Gender war misfires for PM
Julia Gillard’s attempts to ignite a gender war against Tony Abbott have failed, with the Prime Minister’s personal support crashing to record lows and the Opposition Leader now matching her standing among women. The Aus
Election rout to halve Labor seats
Labor is on track to lose up to 35 of its 71 seats at the federal election, including nine held by ministers, according to an exclusive new poll of the party's most vulnerable electorates. The Fin
New iron gig for Edwardes
Atlas Iron has snared Gina Rinehart's former planning approvals mastermind, Cheryl Edwardes, sparking fresh speculation a Pilbara rail sharing tie-up with bigger rival Fortescue Metals Group is imminent. The West
Rudd waits in wings for Gillard to bring it on
Kevin Rudd has ruled out challenging Julia Gillard for the top job and is instead pressuring members of Cabinet to demand the Prime Minister call another leadership ballot this week. The West
Battle for insurance cash grab
The Legislative Council will have to ditch decades of tradition for the Barnett government to get a controversial law through Parliament in time to force the Insurance Commission of WA to pay it dividends before June 20. The West
Top Resources Headlines
New iron gig for Edwardes
Atlas Iron has snared Gina Rinehart's former planning approvals mastermind, Cheryl Edwardes, sparking fresh speculation a Pilbara rail sharing tie-up with bigger rival Fortescue Metals Group is imminent. The West
Resources downturn has upside
The country's biggest automotive retailer, Perth-based Automotive Holdings Group, is finding it easier to retain diesel mechanics and other trades previously in hot demand from the resources industry, in an emerging upside to the end of the mining boom. The Fin
Late blow as Perseus warns on mine output, costs
Perseus Mining's already weak share price could come under more selling pressure today as investors digest news late yesterday that the company would miss its full-year gold production target while costs had blown out. The West
Speculation over as Rio holds on to Argyle unit
Speculation that Rio Tinto was poised to launch a float of its diamonds business as early as August proved to be unfounded, with the global miner announcing yesterday it had abandoned any plan to sell or spin out the division. The West
Top Politics Headlines
Election rout to halve Labor seats
Labor is on track to lose up to 35 of its 71 seats at the federal election, including nine held by ministers, according to an exclusive new poll of the party's most vulnerable electorates. The Fin
Gender war misfires for PM
Julia Gillard’s attempts to ignite a gender war against Tony Abbott have failed, with the Prime Minister’s personal support crashing to record lows and the Opposition Leader now matching her standing among women. The Aus
Rudd waits in wings for Gillard to bring it on
Kevin Rudd has ruled out challenging Julia Gillard for the top job and is instead pressuring members of Cabinet to demand the Prime Minister call another leadership ballot this week. The West
Coalition may face $3.5bn carbon cash-in
An incoming Coalition government could face a $3.5 billion budget hit as coal generators and other heavy emitters of greenhouse gases cash in free permits before the carbon tax is repealed. The Fin
Battle for insurance cash grab
The Legislative Council will have to ditch decades of tradition for the Barnett government to get a controversial law through Parliament in time to force the Insurance Commission of WA to pay it dividends before June 20. The West
Top Property Headlines
Port expansion scuttles dream home plan
A Bunbury man lost a bid to build his dream home after the state's planning authority ruled that the expansion of the Bunbury Port was more important. The West
Rotto sinks plan for island tee-off
A key feature of the $1.4 million upgrade of the Rottnest Island golf course – a hole that begins in the middle of a salt lake – has been dropped from the plans. The West
The West Australian
Page 4: Kevin Rudd has ruled out challenging Julia Gillard for the top job and is instead pressuring members of Cabinet to demand the Prime Minister call another leadership ballot this week.
Page 5: Concerns that children are not being taught basic social and practical skills at home have prompted some public schools to ask parents to help them make sure students have the life skills to cope with high school.
Page 6: The Legislative Council will have to ditch decades of tradition for the Barnett government to get a controversial law through Parliament in time to force the Insurance Commission of WA to pay it dividends before June 20.
Page 7: WA's motoring advocate, the RAC, has used the 75th anniversary of the Fremantle traffic bridge to urge the state government to replace it almost 10 years after serious engineering concerns were raised.
Page 13: Perth motorists will pay almost $1.50 a litre for petrol as unleaded prices soar and threaten to derail consumer spending.
Page 14: The WA Police Union will consider industrial action if the state government does not meet its demands during coming pay negotiations.
A Bunbury man lost a bid to build his dream home after the state's planning authority ruled that the expansion of the Bunbury Port was more important.
Page 16: Farmers and unions have warned that WA is at risk of a biosecurity disaster because of cuts at the Department of Agriculture and Food.
Page 17: The falling Australian dollar is delivering the nation's prospective retirees some badly needed protection to their superannuation nest eggs.
A key feature of the $1.4 million upgrade of the Rottnest Island golf course – a hole that begins in the middle of a salt lake – has been dropped from the plans.
Business: Atlas Iron has snared Gina Rinehart's former planning approvals mastermind, Cheryl Edwardes, sparking fresh speculation a Pilbara rail sharing tie-up with bigger rival Fortescue Metals Group is imminent.
Speculation that Rio Tinto was poised to launch a float of its diamonds business as early as August proved to be unfounded, with the global miner announcing yesterday it had abandoned any plan to sell or spin out the division.
Fresh disaster has struck Apex Minerals, with a mechanical breakdown leaving its struggling Wiluna gold mine short of power and requiring the company to seek a fresh cash injection.
Leighton Holdings has added the mining contract for Fortescue Metals Group's Kings mine to its Solomon deal, announcing the $1.3 billion extension yesterday.
Incoming Metcash chief executive Ian Morrice has lashed out at his rivals Coles and Woolworths, saying Australia's supermarket business is not a level playing field.
Perseus Mining's already weak share price could come under more selling pressure today as investors digest news late yesterday that the company would miss its full-year gold production target while costs had blown out.
AMP shares have plunged 13 per cent to an eight month low after the company said its first half profit would fall because of higher than expected income protection claims.
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: China's central bank signalled the days of easy credit for the country's financial institutions are over, raising concerns of a prolonged cash crunch in the second largest economy which sent tremors across the region.
Labor is on track to lose up to 35 of its 71 seats at the federal election, including nine held by ministers, according to an exclusive new poll of the party's most vulnerable electorates.
Embattled gold producer Newcrest Mining is likely to cut about 150 employees at its Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea as part of a plan to bring costs into line with revenue.
Page 3: An incoming Coalition government could face a $3.5 billion budget hit as coal generators and other heavy emitters of greenhouse gases cash in free permits before the carbon tax is repealed.
Page 6: Former Productivity Commission chairman Gary Banks has a blunt response to unions resisting a possible Abbott government inquiry into the Fair Work Act: what have you to hide?
Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey accused the Labor government of “hubris” for dismissing warnings about the threat of a possible recession and declared a determination to avoid such a downturn “on my watch”.
Treasurer Wayne Swan will welcome the Australian dollar's precipitous fall in a speech on Tuesday, but send a strong signal the government believes it should drop even further to take pressure off long-suffering exporters.
Page 7: The federal government is pressing ahead with plans to clamp down on the 457 visa program for temporary skilled migrants despite being warned by a key advisory group against a key element of the legislation.
Page 11: Investors in major listed companies, including Pacific Brands, David Jones and Wesfarmers, could be at risk from potential breaches of labour and human rights laws, a report has cautioned.
Page 12: The country's biggest automotive retailer, Perth-based Automotive Holdings Group, is finding it easier to retain diesel mechanics and other trades previously in hot demand from the resources industry, in an emerging upside to the end of the mining boom.
Page 15: AMP may be forced to slash its dividend after a shock profit downgrade fuelled fresh concerns about systemic problems within the broader life insurance industry.
Page 17: Rio Tinto analysts and shareholders have backed the decision by the miner to shelve the sale of its $US2 billion-plus diamond division as it continues to juggle the divestment of non-core assets.
The Australian
Page 1: Julia Gillard’s attempts to ignite a gender war against Tony Abbott have failed, with the Prime Minister’s personal support crashing to record lows and the Opposition Leader now matching her standing among women.
Australia's Ashes campaign has descended further into chaos and Cricket Australia’s management is being questioned after the sacking of national coach Mickey Arthur two weeks before the first Test.
Page 2: Clive Palmer has failed to guarantee the jobs of workers at his Queensland Nickel refinery, as he yesterday claimed the operation’s cash issues were now in the past and it was on track to returning a $200 million-a-year profit.
Labor and the Coalition are stepping up the economic policy debate ahead of the federal election by outlining competing visions of life after the mining boom amid a growing row over whether the nation is headed for a downturn.
Unions have presented a seven-point plan to Holden boss Mike Devereux that demands job guarantees and an independent audit to identify where savings can be made.
Page 4: Kevin Rudd has booked an international flight to China on Thursday afternoon to speak at a conference in Beijing on Friday in a move that could bring forward the deadline to resolve Labor’s leadership crisis before parliament rises.
The last Labor state to sign on to the Gonski education reforms has condemned the legislative framework, warning it will lead to a ‘‘significant shift’’ in responsibility for education away from the states to the commonwealth.
Tony Abbott has promised to protect the funding of the National Health and Medical Research Council and simplify the assessment of research grants if the Coalition wins office.
Page 5: Labor's crackdown on 457 visas has hit another stumbling block, with three crossbenchers who support an overhaul calling for further changes.
Julia Gillard’s office has provided a reassurance that communications director John McTernan had no formal role in its refusal to hand over documents relating to his employment on a 457 visa.
Business: Financial markets are being gripped by another bout of concerns about liquidity in key economies for Australia, particularly China, helping spark the biggest one-day sell-off in Australian government bonds since the turmoil in global markets that followed the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in late 2008.
The sharp sell-off in the market has knocked the steam out of the recovering initial public offering market, leaving most vendors struggling to get away floats in the back end of the year.
Pressure is mounting on companies across the nation as the economy slows, with wealth management giant AMP suffering one of its harshest sell-offs in years after becoming the latest blue-chip to issue a profit warning because of a surge in income protection claims.
Newcrest is axing hundreds of local and expatriate jobs in Papua New Guinea, where half its mine assets are located.
Rio Tinto has again been thwarted by sliding markets and sentiment, abandoning plans to sell its diamonds business, which includes the Argyle mine in Western Australia.
Queensland's coking coal industry continues to struggle amid sliding prices, with the prospect of new projects becoming even more remote and scrutiny on current projects tightening.
Copper prices started the week on the same trajectory they’ve been on since the start of the month, slipping to their lowest levels of the year, tracking other industrial metals as well as sharemarkets, which have been rattled by China’s cash crunch.
Grocery, liquor, hardware and auto parts wholesaler Metcash has warned that poor consumer confidence is likely to remain a drag on retail performance at least until after the federal election as it continues to fight Coles and Woolworths for market share.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Page 1: An Indonesian former policeman turned people smuggler has been caught on a hidden camera referring to asylum seekers as "goats" and boasting of how he bribed police to turn a blind eye to his operation.
Page 2: Having failed to approve any CBD cycle paths in its two years in power, the NSW government is now delaying the construction of the final two blocks of a bike path down Kent Street
Page 3: A third push to reinstall Kevin Rudd as Labor leader was in disarray on Monday evening as it emerged its singular strategy of forcing pro-Gillard ministers to take the initiative and "tap" the prime minister on the shoulder had come to nothing.
World: Managing to stay several steps ahead of the long arm of US law, intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden seems to have won the support of governments with little or no regard for a principle Mr Snowden has championed: freedom of speech.
Business: Analysts have warned there are no easy fixes for troubles at AMP's life insurance business and its dividends could be reduced, after the financial services company became the latest to downgrade its half-year profit.
Sport: NSW coach Laurie Daley says Queensland's decision to highlight perceived illegal tactics at the ruck is a sign of desperation by the Maroons, and lays bare the pressure they are under for Wednesday night's Origin II.
The Daily Telegraph
Page 1: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has appeared in a magazine knitting a toy kangaroo for the royal baby during her toughest week in the top job.
Page 2: A man has been found guilty of the murders of two brothers he stabbed to death while disguised as a woman.
Page 3: Fallen soldier Corporal Cameron Baird refused to leave a badly wounded mate behind while fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
World: Washington was scrambling to stop fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden as he prepared to head for asylum in Ecuador after arriving is Moscow.
Business: Australia's biggest wealth management and insurance group had its steepest market dive in almost a decade after warning profitability is sliding.
Sport: Mickey Arthur says he's shocked and shattered at being sacked as Australia's cricket coach.
The Age
Page 1: A former Indonesian policeman has been caught by a hidden camera revealing in detail the criminal people-smuggling syndicate he helped to run and saying numerous police officers assisted its operation.
Page 2: Parents' outrage at an advertisement for a swingers party at a Cranbourne children's play centre has forced the local council to close the business.
Page 3: Corporal Cameron Baird was known for his dedication and discipline. The 32-year-old, who became the 40th Australian soldier killed in the Afghanistan war on Saturday, was always seen to be doing his all.
World: Managing to stay several steps ahead of the long arm of US law, intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden seems to have won the support of governments with little or no regard for a principle Mr Snowden has championed: freedom of speech.
Business: Analysts have warned there are no easy fixes for troubles at AMP's life insurance business and its dividends could be reduced, after the financial services company became the latest to downgrade its half-year profit.
Sport: Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland says the sport's hierarchy could no longer sit back and watch as the national team combined dismal on-field performances with lapses in discipline off it.
The Herald Sun
Page 1: The 40th Digger to fall in Afghanistan was last night hailed as a gentle giant and a hero.
Page 2: Labor's leadership woes drag on with Kevin Rudd's supporters in Victorian marginal seats saying Prime Minister Julia Gillard's ministers are making it harder for them to keep their seats because they are trying to bring on a stoush.
Page 3: The price of new annual taxi licences in outer Melbourne suburbs and regional centres will be increased after government backbenchers and Frankston MP Geoff Shaw raised concerns.
World: Washington was scrambling to stop fugitive intelligence leaker Edward Snowden on Monday as he headed for asylum in Ecuador after arriving in Moscow.
Business: Australia's biggest wealth management and insurance group has suffered its steepest market dive in almost a decade after warning its profitability is sliding.
Sport: Fremantle is poised to fight a pinching charge laid against Ryan Crowley after the antagonistic tagger denied on Monday intentionally pinching Brent Harvey.
