Mel B's pay packet a 'trade secret' - Sydney Morning Herald

Melanie Brown ... trying to move from Seven to Nine. Photo: Sahlan Hayes

As former Spice Girl Melanie Brown took a Sunday drive around Los Angeles, six barristers were in Sydney arguing about the future of her Australian television career and whether her salary should remain secret.

Last week the Seven Network moved to stop long-time rival Nine from poaching the X Factor judge to headline their reboot of Australia's Got Talent.

Justice David Hammerschlag made an injunction stopping Brown from entering into an agreement with anyone other than Channel Seven to appear on Australian television before January 2014.

The order also barred her agents, including her husband Stephen Belafonte, from assisting her to enter into any agreement with other networks in Australia before that time.

In court on Monday morning, barristers for Channel Seven, Channel Nine and Brown tendered affidavits and argued details of her salary should remain confidential.

Tom Blackburn, SC, for Brown, said her payment package was akin to ‘‘trade secrets’’.

"She should be able to keep the amount of money secret, so other television stations she negotiates with don’t have that information and have a benchmark in which to negotiate,’’ he said.

Mr Blackburn and Peter Brereton, SC, for Channel Nine, argued that the injunction was causing damage to their clients.

‘‘We say, your honour, there’s a serious prejudice that occurs every day the order is in place,’’ Mr Blackburn said.

‘‘Channel Seven has no plans to use the first defendant [Brown] at all. They may want ... to stop her appearing on any television station,’’ Mr Blackburn said.

Justice Hammerschlag extended the order until further notice and set down a final hearing for April 3, when Mr Belafonte will be in Sydney to give evidence.

Brown is in the US working on America’s Got Talent.

As the proceedings were heard in Sydney, she tweeted ‘‘Sunday LA driving with hubby’’, along with a picture of the pair in a luxury car.

Earlier this month, an interim apprehended violence order to keep controversial Sydney paparazzo Jamie Fawcett at least 50 metres away from Brown was dropped.