NBN backs down on price rises – The Fin; Grylls push for WA coal result – The Fin; Windimurra cracks appear – The West; Planning in place for Equus project – The Aus; Burke gaffed in marine park row – The Aus
NBN backs down on price rises
The company building the national broadband network has promised real price cuts to its wholesale customers but said the backtrack would not dent its ability to deliver a return on the government's $35.9 billion investment. The Fin
Grylls push for WA coal result
The West Australian government is quietly trying to mediate a potentially damaging dispute involving half the state's coal supply. The Fin
Windimurra cracks appear
The first cracks have appeared in Michael Minosora's plans to revive the Windimurra vanadium project, with his resources vehicle Atlantic poised to tap the equity market weeks out from maiden production. The West
Planning in place for Equus project
US mid-tier oil and gas company Hess has signed up Worley Parsons and JP Kenny for engineering studies on its big Equus deep-water gas project off the coast of Western Australia. The Aus
Burke gaffed in marine park row
One of Western Australia’s three remaining federal Labor MPS has appealed to Environment Minister Tony Burke to reconsider shutting fisheries off the coast of her electorate as the Liberal Party taps into anger over a proposed network of marine parks the length of the state. The Aus
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: Demoted minister Rob Johnson claimed yesterday he had no idea he was going to be stripped of his emergency services portfolio and only found out Troy Buswell was his replacement when it was tweeted by the media.
Page 4: Former Federal Police chief Mick Keelty will conduct his second WA fire inquiry in less than a year.
Page 6: The days when banks can sling credit card holders with late payment fees may be numbered thanks to a Federal Court ruling against ANZ Bank.
Cut-price bananas, turmoil in Europe and a stagnating Australian jobs market are shaping as enough for the Reserve Bank to deliver another interest rate cut to mortgage holders today.
Page 10: Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt says the relaxed bar laws put in place in Fremantle for the 2011 ISAF Sailing World Championships have been so successful he wants them to be permanent.
Page 13: Tony Abbott has opened up a new flank in his war with the Gillard government in WA, vowing to scrap Labor's plans for a series of marine parks.
Page 14: Wholesale prices on the National Broadband Network will be frozen for the first five years of operation on the most basic of services and prices will not be increased for all other services above half the inflation rate, the new internet provider has promised.
Page 17: WA employers could be sitting on a time bomb of workers compensation claims for sun damage, cancer experts have warned.
Page 19: Two WA gourmet produce businesses have been taken over by one one of China's biggest food companies as part of a significant push into the Australian market.
Business: The first cracks have appeared in Michael Minosora's plans to revive the Windimurra vanadium project, with his resources vehicle Atlantic poised to tap the equity market weeks out from maiden production.
Kerry Stokes has won the battle to mop up National Hire Group after key hold-out Dale Elphinstone agreed to give up his stake in the company for $122 million.
French President Nocolas Sarkozy hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris last night to thrash out details of a plan to save the euro at the start of a crucial week for the single currency.
Kevin Gallagher has cleared the decks a month after taking the reins at Clough, downgrading the contractor's first-half earnings expectations by about 20 per cent while talking up the second half.
Hess Corp has begun detailed engineering work for its Equus discovery off the Pilbara coast ahead of deciding which of three WA-based LNG plants the gas should be developed through.
Independence Group could come under pressure from investors today after the Perth-based miner late yesterday warned it was likely to report a half-year loss and hinted at “significant” write-downs.
Kagara managing director Geoff Day has tried to breathe life into the Perth miner's stuttering share price by hinting it may exceed production forecasts this quarter.
Receivers of the troubled Raine Square office tower are trying to sideline Bryan Hughes from acting as administrator of Luke Saraceni's collapsed project vehicle, claiming the Pitcher Partners managing director is conflicted.
A UBS report has cast doubt on Woolworths boss Grant O'Brien's ambition to double the supermarket group's sale of “private label” foods in the near term.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: The company building the national broadband network has promised real price cuts to its wholesale customers but said the backtrack would not dent its ability to deliver a return on the government's $35.9 billion investment.
Reserve Bank of Australia assistant governor Philip Lowe has become the firm favourite to replace governor Glenn Stevens.
The Gillard government moved last night to cut its losses in the drawn-out political scandal of its failed $223 million Australia Network tender, declaring the foreign TV service would stay with the ABC and shutting out competing bidder Sky News.
Page 4: The case for a Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate cut has strengthened amid evidence that much of the economy is struggling despite massive investment in resources and hopes for a breakthrough in Europe's crippling sovereign debt crisis.
Page 7: In the nation's biggest class action, the Federal Court has ruled that late fees charged on credit cards by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group could be characterised as an unenforceable penalty, rather than a fee for service.
Page 11: Australia will begin negotiations with India in the first half of next year to pave the way for uranium exports worth an estimated $300 million a year after the Labor Party's national conference lifted its ban.
Page 12: The West Australian government is quietly trying to mediate a potentially damaging dispute involving half the state's coal supply.
The average net worth of Australian households grew just 3 per cent each year between 2006 and 2010 to $692,000, a sign of poor sharemarket returns and weak growth in house prices, a survey out today shows.
The political rehabilitation of former West Australian treasurer Troy Buswell has extended to his replacing Rob Johnson as Emergency Services Minister following the devastating Margaret River bushfire.
Page 13: Europe has just days to find a solution to the sovereign debt crisis or else the EU itself will collapse, political leaders warned at the start of a week of high-stakes negotiations.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The Reserve Bank board is under pressure to cut rates for the second month in a row despite continuing strength in corporate Australia.
The Gillard government has dumped its bungled tender process for the $223 million Australia Network and handed control and funding of the overseas network to the ABC forever.
Labor Party elder statesmen John Faulkner, Steve Bracks and Bob Carr have demanded their secret report into party dysfunction be made public to defuse festering leadership tension between Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
Page 2: The company rolling out the National Broadband Network last night vowed to freeze wholesale prices for the next five years, but it only applies to the cheapest and slowest packages of internet services.
An interest rate fall today may not be enough to lure first-home buyers back into the market, property developers and analysts fear.
Australia's richest are getting richer, with the top 1 per cent of income earners raking in 8.8 per cent of national income in 2008, compared with 7.2 per cent in 2000.
Page 3: Australian banks could face a series of costly class actions running into the billions after the Federal Court yesterday ruled that late fees on credit cards may be unenforceable.
Western Australia’s devastating bushfires have claimed part of the political scalp of Emergency Services Minister Rob Johnson, who will be replaced in the key portfolio by former Liberal leader Troy Buswell.
Page 4: One of Western Australia’s three remaining federal Labor MPS has appealed to Environment Minister Tony Burke to reconsider shutting fisheries off the coast of her electorate as the Liberal Party taps into anger over a proposed network of marine parks the length of the state.
Nuclear safety negotiations with India will start next year, but only after cabinet formally approves uranium sales.
Page 7: A federal government agency that for the past 16 years has bought 6 million hectares across Australia to transfer to Aboriginal groups still holds the titles for half of that land.
Page 8: Australia has formalised its negotiations with the EU and New Zealand to link carbon trading markets, regardless of what happens in negotiations for a global climate change agreement in Durban this week.
Heavy rains and a dramatic rise in the number of household solar energy panels have helped to boost Australia’s renewable energy production in the past financial year, despite larger projects temporarily stalling amid political uncertainty over the carbon tax.
Business: Billionaire Nathan Tinkler is in talks to merge Aston Resources with its NSW neighbour Whitehaven Coal, in a potential $4.9 billion deal, but the market is raising doubts on how the parties will agree on a transaction that appeals to both companies.
Big Oil is redrawing the energy map. For decades, its main stomping grounds were in the developing world — exotic locales like the Persian Gulf and the desert sands of North Africa, the Niger Delta and the Caspian Sea.
The Labor Party’s move to allow uranium sales to India has boosted Australia’s junior explorers, but they will need to rapidly increase capacity to compete with global suppliers meeting the developing nation’s demand.
US mid-tier oil and gas company Hess has signed up Worley Parsons and JP Kenny for engineering studies on its big Equus deep-water gas project off the coast of Western Australia.
Telstra plans to outsource 280 jobs from its network application and services division as it continues to cut costs and simplify its business.
Virgin Australia’s domestic passenger numbers surged by 7.4 per cent in October as its major competitor suffered an 11.3 per cent drop as a result of industrial strife.
Diversified services group UGL concluded its $119 million acquisition of British property advisory company DTZ yesterday, paving the way for the Sydney-based company to enter the European and Chinese markets.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: A working group set up by Treasurer Wayne Swan is planning a shake-up that would see most companies pay no corporate tax.
Page 2: NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has said no to a citizen's jury for infrastructure.
Page 3: New labels would expose misleading food marketing under in-principle proposals by the federal government.
World: In a blow to his prestige, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's party has struggled to hang on to its majority in Russia's parliamentary election.
Business: Class action litigants and ANZ have both claimed victory following the first round of legal action over fees levied by the big four banks.
Sport: Phillip Hughes' schoolboy mentor has admitted the technical deficiencies he noticed in the cricketer have still not been rectified.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: Australia's big banks must pass on an expected cut in official interest rates, business leaders have warned.
Page 2: A graphic police-recorded video that captured Constable William Crews' last moments has been played in a committal hearing for the man accused of his manslaughter.
Page 3: Families will no longer be able to overrule a relative's wish to be an organ donor in one of the biggest overhauls of the transplant system.
World: Eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benzes and a Lamborghini have been involved in an expensive crash in Japan.
Sport: A damning report into the governance of cricket will recommend the scrapping of Cricket Australia's 106-year-old system of board representation.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Public transport fares to rise by as much as 8.6 per cent in new year.
Page 2: Gillard government plan considers Australian companies not paying tax on their earnings while some others would pay a super tax on profits. Heather Ridout to join board of Reserve Bank.
Page 3: My School website data shows private schools produce better results than government schools.
World: Vladimir Putin's party set for reduced majority forcing it to work with other political groups.
Business: Both sides claim victory in first round of class action by ANZ customers over bank fees.
Sport: Dan Christian's selection for Australia in second Test is a boon for indigenous cricketers.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: CFA accused of failing to warn staff and families they were exposed to deadly chemicals stored at its regional headquarters during the 1970s and '80s.
Page 2: Pressure is on RBA to cut rates at its monthly meeting on Tuesday.
Page 3: David Beckham a hit with kids - and their mums - at the Royal Children's Hospital.
Business: Corporate Australia profits soar despite weak consumer sentiment and European economic turmoil.
Sport: Australian opener Phil Hughes has to buckle down and put away his fancy shots.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: Christmas early: rate cut tipped on Tuesday.
Page 2: Bali boy glad to be home.
Page 3: Roebuck death, family hires QC to find the truth.
World: Euro crisis, Sarkozy and Merkel hold showdown.
Business: Market clocks up six day win streak.
Sport: Beckham not fussing about future but wild about Harry.
THE COURIER MAIL:
Page 1: Some state government departments are shunning a new email system, which has cost $46 million.
Page 2: continued from page one
Page 3: Cyber-safety lessons will be compulsory at public schools in Queensland next year.
Page 7: Complaints at nursing homes are being ignored says nurses and carers.
World: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's ruling party has won parliamentary polls but with a reduced majority.
Business: Nathan Tinkler's Aston Resources is in merger talks with Whitehaven Coal.
Sport: Former Australian test cricket opener Matthew Hayden says Phillip Hughes can succeed but only if he stops playing some of his pet shots.
THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:
Page 1: The prized Ferrari of a 60-year-old hoon is now in the hands of police.
Page 3: Business leaders say banks will send businesses to the wall if they fail to pass on interest rate cuts.
World: Newt Gingrich has emerged as the new leader of race for American presidential nomination.
Business: Penrice Soda's AGM was told the rising dollar and slowing economy had delivered lapsing profits.
Sport: Matthew Hayden believes Phil Hughes will make the grade as a Test match opener.