Read all about the Rinehart family secrets – just not quite yet

Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest woman, has been fighting the media through the courts to suppress details of her bitter dispute with her own children over control of the billions in the Hancock family trust. Apart from being a compelling morality tale, the case raises an interesting question about whether the courts will protect confidentiality as part of an alternative dispute resolution process. It's the desire for confidentiality that often drives parties towards mediation or arbitration rather than the courts.

Three of Mrs Rinehart's children applied to the NSW Supreme Court to have her removed from her role as trustee. The problem was that the trust deed said that disputes 'under this deed', and 'between the parties to the deed', should be confidential and go to mediation/arbitration.