WA weighs closing Forrest’s gambit
The Western Australian government has given its strongest indication yet that it will take action against apparent misuse of the state’s mining laws that is allowing Andrew Forrest to block genuine exploration and mining on his Pilbara cattle station. The Fin
BHP set to boost Pilbara iron ore
BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie says iron ore prices are unlikely to climb back above $US100 a tonne but the company is readying to spend an extra $US3.25 billion ($3.5bn) to bring more ore on to the market in a bigger-than-expected expansion of its Western Australian mines. The Aus
Woodside to let Shell stake lie
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says he will not seek an alternative solution to get Shell off the company’s share register after the failure last month of a $US2.68 billion selective buyback, and has insisted the oil major’s sell-down has been largely successful. The Fin
Cheaper green permits
A proposal to make radical changes to the government’s Direct Action policy so cheap international carbon permits can be used in Australia threatens to exacerbate cabinet divisions over environmental policy. The Fin
Sunday trading hailed a success
Sunday trading has been hailed a success, with claims it has helped Western Australians spend an extra $322 a year — or an extra $6.20 a week. The West
Big MAX passenger numbers tipped
The State Government believes the MAX light rail system will generate about 100,000 passenger trips a day by 2031, compared with 29,000 trips a day for the airport-Forrestfield link and 10,000 a day for the Ellenbrook link. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: A proposal to make radical changes to the government’s Direct Action policy so cheap international carbon permits can be used in Australia threatens to exacerbate cabinet divisions over environmental policy.
Regulators are probing eight of Australia’s largest big construction projects for the existence of phoenix scams and are preparing to file criminal charges.
Page 5: The Abbott government appears poised to make major concessions on budget health and education changes and the mining tax package, to win Senate support when federal Parliament resumes this week.
Page 6: One of Australia’s top economic experts, Jeremy Lawson, says the housing market is 20 per cent to 30 per cent overvalued and has left Australia vulnerable to a big international economic shock.
Page 10: The Western Australian government has given its strongest indication yet that it will take action against apparent misuse of the state’s mining laws that is allowing Andrew Forrest to block genuine exploration and mining on his Pilbara cattle station.
Page 11: The corporate regulator is seeking tougher powers to allow it to take action against bank managers when their financial planners dupe customers.
Page 15: Treasury Wine Estates chief Michael Clarke says he has the strong backing of the winemaker’s biggest shareholders, as well as private equity suitors circling the group, to embark on an acquisition campaign in the United States and reverse years of drifting by the business.
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says he will not seek an alternative solution to get Shell off the company’s share register after the failure last month of a $US2.68 billion selective buyback, and has insisted the oil major’s sell-down has been largely successful.
Page 17: GrainCorp chairman Don Taylor has warned that the agriculture industry was “shooting itself in the foot” by splashing more than $100 million on building rival port infrastructure.
Fortescue Metals Group has inched closer towards a coveted investment grade debt status after rating agency Standard & Poor’s upgraded the company to BB+.
Page 20: Sandfire Resources’s De Grussa copper project in Western Australia could be facing the potential of higher royalty fees after the state’s minister for mines, Bill Marmion, used the project as an example of glitches in the current mining royalties rates system.
The Australian
Page 2: Government ministers will be told to tighten their messaging, lift their discipline and sell the Coalition’s achievements at a cabinet council of political war today ahead of the spring parliamentary sittings and budget negotiations.
The maker of revolutionary Australian-developed sleep disorder equipment is waging a battle in the Federal Court to stop a union forcing it into an enterprise pay deal covering more than 300 employees — even if the union has only one member at the worksite.
Page 5: Rising unemployment has dampened demand for migrant workers, with 40 per cent fewer foreigners seeking visas to work here last financial year.
Page 15: BHP Billiton chief executive Andrew Mackenzie says iron ore prices are unlikely to climb back above $US100 a tonne but the company is readying to spend an extra $US3.25 billion ($3.5bn) to bring more ore on to the market in a bigger-than-expected expansion of its Western Australian mines.
Class action law firms and forensic experts will be co-opted into the Commonwealth Bank’s advice review process as part of the bank’s drive to compensate poorly advised financial planning customers and burnish its tarnished reputation.
Page 16: The global hunt for a new chief executive to lead the nation’s No 2 telco, Optus, has drawn to a close after nine months of searching.
Optus is set to launch the latest addition to its fleet of satellites, the Optus 10, but the bird could be the telco’s last for a long time as the company prepares for a new era of satellite services to be dominated by the National Broadband Network.
Page 20: Fairfax Media is considering buying a strategic stake in Nine Entertainment to gain a seat on the company’s board ahead of potential regulatory changes that could spark a $4 billion merger between the publisher and TV network.
The West Australian
Page 1: Sunday trading has been hailed a success, with claims it has helped Western Australians spend an extra $322 a year — or an extra $6.20 a week.
Page 3: WA doctors want the new children’s hospital to be reconfigured for more beds, arguing too much space has been set aside for offices and not enough for sick children.
Page 5: The State Government believes the MAX light rail system will generate about 100,000 passenger trips a day by 2031, compared with 29,000 trips a day for the airport-Forrestfield link and 10,000 a day for the Ellenbrook link.
Page 6: Clive Palmer told WA voters the Federal Government was taking the bread out of the mouths of the State’s babies.
Page 7: The Abbott Government has warned of tax increases and fresh spending cuts if it fails to get key elements of its Budget through the Senate.
Page 9: WA is in a residential building boom, with the State on track to build a record number of new homes this year, according to a peak housing body.
Business: Coventry Group is poised to revamp its board under pressure from shareholders demanding change.
The world’s first gold corporate bond, sold by FirstRand Bank last week, will provide cheap funding to the bullion-trading desk of South Africa’s second biggest lender.