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7th August 2009, 10:30 WST
The reasons behind Lote Tuqiri’s sacking by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) remain a mystery for now, with both sides arguing to keep court documents secret.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, Tuqiri’s court action against his contract termination by the ARU was briefly mentioned before Justice Clifford Einstein.
Lawyers for both the former Wallaby winger and the ARU argued for documents related to the matter to be kept under wraps.
The ARU’s lawyer said it would be “undesirable for any publicity until objective arguments were made by both sides.”
Justice Einstein said he was surprised by the request, noting it was unusual for public access to be denied in such a case.
“This court’s usual practice would be to make the court documents relating to this matter available,” he said.
The judge will hear arguments on the matter from both sides as well as the media later on Friday.
Tuqiri had his $1 million a year contract torn up by the ARU on July 1 with no exact details about his termination publicly revealed.
In announcing the sacking last month, the ARU said Tuqiri had allegedly breached the player code of conduct but said it was not a police matter.
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.as...ntentID=160831