Swan 'wrong on mining tax ambush' – The Aus; Labor would halt work on waterfront – The West; Sluggish profits a threat to surplus – The Fin; FMG to fast-track new iron ore development – The West; Western Areas crashes on equity-raising rumours – The West
Swan 'wrong on mining tax ambush'
The mining industry has contradicted Wayne Swan’s claims about the $10.6 billion mining tax in new statements that inflame the wider row over the Treasurer’s argument that vested interests are distorting public policy. The Aus
Labor would halt work on waterfront
The state opposition will stop the $440 million Perth foreshore redevelopment mid-construction to retain Riverside Drive if it wins the next election. The West
Sluggish profits a threat to surplus
Weak corporate profits are fuelling concerns that the federal government will not be able to deliver its promised budget surplus next financial year. The Fin
FMG to fast-track new iron ore development
Fortescue Metals Group has shown how quickly it intends to move on a new alliance with the Kerry Stokes-controlled Iron Ore Holdings, pulling forward development of the Nyidinghu deposit in the Pilbara. The West
Western Areas crashes on equity-raising rumours
Western Areas managing director Dan Lougher says there is no chance WA's biggest nickel miner will return to the equity markets to fund the $68 million purchase of the Lounge Lizard asset from Kagara. The West
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:
Page 3: Muslim women who wear a burqa or niqab would have to lift the veil to prove their identity while having legal statements witnessed under new laws set to be introduced in WA.
Page 4: Treasurer Wayne Swan has conceded his plan for a mining tax was built on ignorance within government about how much money it would collect and has admitted it could have driven some companies to the wall.
The Reserve Bank has fresh evidence it may have erred by failing to cut interest rates, with company profits falling and inflation pressures continuing to abate.
Page 6: Unions will launch a massive claim to lift the wages of more than 200,000 apprentices as they seek to double the pay of some workers.
Page 10: The state opposition will stop the $440 million Perth foreshore redevelopment mid-construction to retain Riverside Drive if it wins the next election.
Page 13: An American water expert has predicted a water crisis for Perth, claiming the amount of water the city uses is unsustainable.
Page 14: WA collected just one of 27 prizes at Australia's most prestigious annual tourism industry event, prompting calls to increase spending on marketing and incentives to build more hotel accommodation in Perth.
Business: Fortescue Metals Group has shown how quickly it intends to move on a new alliance with the Kerry Stokes-controlled Iron Ore Holdings, pulling forward development of the Nyidinghu deposit in the Pilbara.
Western Areas managing director Dan Lougher says there is no chance WA's biggest nickel miner will return to the equity markets to fund the $68 million purchase of the Lounge Lizard asset from Kagara.
Quickstep Holdings' move east has paid dividends, with the composites manufacturer scoring a second military aircraft tender worth up to $100 million.
Commodities giant Glencore International, in the midst of trying to secure miner Xstrata through a $US90 billion merger, has reported a 7 per cent rise in full-year profit, citing rising prices for raw materials such as oil, copper and wheat, and steadily growing demand in developing countries.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:
Page 1: Greenpeace is spearheading a campaign by green groups, including Wotif founder Grame Wood's foundation, to raise up to $6 million to disrupt and delay new coalmines and infrastructure in a bid to make some unviable.
China has made boosting domestic demand the top economic priority for the year ahead after unveiling a cut in the planned growth rate to 7.5 per cent, which is the lowest target in eight years and reflects slower exports and a property downturn.
Page 3: Weak corporate profits are fuelling concerns that the federal government will not be able to deliver its promised budget surplus next financial year.
Page 4: Treasurer Wayne Swan has stepped up his campaign against business leaders, saying they should have a responsibility to the public, not merely to their shareholders and employees.
Big business is privately furious with Treasurer Wayne Swan for picking a fight with the “billionaires club”, but has refused to wade into a public slanging match with the government.
Page 6: Higher electricity prices, a slower economy and the impact of solar rooftop panels have contribute to a 5 per cent reduction in power usage – the first in decades – this financial year, a report says.
Page 8: The industrial relations consulting arm of Western Australia's main business lobby group is helping to lock in lucrative wages and conditions for employees on big resources projects.
Page 19: Gloucester Coal is poised to release a revised $8 billion deal with Chinese-owned Yancoal Australia that has won the support of key shareholder Noble Group and will lower the amount of debt in the merged group.
Page 49: The carbon tax could add up to 1.7 per cent to the cost of building an office tower, more than previously estimated, according to analysis by the Allen Consulting Group.
Page 51: Listed property developer Axiom Properties has sold a free-standing Bunnings Warehouse in Islington, South Australia, to a private investor for $18.8 million.
THE AUSTRALIAN:
Page 1: The mining industry has contradicted Wayne Swan’s claims about the $10.6 billion mining tax in new statements that inflame the wider row over the Treasurer’s argument that vested interests are distorting public policy.
The Chinese government has cut its annual growth target below 8 per cent for the first time in almost a decade, casting a shadow over commodity markets and Australia’s dependence on the Chinese export market.
Page 2: Tony Abbott has been contradicted over the status of the opposition’s $3.2 billion paid parental leave scheme, his finance spokesman Andrew Robb declaring the Coalition had not finalised any of its major policies.
Australia must ensure that its close security relationship with the US is not seen in Beijing as part of a strategy to contain China, Bob Carr has warned.
Page 3: The Gillard government is facing a revolt over its multi-billion dollar school infrastructure rollout as campuses battle to fund basic maintenance and power needs in new buildings.
A director of the company that sent cattle to one of the Indonesian abattoirs filmed abusing steers had an export licence suspended over animal welfare concerns in 2003.
Page 4: Labor's links to the union movement bore no relation to the vested interests of big business, Wayne Swan declared yesterday as he intensified his attack on the nation’s top mining billionaires.
Bob Brown has placed a $100 billion bet on continued strong profits in the mining industry, despite campaigning for a zero emissions economy that would phase out the use of coal and fossil fuels.
Page 5: A federal government review of the Australia Council for the Arts, its main grant-giving body to artists and arts organisations, will not produce a funding increase in the May budget, its authors say.
Business: The row between Australia’s top casino companies was set to escalate last night, with Echo Entertainment considering an approach to the Takeovers Panel after James Packer’s Crown lodged a substantial shareholder notice for its controversial derivative-based share purchase.
Lawyers for disgruntled Centro investors have argued there is ample evidence to show executives and directors of the shopping centre owner were nervous about the company’s short-term debt position ahead of a disastrous $3.1 billion error in the company’s 2007 accounts.
Australia's big iron ore and coal miners are pressing ahead with significant expansion plans despite China’s plan to slow growth to an almost 10-year low.
Business is planning a rapid increase in capital spending despite ongoing currency headwinds and global economic concerns, with expenditure forecast to rise during the next 18 months.
Nickel miner Western Areas’ purchase of Kagara Nickel’s Lounge Lizard deposit has come in below market expectations at $68 million.
One of Australia’s most powerful agribusiness leaders has warned that Australia risks missing out on the ‘‘agricultural opportunity of a generation’’ unless it removes unnecessary and costly regulations and restrictions at its ports.
Coca-Cola Amatil has dropped plans to buy Foster’s spirits and pre-mixed drinks business from new owner SABmiller, deciding instead to ramp up its distribution of spirits from US drinks major Beam.
Qantas expects labour demand at its heavy maintenance facilities to drop by 60 per cent over the next five years, the equivalent of more than 870 jobs, as it retires aircraft and brings in new maintenance systems and planes that require less work.
The core measure of company profits slumped in the December quarter as falling commodity prices hit mining companies, while other business sectors struggled against the high dollar.
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:
Page 1: The flood emergency repair bill will push the NSW budget further into the red.
Page 2: Former NSW police officer Wendy Hatfield wins in her court battle against the Nine Network for its portrayal of her in Underbelly.
Page 3: Only five per cent of Australians are able to identify safe drinking levels, a national survey shows.
World: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has expressed concern about inequality and high property prices.
Business: A sharp geographic divide has opened in business conditions between Australia's northwest and the southeast.
Sport: The Sydney Roosters score a last-minute victory over South Sydney.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH:
Page 1: On-street parking will be as expensive as commercial car parks as dozens of Sydney city parking bays are turned into bike racks.
Page 2: NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell's communications director Peter Grimshaw was stood down without pay for his role in The Star casino affair.
Page 3: Ita Buttrose's ex-husband is suing a television series for portraying him as a weak man who was jealous of the media queen's early career achievements.
World: Newly elected Russian President Vladimir Putin shed a tear as he addressed 100,000 supporters.
Business: Qantas pilots should be banned from taking industrial action, a Sydney court has heard.
Sport: Penrith's David Simmons has called on the NRL to protect players from head shots similar to the one that left him heavily concussed.
THE AGE:
Page 1: Victoria is considering a controversial plan to clear vegetation from the state's waterways to cut the risk of flooding for regional communities.
Suppliers have complained about the behaviour of the supermarket giants.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's pledge to take his $2.7 billion paid parental leave scheme to the next election has been undermined by his finance spokesman.
Page 2: Greens leader Bob Brown has come out swinging against the Australian media, claiming the industry is being precious and abandoning the public interest for its opposition to a regulator that would police all media.
Page 3: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is to be sued for defamation by a senior Victorian building union official.
World: Thousands of Russians were expected to take to the streets to express their discontent with Vladimir Putin's claim to have won a resounding victory in Russia's presidential election, with opposition activists alleging the vote was marred by widespread fraud.
Business: A sharp geographic divide has opened up in business conditions, with the latest Bureau of Statistics report showing sales growth five times as fast in Australia's northwest as in the southeast and wage growth twice as fast.
Sport: The divide between the AFL and its players remains great, with hostility over the trial of the two-and-two interchange-substitute system in the NAB Cup fuelled by the league's decision to revamp the bench last year without experimentation.
THE HERALD SUN:
Page 1: Jamie Oliver is bringing his crusade against obesity to Victoria.
Page 2: Ita Buttrose's ex-husband claims a popular TV series wrongly depicted him as a pitiably weak man who was jealous of the media queen's early career achievements.
Page 3: Army special forces engineer Lazarus Louis woke up on the operating table in Afghanistan to see medical staff cutting and drilling into the side of his chest.
Business: Interest rates will almost certainly stay on hold despite research showing the services sector is shrinking at its fastest rate in more than two years.
Sport: Essendon and Michael Hurley are close to reaching a new deal, likely to be worth about $2.2 million over four years.
THE CANBERRA TIMES:
Page 1: The construction union says worker safety at the new ASIO headquarters in Canberra is at risk after at least 19 glass panels above the main entrance cracked and fell more than a week ago.
A senior Victorian building union official, John Setka, will sue Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for defamation.
Central Wagga Wagga residents were issued an urgent evacuation notice on Monday night.
Page 2: The damage bill and extent of delay for completion of the new Cotter Dam may not be known for weeks until floodwaters recede.
Over the past week the ACT had its first seven-day period without sun since 1952. Helen Fraser, the wife of former Member for the ACT Jim Fraser, died on Sunday aged 91.
Page 3: Leaked emails show the ACT Greens' preselection committee advised a would-be candidate to step down before candidates were chosen.
The ACT Electoral Commission has cleared the ACT Labor Party of any wrongdoing over multimillion-dollar asset transfers from its affiliated Labor Club pokies operation.
World: US President Barack Obama has warned "loose talk of war" could hasten Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.
Sport: Referee coach Russell Smith has admitted two try-scoring calls against the Raiders on Saturday were wrong.
