement of the claim comes at a time when the piggery group is straightening out its accounts following requests by the Australian Securities Commission. Last month some audited accounts were filed which have given a different picture from earlier unaudited accounts. They showed a $1.9 million worsening in the overall position and additional losses of $1.7 million from the previous unaudited.
Brown and Hatton Group has said in a public letter to the ASC that earlier accounts had been prepared by previous owners of the group and relied upon by the new owners who had been unaware that audited accounts have been required because the company had converted from a public to a private company during the year.
No amended accounts, however, have been filed for Euphron Pty Ltd, the holding company of Brown and Hatton Group, as a result of the new audited accounts. The latest publicly available accounts Euphron Pty Ltd still put shareholders’ equity at some $8.2 million, half of which is owned by the Keating family.